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Trump is set to announce ‘reciprocal’ tariffs in a risky move that could reshape the economy

WASHINGTON (AP) — After weeks of White House hype and public anxiety, President Donald is set on Wednesday to announce a barrage of self-described reciprocal  on friend and foe alike.

The new tariffs, coming on what Trump has called “Liberation Day,” are a bid to boost U.S. and punish other countries for what he says are years of unfair trade practices. But by most economists’ assessments, the move threatens to plunge the economy into a downturn and upend decades-old alliances.

The White House is exuding confidence despite the political and financial gamble.

“April 2, 2025, will go down as one of the most important days in modern American history,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday. She said the new tariffs would take effect immediately.

Details of Trump’s tariff plans were unclear hours before the president’s scheduled afternoon speech. The S&P 500 stock index was roughly flat in trading Wednesday as investors hoped to have more certainty about his agenda.

The tariffs are expected to follow similar recent announcements of 25% on auto ; levies against , and Mexico; and expanded trade penalties on steel and aluminum. Trump has also imposed tariffs on countries that import oil from Venezuela and he plans separate import taxes on pharmaceutical drugs, lumber, copper and computer chips.

None of the warning signs about a falling stock market or consumer sentiment turning morose has caused the administration to publicly second-guess its strategy.

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has suggested the new tariffs would raise $600 billion annually, which would be the largest tax increase since World War II. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told lawmakers the tariffs would be capped and could be negotiated downward by other countries, according to the office of Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla.

Importers would likely pass along some of the cost of the taxes on to consumers. The Budget Lab at Yale University estimates that a 20% universal tariff would cost the average household an additional $3,400 to $4,200.

The Republican administration’s premise is that manufacturers will quickly increase domestic production and create factory jobs.

Based on the possibility of broad 20% tariffs that have been floated by some White House aides, most analyses see an economy tarnished by higher prices and stagnation. U.S. economic growth, as measured by gross domestic product, would be roughly a percentage point lower, and clothing, oil, automobiles, housing, groceries and even would cost more, the Budget Lab analysis found.

Trump would be applying these tariffs on his own; he has ways of doing so without congressional approval. That makes easy for Democratic lawmakers and policymakers to criticize the administration if the uncertainty expressed by businesses and declining consumer sentiment are signs of trouble to come.

Heather Boushey, a member of the Biden White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, noted that the less aggressive tariffs Trump imposed during his first term failed to stir the manufacturing renaissance he promised voters.

“We are not seeing indications of the boom that the president promised,” Boushey said. “It’s a failed strategy.”

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said the tariffs were a way for Trump to raise revenues in order to pay for his planned extensions of income tax cuts that disproportionately favor millionaires and billionaires.

“Almost everything they do, including tariffs, it seems to me, is aimed at getting those tax cuts for the wealthy,” Schumer said Tuesday.

Even Republicans who trust Trump’s instincts have acknowledged that the tariffs could disrupt an economy with an otherwise healthy 4.1 % unemployment rate.

“We’ll see how it all develops,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. “It may be rocky in the beginning. But I think that this will make sense for Americans and help all Americans.”

Longtime trading partners are preparing their own countermeasures. Canada has imposed some in response to the 25% tariffs that Trump tied to the trafficking of fentanyl. The European Union, in response to the steel and aluminum tariffs, put taxes on 26 billion euros’ worth ($28 billion) of U.S. goods, including on bourbon, which prompted Trump to threaten a 200% tariff on European alcohol.

Many allies feel they have been reluctantly drawn into a confrontation by Trump, who routinely says America’s friends and foes have essentially ripped off the United States with a mix of tariffs and other trade barriers.

The flip side is that Americans also have the incomes to choose to buy designer gowns by French fashion houses and autos from German manufacturers, whereas World Bank data show the EU has lower incomes per capita than the U.S.

“ has not started this confrontation,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “We do not necessarily want to retaliate but, if it is necessary, we have a strong plan to retaliate and we will use it.”

Italy’s premier, Giorgia Meloni, on Wednesday reiterated her call to avoid an EU-US trade war, saying it would harm both sides and would have “heavy” consequences for her country’s economy.

Because Trump has hyped his tariffs without providing specifics, he has provided a deeper sense of uncertainty for the world, a sign that the economic slowdown could possibly extend beyond U.S. borders to other nations that would see one person to blame.

Ray Sparnaay, general manager of JE Fixture & Tool, a Canadian tool and die business that sits across the Detroit River, said the uncertainty has crushed his company’s ability to make plans.

“There’s going to be tariffs implemented. We just don’t know at this point,” he said Monday. “That’s one of the biggest problems we’ve had probably the last — well, since November — is the uncertainty. It’s basically slowed all of our quoting processes, business that we hope to secure has been stalled.”

Leavitt is among three administration officials who face a lawsuit from The Associated Press on First and Fifth Amendment grounds. The AP says the three are punishing the news agency for editorial decisions they oppose. The White House says the AP is not following an executive order to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

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Associated Press writers Mike Householder in Oldcastle, Ontario, Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

AeroVironment stockholders approve $4B acquisition of BlueHalo

AeroVironment, an County-based , announced Tuesday that its stockholders have approved the $4.1 billion of Arlington and tech firm BlueHalo. The deal is expected to close in May.

In November 2024, the company announced was purchasing BlueHalo for approximately $4.1 billion in an all-stock transaction. BlueHalo is owned by private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners and works in space technologies, counter-uncrewed aircraft systems, directed energy, electronic warfare, cyber, artificial intelligence and uncrewed underwater vehicles.

says the transaction is set to close in May, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. On Tuesday, AeroVironment stockholders voted to approve the issuance of its common stock for the .

“Stockholder approval marks an important milestone as we move forward with the acquisition of BlueHalo and accelerate our transformation into the leading next-generation defense technology company,” AeroVironment Chairman, President and Wahid Nawabi said in a statement. “Together, AV and BlueHalo will drive agile innovation and deliver integrated, all-domain solutions designed to redefine the future of defense and address the most important priorities and needs of our nation and allies around the globe. We thank stockholders for their continued support and look forward to closing this transaction and unlocking new opportunities for growth and value creation.”

More than 99% of the shares voted by AeroVironment stockholders were in favor of the acquisition, the company said. Final voting results will be reported in a Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

AeroVironment previously said the combined company will be based at AeroVironment‘s corporate headquarters and that the acquisition will allow for administrative and operational cost savings. The combined company is expected to deliver more than $1.7 billion in revenue.

A previous news release from the company said BlueHalo’s 10 “flagship solution families” and more than 100 patents will integrate with AeroVironment’s expertise in the design, development, , training and servicing of uncrewed systems, loitering munitions, which are also known as suicide drones, and advanced technologies.

TowneBank finalizes $120M acquisition of Village Bank

Suffolk-based has completed its of Midlothian’s and its parent company Village Bank and Trust Financial, the bank announced Tuesday.

When the companies announced the merger in September, they valued the at about $120 million. Village Bank gave  “overwhelming support” for the merger at a special meeting held in December 2024, according to the announcement.

The merged companies will have total assets of $17.8 billion, $14.9 billion in deposits and $12.1 billion in loans, based on financial information reported as of June 30.

“Our TowneBank family is delighted to have our long-time friends at Village Bank join us,” TowneBank Executive Chairman G. Robert Aston Jr. said in a statement. “We look forward to welcoming more members across the greater area and providing enhanced capabilities through the bank and our family of companies.”

The Village Bank locations will operate as Village Bank, a division of TowneBank, until June 2025 when core systems and operations of Village Bank are scheduled to be converted into those of TowneBank.

Village’s former president and , James E. Hendricks Jr., is now a senior executive vice president at TowneBank. Also, Frank E. Jenkins Jr., a member of the Village board, joined the TowneBank board of directors Tuesday.

TowneBank and Village Bank were both founded in 1999. TowneBank has more than 50 locations across Central and Eastern Virginia and North Carolina. Village Bank had nine branch offices serving Richmond and Williamsburg.

As of June 30, 2024, TowneBank had $17.1 billion in total assets and Village Bank and Trust Financial had total assets of $747.7 million.

AeroVironment subsidiary to deliver uncrewed vehicles to German Armed Forces

Arlington County-based contractor announced last week that its subsidiary was awarded “a significant contract” to deliver 41 large-sized advanced uncrewed ground vehicles to the German Federal Armed Forces, with initial deliveries scheduled for this summer and additional orders extending through 2027.

AeroVironment declined to reveal the amount of the contract, citing “customer sensitivity.”

The company says that the telemax HT300 uncrewed ground vehicle was chosen to meet the German Armed Forces’ requirements for explosive ordnance disposal and counter-improvised explosive device missions. The HT300 is built for high-risk operations in complex terrain and offers an advanced manipulator arm, “exceptional” traction, and mobility across uneven, unstable, and shifting surfaces.

“This award marks a major milestone in Telerob’s 30-year legacy of innovation and trusted performance,” said Florian Gruener, managing director of Telerob and product line general manager for uncrewed ground vehicles in a statement. “ is one of the most significant contracts we’ve secured in the past 15 years and further reinforces our longstanding, strategic partnership with the German Armed Forces. These next-generation systems will be built at our state-of-the-art facility in Ostfildern, —delivering the precision, reliability and operational advantage that today’s missions demand.”

AeroVironment specializes in intelligent multi-domain robotic systems, uncrewed aircraft and ground systems, sensors, software analytics and connectivity. The company relocated its corporate headquarters from Simi Valley, California, to in 2021. In November 2024, the company announced it was purchasing and defense tech firm for approximately $4.1 billion in an all-stock transaction.

Peraton taps new chief security officer

Peraton last week announced that has appointed Christy Wilder as its .

In the role, Wilder will develop and execute comprehensive strategies, risk management and mitigation initiatives, incident response preparedness and enterprise safety protocols for the -based federal contractor. She succeeds Mike Londregan.

“ is emerging as a leading-edge technology company that continues to do exceptional work for its customers,” Wilder said in a statement. “I am proud to be part of this team and advance its missions of consequence.”

She previously served as an advisor to Peraton’s mission and health solutions sector, where she focused on identifying and implementing strategies to optimize Peraton’s services in securing the nation.

“We are pleased to welcome Christy to our team,” said Rebecca McHale, Peraton’s chief human resources officer in a statement. “Her exceptional track record of leadership in both the public and private sectors, including her strategic contributions as an adviser to our company, makes her the perfect fit for this role. We are confident that her deep expertise in security, combined with her vision for the future, will continue to strengthen Peraton’s commitment to safeguarding our organization, partners, and customers. We look forward to the incredible impact she will have on our team.”

Before joining Peraton, Wilder founded Wilder and Associates, where she served as a strategic consultant for executives in the security field. Other previous roles include chief security officer at Maxar Technologies, vice president at Leidos, a deputy director of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, deputy director and chief of staff for the National Background Investigations Bureau, and principal adviser to the U.S. director of national intelligence.

“Peraton is emerging as a leading-edge technology company that continues to do exceptional work for its customers,” Wilder said in a statement. “I am proud to be part of this team and advance its missions of consequence.”

Wilder has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in general and theoretical psychology, both from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.

Owned by Veritas Capital, Peraton purchased Chantilly-based IT contractor Perspecta and Northrop Grumman’s federal IT and mission support services businesses in 2021 for a total of $10.5 billion. In 2023, Peraton moved its headquarters from Herndon to Reston. The company has more than 18,000 employees,

Europe says that it holds a lot of trade cards on the eve of Trump’s tariff ‘Liberation Day’

BRUSSELS (AP) — A top European Union official warned the U.S. on Tuesday that the world’s biggest bloc “holds a lot of cards” when comes to dealing with the administration’s new and has a good plan to retaliate if forced to.

U.S. has promised to roll out taxes on imports from other countries on Wednesday. He says they will free the U.S. from reliance on foreign goods.

He’s vowed to impose “reciprocal” tariffs to match the duties that other countries charge on U.S. products, dubbing April 2 “Liberation Day.”

“ has not started this confrontation. We do not necessarily want to retaliate, but if it is necessary, we have a strong plan to retaliate and we will use it,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers.

The commission, the EU’s executive branch, negotiates trade deals on behalf of the bloc’s 27 member countries and manages trade disputes on their behalf.

“Europe holds a lot of cards, from trade to technology to the size of our market. But this strength is also built on our readiness to take firm counter measures if necessary. All instruments are on the table,” von der Leyen said, at a European Parliament session in Strasbourg, France.

The commission already intends to impose duties on U.S. goods worth some $28 billion in mid-April in response to Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs. The EU duties will target steel and aluminum products, but also textiles, home appliances and farm goods.

A lot remains unknown about how Trump’s levies will actually be implemented, notably the “reciprocal” tariffs, and the EU wants to assess their impact before taking retaliatory action.

“So many Europeans feel utterly disheartened by the announcement from the United States,” von der Leyen said. “This is the largest and most prosperous trade relationship worldwide. We would all be better off if we could find a constructive solution.”

No batteries? Thinner packaging? US businesses look for ways to offset tariffs

NEW YORK (AP) — Gadgets sold without batteries. Toys sold in slimmed-down boxes or no packaging at all. More household goods that shoppers need to assemble themselves.

These are some of the ways consumer product companies are retooling their wares to reduce costs and avoid raising prices as President Donald Trump levies new import on key trading partners as well as some materials used by American manufacturers.

The economic environment in which the president has imposed, threatened and occasionally postponed repeated rounds of is more precarious than during his first term. U.S. consumers are feeling tapped out after several years of inflation. Businesses say tariffs add to their expenses and eat into their profits, but they are wary of losing sales if they try to pass all of the increase on to customers.

Instead, some companies are exploring cost-cutting options, both ones that consumers likely would notice in time — remember “shrinkflation?” — and ones that exist too far down the supply for them to see. The changes may help minimize price increases yet won’t be enough in every case to offset them completely.

These are some of the strategies retailers and brands have in mind:

A kink in the supply chain:

After putting an extra 20% tariff on all goods from , as well as a 25% tariff on imported steel, aluminum and automobiles, said he would announce on Wednesday the targets of “reciprocal tariffs” that mirror the taxes all other nations apply to certain U.S. .

He argues the tariffs will spur domestic , among other goals.

Also on the horizon: twice-delayed tariffs on most goods from Canada and Mexico, and duties on copper, lumber and pharmaceutical drugs.

Kimberly Kirkendall, president of supply-chain consulting firm International Resource Development, has told clients — U.S. makers of shelving, home goods and food products — that given all the uncertainty, this is not the time for long-term moves like seeking factories outside of China.

She encouraged them to focus on the short term, particularly the need to scrutinize product lines from every angle for possible savings.

“You’ve got to collaborate and work together with your suppliers in this situation to be able to bring costs down,” Kirkendall said.

Sourcing concerns are not only a worry for big companies that rely on Chinese manufacturers. Sasha Iglehart, founder of a small online clothing company called Shirt Story, has a collection of upcycled men’s shirts that sell for around $235. She said she typically gets her vintage buttons from an Austrian supplier and knows Trump has talked about taxing goods from the European Union.

“I will continue to look for local vendors and collectors here in the States as back up,” said Iglehart, whose company is based in Connecticut.

Reworking a product

For many companies, evaluating which components or details they can remove from their products or replace with less expensive ones is the go-to move for absorbing the potential financial hit from tariffs.

Los Angeles-based toy company Abacus Brands Inc., which designs science kits and other educational toys, has most of its products made in China. By using slightly thinner paper in an 80-page project book that comes with two of its kits, the company expects to avert a $10 price increase, President Steve Rad said.

“Three or 4 cents here,” Rad said. “Seven or 6 cents there. Two more pennies over there. All of a sudden, you’ve made up the difference.”

Aurora World Inc., known for its plush pets and toy vehicles, is looking at using fewer paint colors as a way to counteract tariff costs, according to Gabe Higa, managing director of the California company’s toy division. All of Aurora World’s toys come from factories in China.

“This is something that makes a little bit simpler so that there’s less manual labor involved or less material cost,” Higa said. “(It) doesn’t have a lot of incremental value so it’s easy to take away.”

The company still may have to raise prices as long as the new tariffs are in effect, he said.

Economy packaging:

Tweaking or reducing product packaging is another area where importers may cut back and carries the advantage of possibly appealing to eco-conscious customers.

Basic Fun CEO Jay Foreman, whose company markets classic toys like Tonka trucks, Lincoln Logs and Care Bears, said he is presenting retailers with three different packaging options and asking them to decide which ones they prefer for the trucks and some other products that will be in stores next spring.

The first is the current packaging, which consists of a box with a big open window that lets customers see what’s inside. The second option: no box, just a tray attached to the bottom of toys to hold them in place on shelves. The third: unwrapped but affixed with a simple paper price tag that features brand information.

The second-tier packaging would reduce the toy company’s cost per item by $1.25, and the package-free version would yield savings of $1.75, Foreman said. Both would diminish the appeal of the products and would not come close to canceling out the tariff on goods made in China, Foreman said.

He said he would make pricing decisions later this week after Trump provides details about his planned reciprocal tariffs.

To further reduce its production costs, Abacus Brands is thinking of switching from plastic to cardboard for the package inserts that keep toy parts in place. Cardboard trays cost 7 cents per unit compared to 30 cents for the plastic version, according to Rad.

The change requires finding a new factory to make the inserts, a move that did not make financial sense before now, he said. The various tariff-related modifications should be effective for fall and holiday deliveries to stores, Rad said.

“The compromises we’re making are things that do not matter to the consumer,” he said.

Forget the extras

Shoppers will likely have to assemble more of their products at home as companies look to reduce costs, according to Kirkendall of International Resource Development.

One of her clients manufactures self-watering planters that are made in China. The product is undergoing a redesign so it can be shipped as separate nesting components instead of fully assembled.

Companies also are reevaluating the pieces of their products that are essential or extra. Chris Bajda, managing partner at online wedding gift retailer Groomsday, said accessories like batteries and decorative gift boxes may end up in the latter category.

“We now carefully assess what’s truly necessary and avoid including items that don’t serve a functional purpose for the customer,” Bajda said.

The return of shrinkflation?

Reducing the size or weight of products without lowering prices proliferated as a business practice from 2021 through 2024 as companies grappled with rising costs for ingredients, packaging, labor and transportation.

Edgar Dworsky, a consumer advocate and former assistant attorney general in Massachusetts, suspects the makers of consumer goods will embrace shrinkflation again to hide costs given the blast of new tariffs. The additional import tax on Canadian soft lumber, for example, might show up in smaller toilet paper rolls, he said.

“Shrinkflation has been a little quiet” in the last few months, Dworksy said. “But I would expect to see both price increases and product shrinkage.”

Restaurant chain Hooters goes bust and files for bankruptcy protection

Hooters is going bust.

The U.S. restaurant , known for chicken wings and its skimpy “Hooters Girls” wait-staff outfits, has filed for protection. HOA Restaurant Group filed the motion for Chapter 11 protection Monday in the North Texas Bankruptcy Court in Dallas.

‘s the latest legacy to run into financial trouble amid high food and labor prices, changing customer tastes and growing competition from newer casual chains like Shake Shack.

Red Lobster, TGI Fridays and Buca di Beppo all filed for bankruptcy protection last year, while the Tex-Mex chain On the Border filed for bankruptcy protection last month.

Under the bankruptcy plan, 100 company-owned U.S. would get sold to a group of Hooters franchisees. The franchisees, who include Hooters’ founders, currently operate 14 of the 30 highest-volume Hooters restaurants in the U.S., the company said.

“For many years now, the Hooters brand has been owned by private equity firms and other groups with no history or experience with the Hooters brand,” Neil Kiefer, of the group Hooters Inc., said in a statement. “As a result of these transactions, the Hooters brand will once again be in the hands of highly experienced Hooters franchisees and we will be well-positioned to return this iconic brand to its historic success.”

Hooters said franchisees or licensing partners would continue to operate all existing locations, including those outside the U.S. There are more than 420 Hooters restaurants in 29 countries.

Hooters, based in Atlanta, Georgia, was founded in Clearwater, Florida, in 1983 by six businessmen with no food service experience who claimed they wanted to run a restaurant they couldn’t get kicked out of.

But its business strategy has faced challenges over the years, including lawsuits over hiring only “Hooters Girls” to serve customers. In 2017, the company tried opening a restaurant that didn’t feature servers in tight tops as a test of a different approach to its original concept.

Last year, Hooters agreed to pay $250,000 to settle a race and color discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. According to the lawsuit, a Hooters in North Carolina laid off 43 employees during the COVID pandemic, but recalled primarily white employees and Black employees with lighter skin tones once it began rehiring workers.

The company has also been forced to scale back as its financial woes mounted. In 2019, the Hooters hotel-casino off the Las Vegas Strip was sold to an Indian hotel company and rebranded as the OYO Hotel and Casino. Last year, the company closed around 40 underperforming U.S. locations.

Hooters had sponsored the No. 9 NASCAR car driven by Chase Elliott since 2017, but last year, Hendrick Motorsports ended its ties to the longtime sponsor because it was not meeting its financial commitments.

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Elaine Kurtenbach reported from Bangkok. Dee-Ann Durbin reported from Detroit.

Federal prosecutors to seek death penalty for Luigi Mangione in UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killing

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday that she has directed prosecutors to seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione, the man accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, following through on the president’s campaign promise to vigorously pursue capital punishment.

is the first time the Justice Department has sought to bring the death penalty since returned to office in January with a vow to resume federal executions. Bondi’s decision to do so in the high-profile case against Mangione, who has drawn a following of supporters upset with the health care industry, underscores the attorney general’s commitment to carrying out the president’s push for new death penalty cases.

oversaw an unprecedented run of executions at the end of his first term and has been an outspoken proponent of expanding capital punishment. Bondi’s order comes weeks after she lifted a moratorium on the federal death penalty that that had been imposed under former President Joe Biden’s administration.

“‘s of Brian Thompson — an innocent man and father of two young children — was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America,” Bondi said in a statement that described Thompson’s as “an act of political violence.”

Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate, is accused of gunning down Thompson in December outside a Manhattan hotel where was about to hold an investor conference. Thompson, who was 50 and had two children in high school, worked for decades within UnitedHealthcare and its parent company.

Mangione, faces separate federal and state murder charges for the killing, which rattled the business community while galvanizing health critics. The federal charges include murder through use of a firearm, which carries the possibility of the death penalty. The state charges carry a maximum punishment of life in prison. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to a state indictment and has not entered a plea to the federal charges.

Prosecutors have said the two cases will proceed on parallel tracks, with the state case expected to go to trial first. It wasn’t immediately clear if Bondi’s announcement will change the order.

A message seeking comment was left for a spokesperson for Mangione’s lawyers.

Thompson’s killing alarmed the corporate world, where some health insurers hastily switched to remote work or online shareholder meetings. The case also channeled some Americans’ frustrations with health insurance companies. Mangione’s writings and words on bullets recovered from the scene reflected animus toward health insurers and corporate America, authorities have said.

Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson from behind. Police say the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were scrawled on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase commonly used to describe insurer tactics to avoid paying claims.

Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of New York City, after a five-day manhunt.

Police said Mangione had with him a 9mm handgun that matched the one used in the shooting and other items including a fake ID and a notebook described by authorities as a “manifesto” in which they say he expressed hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives.

Among the entries in the notebook, prosecutors said, was one from August 2024 that said “the target is insurance” because “it checks every box” and one from October that describes an intent to “wack” an insurance company .

UnitedHealthcare is the largest health insurer in the U.S., though the company said Mangione was never a client.

Mangione’s lawyer, Karen Friedman-Agnifilo, has said she would seek to suppress some of the evidence seized during his arrest. She has also taken issue with the parallel prosecutions, accusing “warring jurisdictions” of turning Mangione into a “human ping-pong ball.”

After his arrest, Mangione was whisked by plane and helicopter back to New York and walked slowly up a Manhattan pier in a highly choreographed spectacle by a throng of officers with assault rifles and a contingent that included New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office on Jan. 20 that compels the Justice Department to seek the death penalty in federal cases where applicable. Trump’s administration carried out 13 federal executions during his first term, more than under any president in modern history.

Biden campaigned on a pledge to work toward abolishing federal capital punishment but took no major steps to that end. While Attorney General Merrick Garland halted federal executions in 2021, Biden’s Justice Department at the same time fought vigorously to maintain the sentences of death row inmates in many cases.

In his final weeks in office, Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 on federal death row, converting their punishments to life in prison. The three inmates that remain are Dylann Roof, who carried out the 2015 racist slayings of nine Black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; 2013 Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev; and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018, the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S history.

If Trump tariffs linger, Va. maritime industry will feel pain, experts say

With President Donald ‘s self-branded “Liberation Day” anticipated to bring a rollout of new tariffs April 2 that Trump says will free the United States of dependence on foreign-made goods, many businesses and citizens are wondering what will happen next, with skyrocketing consumer prices and supply costs among their worries.

On Monday, the president said he had settled on a plan for his latest group of tariffs but did not offer specifics. As of April 1, Trump has imposed 25% levies on imported steel and aluminum, and increased tariffs on Chinese-made goods by 10%. He placed 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and but quickly suspended those actions, and on March 26, Trump said he would impose 25% tariffs on imported automobiles and parts, set to go into effect April 3.

In Virginia, concerns about tariffs extend to the state’s significant industry. According to the Port of Virginia’s 2024 annual financial report, port-related business directly and indirectly contributes to Virginia’s economy with more than 565,000 jobs, $124.1 billion in total spending and $5.8 billion in state and local tax revenues.

Virginia Commonwealth University’s Brett Massimino, associate professor of supply and analytics in VCU’s business school, and -based Mills Marine & Ship Repair President and General Manager Donald Mills recently shared their thoughts on Trump’s war and the potential impact of U.S. and retaliatory tariffs on Virginia’s maritime, logistics and industries.

For more from Massimino, Mills and other Virginia maritime leaders, look for Virginia Business’ annual Virginia Maritime Guide coming out in May.

Virginia Business: There’s been a lot of talk about tariffs since January, but ‘s not clear what their impact could be. Do you expect tariffs from the Trump administration, as well as retaliatory tariffs from other countries, to affect Virginia’s supply chain and logistics businesses?

Brett Massimino: If the tariffs and retaliatory measures in place as of this writing remain permanent (which is a big if), then yes, I believe Virginia’s supply chain and logistics businesses will experience significant impacts. Importing costs would likely increase, and the complexity of cost accounting and tracking would also rise, leading to higher indirect costs for .

However, the losses in the maritime industry due to reduced imports and exports could be partially offset by growth in domestic transportation modes, such as rail and trucking, as demand for these services increases. Overall, however, I would expect an increase in costs throughout the supply chain as a result of the tariffs, regardless of whether production is ultimately relocated.

VB: Would long-term tariffs impact jobs in the maritime industry?

Massimino: Recent tariffs could also affect the maritime logistics industry by reducing import activity. If the tariffs successfully shift manufacturing to the U.S., demand for imports may decline, leading to fewer jobs for port workers, route planners and sailors. Although the long-term effects of tariffs remain uncertain, they could significantly impact the maritime job market.

VB: How would tariffs affect your company if they are long-term?

Donald Mills: Long-term tariffs and retaliatory tariffs present substantial risks to Mills Marine & Ship Repair by significantly impacting material costs, supply chain reliability, and overall competitiveness. Our operations depend heavily on imported steel, aluminum, and specialty marine components, making us particularly vulnerable to tariff-driven price increases. Sustained tariffs would force us to absorb increased material expenses, compromising profitability, or alternatively, pass these costs onto customers, potentially reducing our market competitiveness.

To mitigate these potential impacts, we actively pursue diversified sourcing strategies, domestic supply chain enhancements and increased operational efficiencies. Advocacy for trade policies favorable to small businesses remains essential. Ultimately, prolonged tariffs necessitate strategic adaptability, underscoring our commitment to innovative operational management and proactive engagement with policymakers to safeguard our business and broader maritime economic contributions.