White House Memo: On Foreign Policy, President Trump Reverts to Candidate Trump

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On Foreign Policy, President Trump Reverts to Candidate Trump Photo President Trump’s reversion to his campaign themes comes as he has reshuffled his national security team, ousting aides with more conventional views of American power in favor of more hawkish figures. Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times WASHINGTON — President Trump has been commander in chief for 14 months, but to an uncanny degree, he still sounds like the armchair statesman who ran for the White House in 2016.
“I want to get out,” Mr. Trump said of the United States’ military engagement in Syria, at a news conference on Tuesday with leaders of the Baltic States. “I want to bring our troops back home.”
Mr. Trump’s words were at odds with the strategy his administration is pursuing in Syria. But they were almost verbatim what he said in pre-election tweets, as well as in debates two years ago against Republican challengers and his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.
Far from learning on the job or modifying his view..

White House Unveils Tariffs on 1,300 Chinese Products

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White House Unveils Tariffs on 1,300 Chinese Products Photo A steel factory in Dalian, China. The Trump administration has placed tariffs on a number of items, including electronic touch screens, iron and steel plates, medical devices, aircraft parts, batteries and other Chinese products. Credit China Network/Reuters WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Tuesday that it will place a 25 percent tariff on Chinese products like flat-screen televisions, medical devices, aircraft parts and batteries, outlining more than 1,300 imported goods that will soon face levies as part of a sweeping trade measure aimed at penalizing China for its trade practices.
The move, which stems from a White House investigation into China’s use of pressure, intimidation and theft to obtain American technologies, is likely to inflame an already-simmering trade war between the countries. On Monday, China said it would slap tariffs on 128 American products in response to a separate White House plan to tax stee..

Houthi Rebels Hit Saudi Tanker With Missile to Avenge Deadly Airstrike

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Houthi Rebels Hit Saudi Tanker With Missile to Avenge Deadly Airstrike Photo Supporters of Houthi rebels at a rally in Sana, Yemen, last month to protest Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in their country. Credit Khaled Abdullah/Reuters AL MUKALLA, Yemen — Houthi rebels in Yemen hit a Saudi Arabian oil tanker with a missile on Tuesday, an attack that could escalate the three-year-old conflict even as the leader of the United Nations expressed optimism about renewed diplomacy to end it.
In a statement carried on Al Mayadeen television in Yemen, the Houthis said the missile strike avenged the Yemeni civilians killed Monday in a Saudi aerial assault on Al Hudaydah, the only Yemeni seaport controlled by the rebels. At least 14 people, including children, were killed after they ventured outside their residential building to get some fresh air in the stifling midmorning heat, witnesses said.
The Saudi-led military coalition, which has been bombing the Houthis and their allies since March ..