Trump “couldn’t care less” if car prices rise due to tariffs – National & International News – MON 31Mar2025
Trump “couldn’t care less” if car prices rise due to tariffs.
Mass grave of medics and aid workers killed by Israel discovered in Gaza.
Death toll from Myanmar/Thailand earthquake passes 2000.
NATIONAL NEWS
Trump “couldn’t care less” if car prices rise due to tariffs
In a recent interview, President Trump said that he “couldn’t care less” if car makers raised their prices due to his 25% tariff on foreign cars and auto parts. Trump claimed that if foreign automakers raised their prices, that would drive up demand for American cars.
The trouble is that there really is no such thing as a fully American-made car, even if the manufacturer is an American company. Most automakers that produce cars in the US rely on foreign-made parts. In some cases, individual vehicle components can cross back and forth across the US-Canadian border several times during the production process before the vehicle is finally assembled. Each time this part crosses over the border into the US, it will be taxed at 25%.
Without serious accommodations, the average price of a vehicle in the US could increase by thousands of dollars, up to $10,000 in some cases. Not only that but the increase in price for auto parts will increase the price of repairs and the increased cost of replacing a car will increase the price of auto insurance. Dan Ives of Wedbush securities said that, “The concept of a US carmaker with parts all from the US is a fictional tale that does not exist and would take years to make this concept a reality”.
Trump’s tariffs on foreign cars and car parts are set to go into effect Wednesday along with a sweeping program of tariffs on most of America’s major trading partners. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said today that the threat of tariffs was already extracting “concessions” from some trading partners, hinting that some of the tariffs may not be as drastic as initially announced.
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Mass grave of medics and aid workers killed by Israel discovered in Gaza
Over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel unilaterally ended the ceasefire in Gaza two weeks ago. Over the weekend, workers for the UN’s office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (OCHA) in Gaza discovered a mass grave in Rafah. Inside were the bodies of eight medics from the Palestinian red crescent, six civil defense workers and one UN employee. These first responders had been missing since March 23 when they entered the Tell el Sultan area of Rafah to retrieve the dead and wounded from an Israeli airstrike and ground attack. Another Palestinian red crescent worker is still missing.
Not only were these first responders buried, their vehicles, including ambulances and trucks, had been crushed and buried also. Satellite imagery shows Israeli earthmoving equipment was operating in the area at the time of their disappearance. For days after these first responders disappeared, the Israeli military denied access to UN workers searching for them.
As the bodies were being exhumed, Jonathan Whittall, the head of OCHA in Palestine said, “Seven days ago, civil defense and PRCS ambulances arrived at the scene. One by one, they were hit, they were struck. Their bodies were gathered and buried in this mass grave”. Whittall said, “we’re digging them out in their uniforms, with their gloves on. They were here to save lives. Instead they ended up in a mass grave. These ambulances have been buried in the sand. There’s a UN vehicle here, buried in the sand. A bulldozer – Israeli forces bulldozer – has buried them.”
According to the UN, Israel has killed more than 1000 health workers in Gaza since October 2023.
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Death toll from Myanmar/Thailand earthquake passes 2000
Search and rescue operations continue both in Bangkok, Thailand, and in the city of Mandalay in Myanmar after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck on Friday. The quake was centered near Mandalay and collapsed many buildings there but also caused high rises that were under construction in neighboring Thailand to collapse.
In Myanmar, the ruling military junta has put the current death toll at just over 2000 while the rebel National Unity Government put the death toll at 2418. Due to the ongoing civil war and the tight control of the military junta, it is difficult to get reliable reporting from within Myanmar. For example, the military (known as the Tatmadaw) has not disclosed how many buildings collapsed or what the total damage may be.
Humanitarian groups voiceD concerns immediately after the quake that the Tatmadaw would block aid and international assistance to affected areas. However, Tatmadaw leader General Min Aung Hlaing soon made an open appeal for help from “any organizations and nations willing to come and help the people in need within our country”. National Unity Government figures have urged countries and organizations supplying aid to deliver it directly to affected citizens, fearing that the Tatmadaw would divert or block aid.
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