After months of promises to overhaul or eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency, President Donald Trump is touting a fast and robust federal response to the devastating Texas floods. One former agency leader says it’s “a defining event that can help them realize that a Federal Emergency Management Agency is essential.”
Trump also teased that he’ll declare more tariffs against U.S. trading partners ahead of his latest Aug. 1 deadline for negotiations. The 27-member European Union hopes to seal a trade deal ahead of that date, and meanwhile is preparing retaliatory measures against American products, from beef to Boeing jets.
The Latest:
Russia says threat of US tariffs against BRICS violate free trade principles
Russia’s Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. Wednesday of hinting at potential tariffs against the trade alliance of Brazil, Russia, India and China as a form of political pressure.
Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said unilaterally applying such tariffs would destroy the existing architecture for international economic cooperation. She accused Washington of “hiding” behind principles such as fair competition and national security.
Trump’s threat “grossly violates the rules of the WTO and the principles of free trade, which, until recently, Washington insisted on as a universal truth,” Zakharova told journalists.
Trump teases more letters on trade being sent to US trading partners Wednesday
“We will be releasing a minimum of 7 Countries having to do with trade, tomorrow morning, with an additional number of Countries being released in the afternoon,” the president said Tuesday night in a post on his social platform.
Trump has for several days teased letters listing tariffs that the administration plans to impose on different countries — even as it also continues to negotiate trade deals. So far, Trump’s trade blitz has produced lots of uncertainty but deals with just two countries — the United Kingdom and Vietnam.
▶ Read more about the state of play on Trump’s tariffs
Trump avoids talk of scrapping FEMA after more than 100 killed in Texas flash flood
The president has avoided talking about his plan to scrap the federal disaster response agency after the catastrophic flash flood in Texas that killed more than 100 people, including children attending a girls-only camp.
Asked shortly after the disaster whether he still intended to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Trump said it wasn’t the right time to talk about it. Nor did he mention such plans during a nearly two-hour meeting with his Cabinet on Tuesday.
Instead Trump opened the meeting by having Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem talk about her visit to Kerrville, Texas, a day after floodwaters swept away riverside campers and homeowners in the wee hours of the Fourth of July holiday.
▶ Read more about Trump, FEMA and the Texas floods
The Associated Press
