1 US Unveils 'Operation Economic Outcast'
The Trump administration is rolling out what it's calling "Operation Economic Outcast," a sweeping push to further cut Iran off from the global economy. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday announced sanctions on more than 60 people, companies, and ships worldwide that he said help Tehran acquire nuclear and missile technology, move oil, and conduct cyber operations, the Wall Street Journal reports. He said the US would punish countries that do business with Iran. "An economic engagement of any kind with this murderous regime will expose those responsible to the full reach of American power," said Bessent, who warned on Sunday that an "economic D-Day" was on the way. Bessent said Treasury has traced "every node" in Iran's oil-smuggling and sanctions-evasion networks and demanded that all branches of state-owned Bank Melli Iran be shut. He said President Trump is personally lobbying foreign leaders to halt trade with Tehran. "We are level-setting with every country to tell them our expectations. We know who they are. They know who they are," Bessent told reporters.
2 Canada Set To Announce Retaliatory Tariffs On US Today
Canada is preparing to announce new tariffs on U.S. goods after President Donald Trump said he will raise tariffs on Canadian cars, auto parts, steel and trucks to 50-percent starting January 1st, 2027. The move comes as a trade fight between the two countries grows worse after talks broke down over the weekend. A new round of 50-percent U.S. tariffs on some Canadian goods took effect Saturday, covering about $28-billion worth of products. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised to answer those tariffs "dollar for dollar," with Canada’s own tariffs set to begin September 8th. Trump said yesterday that tariffs on Canadian cars and auto parts will rise from 25-percent to 50-percent in January, with the same rate also planned for steel and trucks. Carney said U.S. negotiators asked for too much while giving too little in return, and he accused the Trump administration of using the close economic ties between the two countries as a weapon.
3 Supreme Court Lifts Injunction Preventing Mail-In Ballot Executive Order From Going Into Effect
The Supreme Court has given President Donald Trump a temporary win in his effort to tighten rules for mail voting before the November midterm elections. In a 6-3 ruling yesterday, the court lifted a lower court order that had blocked parts of Trump’s executive order in 23 Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C. The justices said those states sued too early because the federal government had not yet put the new rules fully in place. The order tells the Department of Homeland Security to create state lists of people eligible to vote using federal records. It also calls for new rules for mail ballot envelopes and for states to send voter data to the U.S. Postal Service. A separate court order still blocks some Postal Service changes.