Key events
Republican and Democratic politicians have called on the Trump administration to bar American citizens and businesses from supporting Chinese and Russian civilian intelligence and security agencies, Reuters reports.
Congress approved a law in ۲۰۱۸ banning Americans from providing support to foreign military intelligence agencies but leaving the door open to such aid for similar civilian-led organisations. In ۲۰۱۹, Reuters revealed the United Arab Emirates had hired over a dozen former US intelligence operatives to hack dissidents, journalists, and Americans.
Rules implementing a ۲۰۲۲ congressional measure to bolster controls have not yet been finalised, leaving “glaring loopholes that harm US national security and foreign policy interests,” Democratic Senator Ron Wyden and Republican John Cornyn wrote in a letter addressed to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Opening summary
Canada said it will announce its response to Donald Trump’s new tariffs, as the neighbours that used to be close allies spiral into a trade war.
Canadian PM Mark Carney said on Monday that while American negotiators saw the French language in Canada as an “irritant … in Quebec, these are rights,” days after receiving widespread praise from political leaders for rejecting a US trade proposal that many perceived as weakening the country’s Francophone culture.
The prime minister’s remarks came hours after Trump showed little interest in retreating from the spat, posting on social media that Canada had been “ripping off the United States of America for years” and threatening a swath of new, economically devastating tariffs on cars and trucks.
Carney instructed his negotiators to walk away from trade talks last week. Tariffs on an array of Canadian products took effect over the weekend, affecting around ۵% of Canada’s exports to the US, and Canada said it will retaliate in early September.
Quebec’s premier, Christine Fréchette, said Carney had made the right decision in walking away from talks that looked to cross a “red line” for Francophones. On Monday, Trump’s top trade representative, Jamieson Greer, called reports that French language protections were up for debate a “a funny fake story”.
“That is not true,” Greer told CNBC. “I like the Quebecois and I like that they speak French.”
Also in US news today:
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Darline Graham and Ralph Norman face South Carolina voters yet again in a special Republican primary runoff to replace the late Lindsey Graham in the Senate, one month after his sudden death. Darline Graham is a political newcomer now serving as interim replacement for her brother. She has struggled to define herself to voters who routinely backed her brother. Norman has stressed his experience servicing in state and federal office.
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Tulsa businessman Mike Mazzei is hoping to win a hotly contested Republican primary runoff for Oklahoma governor against state Attorney General Gentner Drummond. Trump has endorsed Mazzei and sharply attacked Drummond. The winner will face Oklahoma House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson in a vote to be governor of the deeply conservative state.
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The Supreme Court is siding with the Trump administration in a case over Trump’s executive order restricting mail-in voting, though it remains unclear how much can be implemented before the fast-approaching midterm elections. The US Postal Service laid out its plan for implementing the order last week, but time is running short to impose major changes.
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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Trump had congratulated Ukraine on its independence day. The message that Zelenskyy shared on X read: “Let us seize this moment to end the conflict and build a durable, lasting peace that unleashes the tremendous potential of Ukraine for generations to come.” Zelenskyy said on Sunday that his country is receiving substantially fewer Patriot defence systems, even as Russian ballistic attacks are increasing.
