On today's podcast:
1) Top trade negotiators for the US and China said they came to terms on a range of contentious points, setting the table for leaders Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to finalize a deal and ease trade tensions that have rattled global markets. After two days of talks in Malaysia wrapped up Sunday, a Chinese official said the two sides reached a preliminary consensus on topics including export controls, fentanyl and shipping levies. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking later in an interview with CBS News, said Trump’s threat of 100% tariffs on Chinese goods “is effectively off the table” and he expected the Asian nation to make “substantial” soybean purchases as well as offer a deferral on sweeping rare earth controls.
2) President Trump said he didn’t anticipate meeting with Canada “for a while” as he continued to stew over a TV advertisement by the province of Ontario that criticized his tariff regime. Trump in recent days has said he was increasing the tariff on goods from Canada by 10% over the ad, which features excerpts of former US President Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs. Ontario Premier Doug Ford had said he would stop airing the ad after the weekend, but Trump has expressed frustration that the Canadian leader didn’t move to immediately pull the commercial, which has aired during US broadcasts of the World Series.
3) As the US government shutdown stumbles toward the one-month mark, the effects of the standoff between Republicans and Democrats are being felt further away from the Capitol, as flights back up and food aid dwindles. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that travelers will face more flight delays and cancellations in the coming weeks as the continuing shutdown exacerbates the air-traffic controller staffing crunch.
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