Trump Turns Up the Heat: 50% Tariff Threat Against Russia, Ultimatums for Canada and Brazil - NATO at the White House, Wall Street on Edge

Washington, mid-July 2025. Once again, Donald Trump is at the center of world politics. Amid global unrest and growing doubts about his course, Trump stands alongside NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, the former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, who is in Washington this week for talks. Rutte is meeting not only with Trump, but also with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and members of Congress. The occasion is explosive: the U.S. is now delivering Patriot missiles to Ukraine. And while Trump still says that Putin "talks nice and then bombs everybody," he is simultaneously preparing his next political strike. Until recently, he had called aid for Kyiv a waste of American taxpayer money. Now he is shifting course. Observers interpret this as a sign of growing pressure - from NATO, from Congress, from reality. And while Trump now sends weapons to Ukraine indirectly via NATO partners, he is also issuing Russia an ultimatum: if there is no peace deal within 50 days, he will impose punitive tariffs on Moscow. It is the first time the U.S. president has openly threatened Russia with economic sanctions of this kind. His words: "If no deal comes, we punish them with tariffs."

But the exchange of blows does not end there. Trump has also announced new tariffs of 30 percent against Mexico and the European Union over the weekend - effective August 1, despite ongoing negotiations. He is threatening Canada with 35 percent, Brazil with 50. Officially as a reaction to alleged "misconduct," unofficially as leverage in the legal dispute over former president Jair Bolsonaro. At the same time, the U.S. Senate is debating a presidential request to cut nearly $1.1 billion from public broadcasting and $8.3 billion from foreign aid programs. The deadline is Friday. Meanwhile, ICE must halt its indiscriminate arrests in seven California counties by court order. Those affected include U.S. citizens, including one man who was detained despite showing his ID. A second ruling prohibits the obstruction of attorneys in a Los Angeles immigration detention facility. The separation of powers is asserting itself - at least for the moment.

International uncertainty persists. The U.S. Senate warned in a report today of a geopolitical vacuum favoring China. Trump’s tariffs against allies, his cuts to global aid programs, and the exclusion of foreign students are seriously undermining U.S. competitiveness. "America’s retreat from the world will have real and lasting consequences for its own people," the report states. China is increasingly setting the global agenda while America dismantles itself.

And yet, the crypto markets are cheering: Bitcoin surpassed the $123,000 mark on Monday. Trump, once a skeptic, has long since become a crypto advocate. His family operates mining facilities, owns stablecoins, buys billions in Bitcoin - and even mints a Trump-coin. Meanwhile, Washington kicks off "Crypto Week" in Congress: a comprehensive bill to regulate the market is up for debate. The stock market is betting on retreat. The S&P 500 remains just below its all-time high. The hope: Trump won’t fully enforce the tariffs to avoid a recession. But the record of his second term is clear - less negotiation, more ultimatum. His threats replace diplomacy, his rhetoric replaces institutions. Critics are openly speaking of an authoritarian course. Economist and Harvard professor Larry Summers warns: "Pluralism and institutional diversity are the backbone of true democracy. They are currently being threatened by an extortionist approach."