Ukraine war: How wives of imprisoned Azovstal fighters are honouring them
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9 months agoon
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adminOn the day of their marriage, Mariia Alieksieievych’s husband, Serhii, was holding out at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, the last bastion of resistance in the besieged southern port city of Ukraine as it came under one of the harshest sieges since the Second World War.
Mariia, 26, was almost 1,000km away in Khmelnytsky, where the couple had been living together before Russia‘s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The world looked on to see whether the Azovstal defenders would manage to hold back Russian forces as they ran out of food, water and ammunition.
Serhii, 29, fought on despite having a bullet stuck in a leg bone since mid-April, which couldn’t be removed due to the lack of supplies.
Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian troops move into new positions
He made no mention of his agony when he spoke to Mariia. Instead, he asked her to marry him.
“On 27 April, 2022, when Serhii was at Azovstal, we got married.
“Serhii recorded a video for the registry office, in which he said he wanted to marry me, provided his and my personal data, I showed them the video, provided the necessary documents, and we got married,” Mariia told Sky News.
“I remember that day quite often, because at least on that day I was able to cheer Serhii up, give him hope for the best, that he would get out of Mariupol alive and that everything would be fine with us.”
Read more from 2022: Why the siege of Azovstal mattered
The ‘terror’ attack
Mariia’s husband suffered a wound to his other leg in the Olenivka attack on 28-29 July 2022, which killed at least 50 Ukrainian prisoners and injured 100 more, according to the Russian Defence Ministry, the only source on the casualty figures.
Many of the prisoners at the targeted detention centre belonged to the nationalist Azov regiment as defenders of the steelworks were transferred there following their surrender on 16 May.
Speaking on the day marking two years since their husbands’ surrender, the wives of some Mariupol soldiers who are still prisoners of war (PoW) and whose whereabouts are unknown have spoken to Sky News about the limbo they’re in.
Kseniia Prokopenko’s brother, Ihor, is yet to be buried after being killed in the Olenivka attack – for which Russia and Ukraine have traded blame – at the age of 21.
His body was returned in October 2022, but he had been burned so badly that Ihor couldn’t be recognised.
While the family got a DNA match in May last year, they are still waiting for the results of an independent DNA test before saying their final goodbyes.
“Ihor was not married, he had no children,” said Kseniia. “We still cannot believe that this has happened and we will never see our Ihor again.”
‘Not enough done’
She said she didn’t even know her brother had been transferred to Olenivka when the lists of casualties were released. Ihor’s name was second on the list of those killed.
Kseniia has been campaigning with relatives of PoWs for Ukrainian authorities and the international community to ramp up efforts to protect soldiers in captivity and prevent another Olenivka.
“I realise now that enough wasn’t done two years ago when this terrorist attack happened, to raise this topic so the international community understands that Russia is a terrorist state and it kills and tortures prisoners of war, enough wasn’t done from our authorities,” she said.
As a member of the Olenivka community, she has travelled to Switzerland twice, to meet representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations (UN) and speak at the Swiss parliament.
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Ana Lobov’s daughter was one-month-old when her husband, 32 and another Azovstal defender, left for the frontline.
Read more from Sky News:
Antony Blinken plays ‘Rockin in the Free World’ in Kyiv nightclub
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She recalled how on 31 July, just a few days after the Olenivka attack, her husband’s name, Oleh, appeared on both lists of those killed and those injured. “I didn’t really know what to make of it,” Ana, 29, now based in Zhytomyr, said.
The last time Ana spoke to her husband was on 16 May, the day of the surrender, when he sent her a personal text but didn’t give any information or promise he would return.
‘You could see how tired he felt’
But on 17 August that year, she spotted Oleh in a Telegram video from a hospital in Donetsk.
“That’s how I found out he was alive,” she said. “That was the only time since the start of the full-scale war that I saw him.”
In the video, Oleh said he had shrapnel wounds all over his body and a wound to his hand, Ana said.
“You could see that he’s lost weight and if you looked into his eyes, you could see how tired he felt.”
Through a released prisoner who she spoke to in December that year, Ana was able to obtain some information about her husband, including that he had spent six months in hospital and had been put in isolation after catching a supposed cold.
Speaking of how her daughter would play with a family picture attached to a fridge magnet, Ana said she has now started avoiding talking about her father to her now-toddler girl, Mariia.
But she would probably still “recognise her daddy” if she found any pictures “in the wardrobe or somewhere where I keep them”.
Ana says that ensuring her daughter grows up with her dad “encourages me to continue fighting for the release of my husband and his friends and those people who turned out to being in captivity”.
She went on: “I believed that international organisations were going to visit the victims of the terrorist attack, get reliable lists, that the seriously wounded would be taken from hospitals to a third country, but this did not happen either in a month or almost a year later.”
After the UN fact-finding mission, which had been set up to investigate Olenivka, was disbanded in January 2023, citing the “absence of conditions required for the deployment of the Mission to the site”, Ana took matters into her own hands and created the Olenivka community group.
‘There is still threat to their life’
The group gathers every Sunday to call for an investigation into what happened in Olenivka as members fear it may happen again.
The PoW’s wives are now looking into how they may personally appeal to officials from countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to get their other halves released through negotiations.
The UAE has been mediating in prisoner exchange negotiations, including when more than 200 prisoners on each side were freed in early January, in what Ukraine described as the largest documented swap of troops until then.
According to an Azov brigade commander quoted by local media in February, more than 900 Azov fighters are still in captivity.
“Our biggest fear is that history can repeat itself, that this kind of event can happen once again,” Mariia said, while claiming that despite “constant” efforts to get information from state authorities or the ICRC about her husband, they were never able to help.
“It’s been two years and we still don’t know the Russians logic, why, what made them move these people to this separate barrack and why it happened, why they wanted to kill them,” she said.
“There is still threat to their life and health.”
Anastasiia Gondul, 47, hasn’t had any news of her husband Artem, 41, since she saw him on Russian TV in the August after the Olenivka attack, in which he was reportedly injured.
She knows he had already been severely injured while at the Azovstal plant, with part of a mine believed to still be stuck in his pelvis.
She has now made it her priority to raise awareness of PoWs who, two years on, are still in foreign hands under practically unknown circumstances.
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Anastasiia, who at one point started taking antidepressants to tackle the anxiety of her husband being on the frontline, has travelled to Geneva to address the UN and Red Cross, as well as Poland to speak at the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference, organised by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
She also travelled to Canada, where she visited her daughter and organised a peaceful protest in Montreal and Ottawa.
Anastasiia, Maria and Ana also met the papal ambassador to Ukraine, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, for support.
At the request of the Olenivka group, peaceful protests were held in Winterthur, Milan, London, Wales, Birmingham, Warsaw, Munich, Augsbur, Quebec, Sacramento, Paris, Prague, Madrid, La Coruña and Stockholm.
The women of the Olenivka group hold a peaceful protest every Sunday in cities across Ukraine to ensure the plight of PoWs remains in the public’s conscience.
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The Ukrainian and Russian governments have been approached for comment.
ICRC access to PoWs
An ICRC spokesperson told Sky News it has visited more than 3,000 PoWs on both sides, assessing their condition and treatment.
The ICRC has 26,900 open cases of missing people, both civilians and military. More than 8,700 families have received news from the organisation on their loved ones’ fate or whereabouts.
During visits, “much-awaited news” from families are shared with detainees, while any concerns about their condition will be raised privately with authorities, a statement says.
But the ICRC still doesn’t have “the full access to all PoWs”, with many prisoners and civilian internees still waiting for a visit.
“We continue our efforts to access all of them. We also know that every day is full of uncertainty for their families who are looking for reassurance,” the spokesperson said.
‘Families have the right to know’
The ICRC pointed to how under the Geneva Conventions, it must be allowed to visit all PoWs as many times as needed, but added that it cannot enforce the rules.
“We understand the frustrations of those families who wait in anguish with no news at all. Families have the right to know about the fate of their loved ones, whether they are alive, wounded, or dead.
“Many have waited anxiously for too long – they need answers today. We will not rest until we are able to see all PoWs, not just once, but repeatedly wherever they are held.”
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World
Worst mass shooting in Sweden’s history as around 10 killed at adult education centre
Published
9 hours agoon
February 4, 2025By
adminSwedish police have said around 10 people have been killed at an adult education centre, in what the country’s prime minister said is the worst mass shooting in Sweden’s history.
The attack happened at around 12.30pm local time (11.30am UK time) at Campus Risbergska in the town of Orebro, around 200km (125 miles) west of the capital Stockholm.
A spokesperson told a news conference on Tuesday evening that police believe the “primary perpetrator” is dead and acted alone. They do not expect more attacks, the spokesperson added.
Police said they carried out investigations at various addresses in Orebro, with technical personnel working at the scene.
Sweden shooting latest: ‘Everything points to typical loner attack’
“At present, the police believe that the perpetrator acted alone, but we cannot rule out more perpetrators connected to the incident,” the update on the Swedish police’s website said.
Police also said they do not know the motive but do not believe it is terrorism, adding they “had no warning sign” about the attack.
More on Sweden
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Officers are working to identify the perpetrator and the victims.
The damage at the crime scene was so extensive that investigators were unable to be more definitive on the number killed, said Roberto Eid Forest, head of the local police.
“When it comes to saying anything more about the perpetrator, it is still very early. The operation is ongoing and that will undoubtedly become clearer. But we are working very intensively right now,” Mr Forest said.
He described the attack as a “horrible” incident, calling it “exceptional” and a “nightmare”.
The suspected gunman had not previously been known to police, Mr Forest said..
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Speaking at a press conference this evening, Sweden’s prime minister Ulf Kristersson said the tragedy is the worst mass shooting in the country’s history.
“Today, we have witnessed brutal, deadly violence against completely innocent people,” Mr Kristersson told reporters.
“This is the worst mass shooting in Swedish history. Many questions remain unanswered, and I cannot provide those answers either.
“But the time will come when we will know what happened, how it could occur, and what motives may have been behind it. Let us not speculate,” he said.
Meanwhile, the country’s king Carl XVI Gustaf said the shooting was a “terrible atrocity”.
“We send our condolences tonight to the families and friends of the deceased. Our thoughts at this time also go to the injured and their relatives, as well as to others affected.
“My family and I would like to express our great appreciation for the police, rescue and medical personnel who worked intensively to save and protect human lives on this dark day.”
Police earlier urged the public to stay away from the centre as they were searching and evacuating the premises.
At least five people were taken to hospital. Four underwent surgery – one is critically injured, two are stable and one is lightly injured, police said at an earlier news conference.
Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter said police officers had been shot at, but police said no officers had been shot.
The centre is for students over the age of 20, according to its website. It offers primary and upper secondary school courses, as well as Swedish classes for immigrants, vocational training and programmes for people with intellectual disabilities.
Google Maps shows a number of schools for children in the vicinity.
The shooting happened after many students had gone home following a national exam.
Students were taking shelter in nearby buildings and other parts of the campus were evacuated.
Teacher Lena Warenmark told SVT News that there were unusually few students on the campus on Tuesday afternoon after the exam. She also told the broadcaster that she heard probably 10 gunshots.
Andreas Sundling, 28, was among those forced to barricade themselves inside the school.
Read more: What we know about Sweden shooting so far
“We heard three bangs and loud screams,” he told the Expressen newspaper while sheltering in a classroom.
“Now we’re sitting here waiting to be evacuated from the school. The information we have received is that we should sit and wait.”
Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reported one person trapped in the centre as saying: “We have heard several shots outside.”
The newspaper also quoted a person who had received a text from a teacher at the centre saying “there was a shooting with automatic weapons”.
It said local emergency and intensive care departments are being made ready for casualties.
Fatal attacks at educational establishments in Sweden are rare, with 10 killed in seven incidents between 2010 and 2022, according to the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention.
World
Sweden shooting: What we know after around 10 people killed at adult education centre, police say
Published
9 hours agoon
February 4, 2025By
adminA major police operation is under way after around 10 people were killed at an adult education centre in Sweden.
Authorities have warned the public to stay away from the area in the town of Orebro, around 200km (125 miles) west of the capital Stockholm.
Sweden shooting latest: Follow updates
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0:29
In an update on Tuesday afternoon, police said around 10 people had been killed in the shooting.
The gunman is believed to be among the dead, officers said.
The website for the Swedish police added: “About ten people have been killed in the incident.
“We are currently working on identification. The total number of injured is currently unclear.”
Here is everything we know about the shooting so far.
What happened?
Police were alerted to shots being fired at Campus Risbergska adult education centre just after 12.30pm local time (11.30am UK time) on Tuesday.
The violence broke out after many students had gone home following a national exam. Video footage from the scene showed a large police presence and other emergency vehicles.
In a news conference after 5pm UK time, police said around 10 people had been killed.
Officers added they don’t believe there is a terror motive in the attack, but this is not conclusive.
None of those admitted to hospital are children, according to a separate update on the Orebro regional authorities’ website.
Students that were sheltering in nearby buildings, and other parts of the school, were evacuated following the shooting.
Campus Risbergska serves students who are over the age of 20, according to its website.
Primary and upper secondary school courses are offered, as well as Swedish classes for immigrants, vocational training and programmes for people with intellectual disabilities.
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What we know about the suspect
The suspect remains unnamed, but police confirmed they are a male.
In their evening update, police said they believed the suspect had also died.
He was not known to officers, police said.
A spokesperson added that they cannot rule out that there are more suspected attackers involved.
‘Three bangs and loud screams’
Teacher Lena Warenmark told SVT News that there were unusually few students on the campus on Tuesday afternoon after the exam. She also told the broadcaster that she heard probably 10 gunshots.
Andreas Sundling, 28, was among those forced to barricade themselves inside the school.
“We heard three bangs and loud screams,” he told the Expressen newspaper while sheltering in a classroom.
“Now we’re sitting here waiting to be evacuated from the school. The information we have received is that we should sit and wait.”
Pavel Koubak, a photographer who was in the area at the time of the attack, said that he saw at least three police helicopters in the sky.
“I was talking to a guy riding a bicycle who passed through the area,” he told Sky News presenter Kamali Melbourne.
“He had a friend that was working inside the school that had sent him a text message that there was automatic rifle fire. He was laying down on the floor inside the school.”
Asked whether gun violence was rare in the area, Mr Koubak said it was not.
“We’ve had plenty of shootings around Sweden and also in Orebro in the last couple of years. But, this seems to be sort of a bigger magnitude,” he said.
“I think [the police] are pretty educated on these types of situations nowadays. There was a pretty quick response from the big unit of police and lots of helicopters very, very quickly after the alarm.”
What have the police said?
Police said they carried out investigations at various addresses in Orebro, with technical personnel working at the scene.
“At present, the police believe that the perpetrator acted alone, but we cannot rule out more perpetrators connected to the incident,” the update on the Swedish police’s website said.
Police added that they “had no warning sign” about the attack.
Officers are also working to identify the perpetrator and the victims.
The damage at the crime scene was so extensive that investigators were unable to be more definitive on the number killed, said Roberto Eid Forest, head of the local police.
“When it comes to saying anything more about the perpetrator, it is still very early. The operation is ongoing and that will undoubtedly become clearer. But we are working very intensively right now,” Mr Forest said.
He described the attack as a “horrible” incident, calling it “exceptional” and a “nightmare”.
What has the government said?
Sweden’s prime minister Ulf Kristersson said the tragedy is the worst mass shooting in the country’s history.
“Today, we have witnessed brutal, deadly violence against completely innocent people,” Mr Kristersson told reporters.
“This is the worst mass shooting in Swedish history. Many questions remain unanswered, and I cannot provide those answers either.
“But the time will come when we will know what happened, how it could occur, and what motives may have been behind it. Let us not speculate,” he said.
Meanwhile, the country’s king Carl XVI Gustaf said the shooting was a “terrible atrocity”.
“We send our condolences tonight to the families and friends of the deceased. Our thoughts at this time also go to the injured and their relatives, as well as to others affected.
“My family and I would like to express our great appreciation for the police, rescue and medical personnel who worked intensively to save and protect human lives on this dark day.”
World
Donald Trump’s tariffs: What’s going on and what does it all mean?
Published
9 hours agoon
February 4, 2025By
adminDonald Trump has announced sweeping tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, kicking off a trade war that will affect the globe.
Here we look at the tariffs and what they all mean for the world:
What did Trump announce?
On Sunday the US president said goods from Mexico and Canada will face 25% tariffs, while 10% taxes will be implemented on imports from China.
Canadian energy, including oil, natural gas and electricity, will be taxed at a 10% rate.
Trade war latest: Follow live updates
The levies were expected to all take effect on Tuesday, with Mexico and Canada both announcing counter-tariffs of their own in response.
However, on Monday both Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the implementation of tariffs would be paused for a month after they had calls with Mr Trump.
But Mr Trump has also threatened to go further, saying tariffs on the European Union would be implemented “pretty soon”.
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4:36
When questioned about the UK, the president said Britain was “out of line” when it came to trade but he thought the situation could be “worked out” without the use of tariffs.
What are tariffs, and how do they work?
Put simply, tariffs are taxes on goods brought in from other countries.
By raising the price of imports, tariffs aim to protect domestic manufacturers by making locally made goods cheaper.
Contrary to what Mr Trump has said, it is not foreign countries that pay tariffs, but the importing companies that buy the goods.
For example, American businesses like Walmart or Target pay tariffs directly to the US treasury.
In the US, these tariffs are collected by customs and border protection agents, who are stationed at 328 ports of entry across the country.
To compensate for tariffs, companies then put up their prices, so customers end up paying more for goods.
Tariffs can also damage foreign countries as it makes their products pricier and harder to sell.
This can lead to them cutting prices (and sacrificing profits) to offset levies and maintain their market share in the US.
Why is Trump doing this?
Mr Trump has argued imposing higher levies will help reduce illegal migration and the smuggling of the synthetic opioid fentanyl to the US.
On Mexico, the US leader claimed drug traffickers and the country’s government “have an intolerable alliance” that in turn impacts national security.
He further claimed Mexican drug cartels are operating in Canada.
On China, he said the country’s government provides a “safe haven” for criminal organisations.
He has also pledged to use tariffs to boost domestic manufacturing.
“We may have short term some little pain, and people understand that. But long term, the United States has been ripped off by virtually every country in the world,” he said.
His aim appears to be to force governments in those countries to work much harder to prevent what he calls illegal migration and the smuggling of the deadly drug fentanyl – as appears to have been agreed by Mexico. But, even if the countries do not do what America wants, it will still potentially benefit firms that produce goods in the US.
What could the consequences be?
Mexico and Canada are two of America’s largest trading partners, with the tariffs upending decades-old trade relationships.
Goods that could be affected most by the incoming tariffs include fruit and veg, petrol and oil, cars and vehicle parts and electronic goods.
New analysis by the Budget Lab at Yale University found the average US household would lose the equivalent of $1,170 US dollars (£944) in income from the tariffs.
Read more: This is how US consumers will be affected
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1:10
The research also found economic growth would slow and inflation would worsen, as the tariffs forced up prices.
Immediate consequences were felt on Monday morning, as shares on Asian markets took a tumble.
Japan’s Nikkei opened down 2.9% while Australia’s benchmark – often a proxy trade for Chinese markets – fell 1.8%. Stocks in Hong Kong, which include listings of Chinese companies, fell 1.1%.
UK stocks were also significantly down, with the benchmark FTSE 100 index – containing the most valuable companies on the London Stock Exchange – dropped more than 1.3% on the open.
In Europe, stock markets opened sharply lower while the euro slid 1.3%. The Europe-wide index of companies, the Stoxx 600 dropped as much as 1.5%.
While Mexico’s peso hit its lowest in nearly three years.
‘Very scary path’
Sky News’ data and economics editor Ed Conway said the long-term consequences of a trade war is “everyone gets poorer”, which is what happened to the world before World War Two.
“As countries get poorer, they get frustrated and you get more nationalism,” Conway said, speaking on Friday’s Sky News Daily podcast.
“This is exactly what happened in the 1930s, and the world ended up at war with each other. It is a very, very scary path, and yes, we are basically on a potential of that path.”
However, Conway added one positive of Mr Trump’s tariffs could be highlighting “massive imbalances” within the global economy.
He said Mr Trump may be able to shift the conversation to problems “economists don’t want to talk about”.
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“At the moment, we have a dysfunctional global economy,” he explained.
“You have got massive imbalances like trade deficits [when a country’s imports exceeds the value of its exports] and trade surpluses [when a country’s exports exceeds the cost of its imports].
“There might well be a better way of everyone getting together and having a conversation and working out how to align their affairs, so we don’t have these imbalances in the future.
“And tariffs help to get you to this point.”
How has the world reacted?
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reacted strongly against Mr Trump’s tariffs, saying his country would impose 25% tariffs on $155bn Canadian dollars (£85.9bn) of US goods in response.
He added the move would split the two countries apart, and urged Canadians to choose domestic products rather than American ones.
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Mexican President Ms Sheinbaum posted on X on Sunday to say she had ordered her economy minister to implement tariff and non-tariff measures to defend Mexico’s interests.
She said her government “categorically rejects” the claim it has “alliances with criminal organisations” and called on the White House to “fight the sale of drugs on the streets of their major cities”.
A day later, she posted saying she and Mr Trump had a “good conversation” and “reached a series of agreements”.
These agreements include Mexico sending 10,000 troops to the border to “prevent drug trafficking from Mexico to the United States, particularly fentanyl”.
Mr Trump responded to the agreement with Ms Sheinbaum, saying negotiations between the two will be ongoing to try and achieve a “deal”.
Meanwhile, China has retaliated by imposing 10% tariffs on American crude oil, agricultural machinery, large-displacement cars and pickup trucks.
There will also be 15% tariffs on coal and liquefied natural gas, as well as an investigation into Google.
China also said it is imposing export controls on rare earth metals such as tungsten, tellurium, ruthenium, molybdenum and ruthenium-related items – the country controls much of the world’s supply of such metals, which are critical for the transition to clean energy.
They will not come into effect until Monday 10 February, however.
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0:59
A spokesperson for the UK government reiterated that the US is an “indispensable ally” and one of the country’s “closest trading partners”.
They added that the trading relationship was “fair and balanced”, after Mr Trump criticised the UK, saying it was “out of line”.
European Union (EU) leaders have also taken a strong stance against looming US tariffs.
Kaja Kallas, the chief of foreign policy for the bloc, said there were no winners in a trade war, and if the US and Europe started one “then the one laughing on the side is China”.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz added that the EU is strong enough to “respond to tariffs with our own tariffs”, while French President Emmanuel Macron said declarations by the US were pushing Europe to be “stronger and more united”.
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0:31
What’s the history of trade wars?
Imposing tariffs is not new to Mr Trump, or the US for that matter.
During his first term in the White House, he imposed higher levies on China and Vietnam.
In 2018, he imposed 25% tariffs on imported steel and 10% on imported aluminium from most countries, a response to what he said was the unfair impact of Chinese steel driving down prices and negatively affecting the US steel industry.
China then hit back with retaliatory tariffs on US imports, including 15% on 120 American products such as fruits, nuts, wine and steel pipes and a 25% tariff on US pork and recycled aluminium.
Before that, Democrat Jimmy Carter went so far as to completely ban the sale of wheat to Russia, which remained in effect until Ronald Reagan ended it in 1981.
Read more:
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Trump’s changed tack to focus on Mexico and Canada – why?
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In 2019, Mr Trump also used the threat of tariffs as leverage to persuade Mexico to crack down on migrants crossing Mexican territory on their way to the US.
A study by economists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Zurich, Harvard and the World Bank concluded Mr Trump’s tariffs the first time around failed to restore jobs to the American heartland.
The tariffs “neither raised nor lowered US employment” when they were supposed to protect jobs, according to Sky News’ US partner network NBC News.
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