Trump ends Ukraine military aid and begins trade war with Canada, Mexico, China | BBC News

President Trump has suspended delivery of all US military aid to Ukraine. The decision affects supplies of ammunition, weapons and other equipment, including shipments agreed to when Joe Biden was president. If sustained it would be likely to have a devastating impact on Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russian forces occupying the country.

The announcement follows the angry scenes at a news conference at the White House last week, where Donald Trump told Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky that he was disrespectful and ungrateful towards the US and “gambling with a third world war”.

Ukraine’s president responded to news of the suspension of support with a statement on social media in which he said he was “ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership” to negotiate a peace deal with Russia. He also said he would sign up immediately to a deal allowing the United States to exploit Ukraine’s mineral resources.

The Trump administration has also imposed huge trade tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China, something Mr Trump has been threatening since he returned to the White House in January. Washington imposed 25% tariffs on products entering the US from Canada and Mexico, and has increased a levy on goods coming from China.

The Canadian prime minister announced retaliatory tariffs on US exports and warned that the trade war would be costly for both countries. Trudeau accused the US president of planning "a total collapse of the Canadian economy because that will make it easier to annex us. That is never going to happen. We will never be the 51st state," he told reporters.

Reeta Chakrabarti presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Sarah Smith, James Waterhouse and Faisal Islam.

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