Sunday, August 23rd

The United States imposed 50% tariffs on about $20 billion in Canadian goods early Saturday after last-ditch trade talks with Ottawa collapsed. Prime Minister Mark Carney suspended negotiations and said Canada will match the U.S. duties “dollar for dollar” with retaliatory tariffs beginning Sept. 8. The U.S. levies cover about 5% of Canada’s annual exports to the United States, including alcohol, hockey equipment and tongue depressors. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Canada declined to finalize a deal; Carney said Washington made last-minute demands on autos, trade policy and sovereignty.

U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas in Manhattan vacated the Trump administration’s January State Department policy suspending immigrant visa processing or issuance for nationals of 75 countries. The policy, issued under Secretary of State Marco Rubio, covered nearly 40% of the world’s nations, including Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Haiti, Somalia, Russia, Afghanistan and Iran. Vargas ruled the policy exceeded Rubio’s statutory authority and violated the Immigration and Nationality Act’s bar on nationality-based discrimination. The order sets aside visa refusals based solely on the policy and requires those applications to receive individual evaluations.

The U.S. Postal Service issued a 95-page final rule requiring states that use USPS for mail-in ballots to provide voter information, including lists of ballot recipients. The rule implements President Donald Trump’s March 31 executive order and says USPS would deliver mail ballots only for states that comply. USPS acknowledged court injunctions blocking enforcement and said it will not apply the rule to this year’s Nov. 3 midterms unless those orders are lifted. The rule is effective Aug. 21, with Federal Register publication set for Aug. 26.