China hits U.S. with tariffs and Elon Musk’s influence and access questioned: Morning Rundown

China announces retaliatory measures after a 10% U.S. tariff takes effect. Elon Musk’s move to shut down USAID has some questioning his influence. And meet the Black travelers who have found community as they traverse the globe.

Here’s what to know today.

China hits back with its own tariffs; Trump pauses tariffs on Mexico and Canada

China announced retaliatory tariffs on some U.S. goods immediately after a 10% tariff on Chinese imports went into effect at midnight. The Chinese tariffs of 10% and 15% are among a series of measures the government announced, raising the risk of a spiraling trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. 

In its announcement, China said it will impose an additional 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas and a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, large-displacement automobiles and pickup trucks. Beijing also announced an investigation into Google for alleged antitrust violations and export controls on items related to tungsten and other rare earth elements that are critical components of tech products. Read more about China’s retaliatory measures.

The U.S. tariff on China was the only one to take effect after President Donald Trump agreed to delay the 25% tariffs he announced on goods from Mexico and Canada. The 30-day delay came after leaders from both countries announced moves to ramp up security at their borders. Early yesterday, President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexico would reinforce its northern border with 10,000 members of the country’s National Guard to address drug trafficking. Hours later, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada would be spending $1.3 billion on a plan to reinforce its border with new helicopters, technology and personnel, as well as additional resources to stop the flow of fentanyl. 

While Trump administration officials took a victory lap after Mexico and Canada’s announcements, uncertainty still lingers. It remains unclear how the tariff fight will end, and very few Congressional Republicans have commented publicly on whether they support Trump’s efforts despite the effects they could have on Americans’ wallets.

Musk’s influence within the federal government raises concerns

The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, is at the center of a political fight after Elon Musk announced that the government efficiency department would shut down the agency. USAID is the international humanitarian development arm of the government and helps other nations to alleviate poverty, disease and other crises. 

After Musk’s announcement, President Donald Trump suggested USAID had been engaged in “fraud.” By last night, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was appointed as the agency’s acting administrator; Rubio tapped Pete Marocco, the director of foreign assistance at the State Department, to begin reviewing all of the work done by the agency; and Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz said he’d place a “blanket hold” on Trump’s State Department nominees, a move that could significantly slow the confirmation process.

All the while, Musk, the billionaire tech magnate who has never been elected to office or confirmed by the Senate for a high-level government job, is pushing a far-reaching agenda. His designation as a “special government employee,” according to a White House official, allows him to bypass some of the disclosure obligations required of full-time roles. With the encouragement of Trump, he has demanded and been given access to sensitive government databases and the Treasury Department’s payment system with an unprecedented series of bureaucratic maneuvers. 

Now, there are deep concerns among many Democrats and some Republicans that Musk — and DOGE staff members, who are not government workers and therefore are not bound by their ethics and rules — are acting in secret, without accountability and potentially against the law. One former Senate Republican staff member called Musk and Trump’s actions to seemingly ignore the authority of Congress “a potential constitutional crisis.”

Read the full story here.

More politics news:

• Senate committees will vote today on whether to advance Cabinet nominations of RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard to the full Senate. Follow our live blog for updates throughout the day.
• Trump will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today at the White House, the first foreign leader to meet with him since starting his second term.
• Trump appointed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as he continues efforts to consolidate parts of the federal government.
• Darren Beattie, a Jan. 6 conspiracy theorist who has written on social media that “competent white men must be in charge,” has been named to a top post at the State Department.
• More than 1,000 EPA employees were notified by the Trump administration that they could be dismissed immediately.
• Trump announced he would create a sovereign wealth fund, a pool of assets that can help pay out regular funds to ordinary citizens.

Plane crash wreckage recovered from Potomac River

Crews will continue the complex job of removing the wreckage from American Airlines Flight 5432 after it collided with a military helicopter midair and crashed into the Potomac River. Yesterday, crews recovered the plane’s engine and fuselage from the river. Today, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers seeks to lift the plane’s cockpit out of the water. Next, efforts will turn to retrieving the remains of the Black Hawk helicopter. 

The National Transportation Safety Board has recovered training and flight logs for crews from both aircraft and are assembling a timeline of the collision using synchronized data from flight and voice recorders, air traffic controller communications and radar scope, the board said yesterday. It expects to have a preliminary report within 30 days of the incident. Read the full story here.

Read All About It

• The judge presiding over the legal feud between “It Ends With Us” co-stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni declined a gag order request restricting what lawyers can say about the case publicly.
• Men in South Carolina and Pennsylvania have been accused of impersonating ICE officers.
• A 73-year-old woman and decades-long volunteer at Great Smoky Mountains National Park was found dead after she failed to return from a planned hike in the park.
• The Philadelphia Eagles have built one of the most talented rosters in the NFL. Here’s how the team got to this point — and the general manager who helped make it happen.

Staff Pick: Traveling the world and finding friendships along the way

This year for Black History Month, NBC BLK is highlighting the many ways we experience joy as Black people. Contributor Claretta Bellamy went deep into the social media circles that inspire and encourage Black people to pick up their passports and travel abroad. She found skiers flying through the mountains of Japan, people volunteering in African countries and women donning custom saris to celebrate Holi in India. But beyond sharing drool-worthy photos, these thousands of travelers come together as purposeful communities ready to help each other in times of crisis and encourage those who have never crossed an international border to branch out. As Evita Robinson, the founder of Nomadness Travel Tribe put it, “we show up for one another.” — Michelle Garcia, NBC BLK editorial director

NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

On the fence about whether or not you should upgrade your Apple Watch? NBC Select reporter Harry Rabinowitz spent months wearing and testing the latest Apple Watch Series 10 to find out how it differs from past models. Plus, our editors searched the internet to find the best sales of the week.

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