This is an on-site version of the White House Watch newsletter. You can read the previous edition\u00a0here<\/a>. Sign up for free here<\/a> to\u00a0get it on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Email us at\u00a0whitehousewatch@ft.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Good morning and welcome to White House Watch!\u00a0<\/p>\n President Donald Trump is set to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today, with their discussion expected to focus on whether the temporary truce in Gaza will become a permanent ceasefire<\/a>. Until then, let\u2019s get into:<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s tariff rollercoaster<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A potential electricity crisis<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Companies cosying up to Musk<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n After Trump took Mexico and Canada to the brink of trade wars, both nations have managed to defuse his tariff bombs. (At least, for now\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009)<\/p>\n Trump halted sweeping tariffs<\/a> on the US\u2019s two biggest trading partners after separate bilateral phone calls with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.<\/p>\n While the White House tried to frame the deals as concessions by Mexico City and Ottawa, for Trump the pauses represent significant climbdowns \u2014 and not the first<\/a> of his nascent second term.<\/p>\n To placate Trump, both Sheinbaum and Trudeau agreed to put 10,000 personnel at their respective borders to stem the flow of migrants and drugs. With this they secured a 30-day reprieve from levies that would have affected hundreds of billions of dollars a year in trade.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the interim, the US president will dispatch his secretaries of Treasury, commerce and state to hold talks with high-level Mexican officials on trade and security. Meanwhile, the month-long delay on Canadian levies will expire during Trudeau\u2019s final days in office, setting up another round of uncertain negotiations.\u00a0<\/p>\n Markets whipsawed<\/a> yesterday as the US stood on the edge of a new age of protectionism that unnerved allies and investors. However, stocks managed to recoup heavy losses after the tariff delays.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy head hurts,\u201d said one FX trader at a large European bank. \u201c[It was] almost impossible to trade, [there was] too much [news] to process. Buy. No wait, sell. No, actually buy. [Or] just give up,\u201d the person added.<\/p>\n This was on top of the frenzy that took North America by storm over the weekend when panic and anger<\/a> engulfed Mexico and Canada, sparking a huge backlash from business<\/a> and a new wave of economic patriotism<\/a> in Canada.<\/p>\n Mark your calendars for early March, when we could do this all over again.<\/p>\n What questions do you have about Trump\u2019s trade agenda? Write to us at <\/em>whitehousewatch@ft.com<\/em><\/a> with your name and location and we may answer them in a future newsletter.<\/em><\/p>\n\n
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