Ruling against Trump’s tariffs. A panel of three federal judges yesterday ruled that Trump had illegally used a 1974 law to impose 10 percent tariffs earlier this year after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a previous set of tariffs. The plaintiffs in the case—Washington state and two importers—will see their tariffs immediately dropped, with the ruling paving the way for other importers to legally challenge theirs, too. Trump’s 10 percent tariffs were due to expire in late July.
Labor slump in UK elections. Early results from elections across the UK yesterday suggest the ruling Labor Party lost seats to the right-wing Reform UK party, the Green Party, and nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the “tough” results strengthened his desire to deliver for voters and rejected calls for his resignation from members of his party.
Ukrainian envoys in Miami. Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov met with U.S. officials in Miami yesterday to discuss the status of peace talks with Russia, both sides said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the talks “substantive” in a social media post and said Kyiv aimed to “reinvigorate diplomacy.” Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations have stalled in the wake of the Iran war.
Brazil’s president in Washington. The Trump administration moved to de-escalate tensions with Brazil during a White House meeting yesterday, following major policy clashes last year. Trump wrote the talks with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva covered trade and tariffs and went “very well,” without giving further details; Lula said the pair had discussed trade, crime, and critical minerals.
New sanctions for Cuba... The United States sanctioned a major Cuban military conglomerate, one of its officials, and a Cuban-Canadian nickel mining venture for providing financial support to the island nation’s military regime, Rubio announced yesterday. Washington has pushed Havana to open up politically and economically through a sweeping economic pressure campaign. Cuba’s foreign minister called U.S. actions against Cuba “collective punishment.”
…and for Iraq. The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions yesterday on three senior leaders of Iran-aligned Iraqi militias as well as Iraq’s deputy oil minister over alleged support for Iran. Iraq’s oil ministry denied the allegations and offered to cooperate with any probe. The deputy minister, whom Washington accused of diverting oil, did not immediately comment.
UK espionage case. A London court found two British-Chinese dual nationals guilty yesterday of spying for China against exiled Hong Kong dissidents and pro-democracy supporters. Both defendants denied the charges. The UK government summoned the Chinese ambassador following the verdict. It was one of the UK’s first prosecutions under an expanded national security law.
Taiwan’s defense budget. Taiwan’s legislature passed a bill yesterday allowing for $24.8 billion in additional defense spending between 2026 and 2033. Some of the funds are intended to be used to counter air threats from China. Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party had sought a larger budget to fund the domestic production of weapons, but the opposition bloc had argued money for domestically made weapons should come from the regular budget.
