WASHINGTON — A triumphant President Donald Trump told Congress on Tuesday that “America is back” after he reshaped US foreign policy, ignited a trade war and ousted tens of thousands of government workers in six tumultuous weeks since returning to power, drawing jeers from some Democrats who walked out in protest.

The primetime speech, his first to Congress since taking office on Jan. 20, followed a second day of market turmoil after he imposed sweeping new tariffs against Mexico, Canada, and China.

At 100 minutes, the speech was the longest presidential address to Congress in modern US history, according to The American Presidency Project.

World leaders were watching Mr. Trump’s speech closely, a day after he paused all military aid to Ukraine in a stark reversal of US policy. The suspension followed an Oval Office blowup in which Mr. Trump angrily upbraided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in front of TV cameras.

The pause in aid to Ukraine has threatened Kyiv’s efforts to defend against Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion three years ago, and further rattled European leaders worried that Mr. Trump is moving the US too far toward Moscow.

Mr. Trump devoted only a few minutes of his speech to foreign policy. He signaled a willingness to press ahead with the minerals deal with Ukraine that was set aside after last week’s disastrous White House meeting.

“Simultaneously, we’ve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace,” Mr. Trump said. “Wouldn’t that be beautiful?”

And he repeated his promises — though without adding detail — to bring peace to the Middle East and expand the Abraham Accords, deals signed during his first term that established relations between Israel and some of its Arab neighbors.

While Mr. Trump has appeared to fault Ukraine for starting the war, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found 70% of Americans — including two-thirds of Republicans — say Russia was more to blame.

Mr. Trump vowed to balance the federal budget, even as he urged lawmakers to enact a sweeping tax cut agenda that analysts say could add more than $5 trillion to the federal government’s $36-trillion debt load. Congress needs to raise the nation’s debt ceiling later this year or risk a devastating default.

The speech shared some of the hallmarks of Trump’s campaign rallies. Mr. Trump repeatedly assailed his Democratic predecessor Joseph Biden, attacked immigrant criminals as “savages” and promised to ban what he called “transgender ideology,” all while peppering his remarks with exaggerated or false claims.

DEMOCRATIC PROTESTS
“To my fellow citizens, America is back,” Mr. Trump began to a standing ovation from fellow Republicans. “Our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed, and perhaps will never witness again.”

Democrats held up signs with messages like “No King!” and “This Is NOT Normal,” and about half the Democrats had walked out by the end of the speech.

One Texas congressman, Al Green, was ordered removed after he refused to sit down.

Mr. Trump, a political brawler by nature, reveled in the disagreements.

“I look at the Democrats in front of me, and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud,” he said after Mr. Green’s ejection.

The speech took place in the House of Representatives, where lawmakers huddled in fear for their lives four years ago while a mob of Trump supporters ransacked the Capitol in an unsuccessful effort to overturn Mr. Biden’s 2020 victory over the then-incumbent Mr. Trump.

The lawmaker Democrats chose to give their rebuttal speech, moderate US Senator Elissa Slotkin, invoked an iconic Republican president in criticizing Mr. Trump.

“As a Cold War kid, I’m thankful it was Reagan and not Trump in office in the 1980s. Trump would have lost us the Cold War,” Ms. Slotkin, a former CIA analyst who won election in Michigan in November even as Mr. Trump car-ried her state, said, referring to President Ronald Reagan. “Donald Trump’s actions suggest that, in his heart, he doesn’t believe we are an exceptional nation.”

MORE TARIFFS COMING
Mr. Trump praised billionaire businessman Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency, which has downsized more than 100,000 federal workers, cut billions of dollars in foreign aid and shuttered entire agencies.

The president credited Mr. Musk with identifying “hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud,” a claim that far exceeds even what the administration has claimed so far. Mr. Musk, seated in the gallery, received ovations from Republicans.

Mr. Trump reiterated his intention to impose additional reciprocal tariffs on April 2, a move that would likely roil financial markets even more.

“Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now it’s our turn to start using them against those other countries,” he said.

On this point, many Republicans remained seated, a signal of how Mr. Trump’s tariffs have divided his party.

Mr. Trump’s 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, two of the country’s closest allies, and an additional 10% on Chinese imports deepened investor concerns about the economy. The Nasdaq Composite is down more than 9% from its record clos-ing high on Dec. 16.

Mr. Trump, who has often taken credit for market increases, did not mention this week’s downturn. He also barely addressed stubbornly high costs, blaming Mr. Biden for the price of eggs and saying he would bring down inflation via increased energy production.

Just one in three Americans approve of Mr. Trump’s handling of the cost of living, according to the Reuters/Ipsos poll, a potential danger sign amid worries his tariffs could increase inflation.

Mr. Trump called on Congress to pass a sweeping $4.5 trillion plan that would extend his 2017 tax cuts, tighten border security and fund massive deportations.

Mr. Trump noted that his administration had already launched a border crackdown, citing February’s record-low total of 8,300 migrant arrests at the US-Mexico border. Those arrests are often used as a proxy to estimate illegal crossings. — Reuters

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told US President Donald Trump on Tuesday that his tariffs on Canadian imports were “a very dumb thing to do” and said Ottawa was striking back immediately at its closest ally.

Mr. Trudeau, who is stepping down at the end of the week, also accused Mr. Trump of wanting to ruin the Canadian economy. Speaking hours after Mr. Trump launched a trade war against Mexico and Canada, Mr. Trudeau announced immediate 25% tariffs on C$30 billion worth of US imports. If need be, Canada will target another C$125 billion worth in 21 days’ time, he said.

“There is absolutely no justification or need whatsoever for these tariffs,” Mr. Trudeau told reporters, adding that Canada would challenge the US measures at the World Trade Organization and through a US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement already in place.

“Canadians are reasonable and we are polite, but we will not back down from a fight, not when our country and the well-being of everyone in it is at stake,” he said.

Mr. Trump responded by saying the Canadian retaliatory tariffs would be met with immediate reciprocal tariffs of the same size.

Mr. Trump has accused Canada of failing to do enough to stem the flow of the deadly fentanyl opioid and its precursor chemicals into the US, an argument Mr. Trudeau called “completely bogus, completely unjustified, com-pletely false.”

Mr. Trudeau’s relations with Mr. Trump, which have never been warm, deteriorated in recent months after the president repeatedly talked of Canada becoming the 51st US state and mockingly referred to Mr. Trudeau as its “governor” rather than prime minister.

Mr. Trump says he is unhappy with the trilateral US-Mexico-Canada trade deal that he signed in his first term. Mr. Trudeau played down the idea of opening talks ahead of a review scheduled for 2026.

“Given that he is choosing to want to ruin the Canadian economy, I don’t know whether to bring forward negotiations, given the situation of such bad faith that we’re in,” said Mr. Trudeau, who warned Canadians that tough times were coming.

Economists say Canada, which sends 75% of all exports to the United States, will plunge into a recession unless the tariffs are lifted quickly.

Mr. Trudeau said Americans would suffer as well, given how tightly the two economies are connected, and he referred to a Wall Street Journal editorial in late January that said Mr. Trump would be launching “the dumbest trade war in history” if he went ahead with tariffs.

“It’s not in my habit to agree with the Wall Street Journal, but Donald, they point out that even though you’re a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do,” said Mr. Trudeau, who will step down as prime minister after the ruling Liberal Party chooses a new leader on Sunday.

The Canadian government will help by expanding employment insurance benefits and giving direct support to businesses, he said.

Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc told the country’s premiers in a virtual meeting later in the day that he will soon announce an initial package of support to mitigate the impact of US tariffs on Canadian workers, families and businesses, Mr. Trudeau’s office said in a readout of the meeting.

Mr. Trudeau and the premiers also discussed ways to reduce internal trade barriers and labor mobility within Canada, according to the readout.

ALCOHOL OFF SHELVES
Mr. Trump’s unprecedented actions threaten to severely damage relations between the three trading partners.

Mr. Trudeau said Canada would also look at non-tariff measures but did not answer directly when asked whether Ottawa might curb exports of crude oil or potash.

“Our focus has to be on getting these tariffs lifted as quickly as possible,” he said.

The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which was forged under Mr. Trump during his first term in the White House and which updated the North American Free Trade Agreement, allows for duty-free trade between the three countries. The pact carries provisions for rules of origin for autos and auto parts and steel-intensive products, among others, and also allows for exceptions related to security.

Canada’s two most populous provinces, Quebec and Ontario, are taking US alcohol off the shelves of provincially run liquor stores.

Ontario Premier Douglas Ford said if US tariffs persisted, the province would also impose a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to New York, Michigan, and Minnesota.

“We need to make sure America feels the pain,” he said.

Tensions are so high that Canadian sports fans have begun booing US teams at ice hockey games.

“We’re going to choose to try to buy Canadian products and forgo bourbon and other classic American products. And yeah, we’re probably going to keep booing the American anthem,” Mr. Trudeau said.

“But let me tell Americans, we’re not booing you, we’re not booing your teams, we’re not booing your players. We’re booing a policy that is designed to hurt us. And we’re insulted and we’re angry … we’re going to fight and we’re going to win.” — Reuters

TAIPEI — Taiwan is learning from companies in Ukraine which continue to operate during the country’s fight against Russia, a senior Taiwan official told Reuters on Wednesday, as the island speeds up contingency planning amid heightened Chinese threats.

China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, despite the objection of the government in Taipei, and has ramped up its military pressure against the island in recent years, including holding several rounds of major war games.

“We hope to learn from Ukraine’s first-hand experiences — how private companies helped build the resilience of its government and society during wartime,” said a senior Taiwan security official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The official pointed to companies in Ukraine including Uber and Microsoft which continued to provide critical services.

Among the ideas Taiwan is taking inspirations from Ukraine for include how to incorporate supermarkets into the government’s supply distribution network and utilizing taxi services for medical emergencies such as blood donations when the health system is overwhelmed.

The official said the government was working to connect companies in Taiwan with their counterparts in Ukraine in order to help Taiwan firms quickly boost their contingency planning.

“We have the will to fight, and now we must also look closely into our will to prepare,” the official said. Taiwan is revamping its air-raid alert and shelter systems, taking into account lessons by northern European countries and Baltic states, the official added.

A closed-door workshop on preparations including stockpiling and civil defense training was held in Taipei this week, which was attended by Taiwan security officials and senior diplomats from countries including the US, Japan, and Australia.

Andy Hunder, who heads the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine and is a speaker at the workshop, told reporters the Taiwan government must establish backup online systems, pointing to Russian cyber attacks aimed at paralyzing Ukraine infrastructure before the first missile attacks. — Reuters

“What we have seen is that during World War Two, the safest place for critical infrastructure was down in the tunnels. Today, the safest infrastructure is in the clouds,” Mr. Hunder said, adding payment services such as Master-card and Visa continued to operate and ensured financial stability.

“Technology, banking, food, delivery, retail – how do you keep the economy running?” he said when asked how the Taiwan government should prepare itself. — Reuters