• President Donald Trump shrugged off concerns that his auto tariffs will cause carmakers to raise prices, saying he couldn’t care less if they do. In an interview with NBC News, he added that, “I hope they raise their prices, because if they do, people are gonna buy American-made cars.” But even cars assembled in the US have foreign-made parts.

President Donald Trump said his new auto tariffs are permanent and shrugged off concerns that they will cause carmakers to raise prices.

In an interview with NBC News on Saturday, he was asked about a recent Wall Street Journal report that said he warned auto CEOs not to hike prices while discussing tariffs with them.

“No, I never said that. I couldn’t care less if they raise prices, because people are going to start buying American-made cars,” Trump replied.

He added, “I couldn’t care less. I hope they raise their prices, because if they do, people are gonna buy American-made cars. We have plenty.”

Trump later said if prices on foreign cars go up, then consumers will buy American cars.

He also confirmed the tariffs are here to stay, saying, “Absolutely, they’re permanent, sure. The world has been ripping off the United States for the last 40 years and more. And all we’re doing is being fair, and frankly, I’m being very generous.”

Foreign-made auto parts would also be hit with a 25% tariff, but vehicles and parts imported under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement trade deal will not see duties until the government establishes a process for imposing them, the White House has said.

US and foreign automakers have closely integrated supply chains that span North America. During the manufacturing process, cars and parts can cross between the US, Mexico and Canada multiple times.

Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives has estimated that cars could go up by $5,000 to $10,000 because of the auto tariffs, depending on whether a vehicle is a mass-market or premium brand.

“Every automaker in the world will have to raise prices in some form selling into the U.S., and the supply-chain logistics of this tariff announcement heard around the world is hard to even put our arms around at this moment,” he wrote in a research note on Friday.

While the White House has said tariffs are meant to revitalize the US industrial base, Ives is skeptical that car manufacturing can be completely reshored.

That’s because even cars built in America come equipped with foreign-made parts and components that constitute 40% to 50% of their value. 

“A U.S. car with all U.S. parts made in the U.S. is a fictional tale not even possible today,” he added.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

France’s trade ministry condemned “unacceptable” US interference Saturday after the American embassy in Paris sent several French firms letters warning against using the diversity programmes known as “DEI”, a frequent Donald Trump target.

The letters, sent to French companies currently doing or looking to do business with the United States, included an attached questionnaire asking firms to certify that they “do not practice programmes to promote diversity, equity and inclusion”, or DEI.

The questionnaire, which was shared with AFP, added that such programmes “infringe on applicable federal anti-discrimination laws” in the United States, where Trump signed an order banning federal DEI programmes the day he returned to office for his second term as president.

France, already bristling at Trump’s moves to slap hefty tariffs on imports, hit back through the ministry of foreign trade.

“US interference in French companies’ inclusion policies is unacceptable, just like its unjustified tariff threats,” the ministry said.

“France and Europe will defend their companies, their consumers, but also their values.”

Designed to provide opportunities for Blacks, women and other historically excluded groups, DEI programmes have drawn the wrath of Trump and his followers, who say they are discriminatory and incompatible with meritocracy.

The letter, first published Friday by newspaper Le Figaro, told companies that Trump’s January 20 executive order against DEI programmes “also applies to all contractors and suppliers of the US government, regardless of nationality or country of operations”.

It gives them five days to fill out, sign and return the questionnaire.

Economy Minister Eric Lombard’s office said the letter “reflects the values of the new US government”.

“They are not ours,” it said. “The minister will remind his US counterparts of that.”

‘Attack on our sovereignty’

It was unclear how many companies got the letter.

The economy ministry estimated “a few dozen” had received it, but said it did not yet have a final figure.

The US embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

As published in the press, the letter was not on US embassy letterhead.

“If companies received it in that format, it’s not an official communication, much less a diplomatic one,” Christopher Mesnooh, an American business lawyer based in Paris, told AFP.

The US government cannot force French companies to follow its laws, added Mesnooh, from law firm Fieldfisher.

“French companies won’t now be required to apply US labour law or federal law against affirmative action policies,” he said.

In fact, most affirmative action policies are illegal in France, which bans treatment based on origin, ethnic group or religion, though many large companies have sought to diversify their recruitment pools.

France does however require companies with more than 1,000 employees to promote equality for women under a 2021 law, with benchmarks such as having at least 30 percent women executives.

That means a French company that adheres to the requirements stipulated in the US letter could risk breaking the law in France.

The head of French business group CPME, Amir Reza-Tofighi, called the letter an “attack on the sovereignty” of France, and urged political and business leaders to “stand together” against it.

Gerard Re of French labour confederation CGT called on the government “to tell companies not to adopt any policy that hurts equality between men and women or the fight against racism”.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

A unilateral partial ceasefire to facilitate earthquake relief efforts was announced on Saturday by Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government, which coordinates the popular struggle against the ruling military. The country’s death toll from the disaster soared to 1,644.

The figure was a sharp rise compared to the 1,002 announced just hours earlier, highlighting the difficulty of confirming casualties over a widespread region and the likelihood that the numbers will continue to grow from Friday’s 7.7 magnitude quake. The number of injured increased to 3,408, while the missing figure rose to 139.

The number of dead also rises in Thailand

In neighboring Thailand, the death toll increased to 10. The quake rocked the greater Bangkok area, home to around 17 million people, and other parts of the country. Many places in the north reported damage, but the only casualties were reported in Bangkok, the capital.

Nine of the fatalities were at the site of the collapsed high-rise under construction near Bangkok’s Chatuchak market, while 78 people were still unaccounted for.

On Saturday, more heavy equipment was brought in to move the tons of rubble, but hope was fading among friends and relatives.

“I was praying that that they had survived, but when I got here and saw the ruin — where could they be? said 45-year-old Naruemol Thonglek, sobbing as she awaited news about her partner, who is from Myanmar, and five friends who worked at the site.

Aid efforts in Myanmar hindered by damage to airports

In Myanmar, rescue efforts so far are focused on the major stricken cities of Mandalay, the country’s No. 2 city, and Naypyitaw, the capital.

But even though teams and equipment have been flown in from other nations, they are hindered by damage to airports. Satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press show that the earthquake toppled the air traffic control tower at Naypyitaw International Airport as if sheered from its base.

It wasn’t immediately clear if there had been any casualties from its collapse.

Myanmar’s civil war also an obstacle

Another major complication is the civil war roiling much of the country, including the quake-affected areas. In 2001, the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking what has since turned into significant armed resistance.

Government forces have lost control of much of Myanmar, and many places are incredibly dangerous or simply impossible for aid groups to reach. More than 3 million people have been displaced by the fighting and nearly 20 million are in need, according to the United Nations.

The interplay of politics and disaster was demonstrated Saturday night, when Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government announced a unilateral partial ceasefire to facilitate earthquake relief efforts.

It said its armed wing, the People’s Defense Force, will implement a two-week pause in offensive military operations starting Sunday in earthquake-affected areas and it would also collaborate with the U.N. and international nongovernmental organizations “to ensure security, transportation, and the establishment of temporary rescue and medical camps,” in the areas it controls.

The resistance organization said it reserved the right to fight back in defense if attacked.

Extensive damage in cities

The earthquake struck midday Friday with an epicenter not far from Mandalay, followed by several aftershocks, including one measuring 6.4. It sent buildings in many areas toppling to the ground, buckled roads and caused bridges to collapse.

In Naypyitaw, crews worked Saturday to repair damaged roads, while electricity, phone and internet services remained down for most of the city. The earthquake brought down many buildings, including multiple units that housed government civil servants, but that section of the city was blocked off by authorities on Saturday.

An initial report on earthquake relief efforts issued Saturday by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that it’s allocating $5 million from a Central Emergency Response Fund for “life-saving assistance.”

The immediate planned measures include a convoy of 17 cargo trucks carrying critical shelter and medical supplies from China that is expected to arrive on Sunday, it said.

It noted the severe damage or destruction of many health facilities, and warned of a “severe shortage of medical supplies is hampering response efforts, including trauma kits, blood bags, anaesthetics, assistive devices, essential medicines, and tents for health workers.”

Allies bringing in rescue crews and relief materials

Myanmar’s friends and neighbors have already brought in rescue personnel and relief materials. China and Russia are the largest suppliers of weapons to Myanmar’s military, and were among the first to step in with humanitarian aid.

In a country where prior governments sometimes have been slow to accept foreign aid, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, head of the military government, said that Myanmar was ready to accept outside assistance.

China said it has sent more than 135 rescue personnel and experts along with supplies like medical kits and generators, and pledged around $13.8 million in emergency aid. Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said that it had flown in 120 rescuers and supplies, and the country’s Health Ministry said Moscow had sent a medical team to Myanmar.

Other countries like India, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore are also sending help, and U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that Washington was going to help with the response.

The ceasefire plan announced by the opposition National Unity Government also proposed to provide health care professionals loyal to its resistance movement to work with international humanitarian organizations to deliver emergency rescue and medical services in areas under the military’s control, if provided with safety guarantees.

The military has heavily restricted much-needed aid efforts to the large population already displaced by war even before the earthquake. Sympathizers of the resistance have urged that relief efforts incorporate aid freely transported to areas under the control of the resistance, so it can’t be weaponized by the army.

There was no immediate comment by the military to the announcement.

Military forces continued their attacks even after the quake, with three airstrikes in northern Kayin state, also called Karenni state, and southern Shan — both of which border Mandalay state, said Dave Eubank, a former U.S. Army Special Forces soldier who founded the Free Burma Rangers, a private aid organization.

Eubank told the AP that in the area he was operating in, most villages have already been destroyed by the military so the earthquake had little impact.

“People are in the jungle and I was out in the jungle when the earthquake hit — it was powerful, but the trees just moved, that was it for us, so we haven’t had a direct impact other than that the Burma army keeps attacking, even after the quake,” he said.

Earthquakes are rare in Bangkok, but relatively common in Myanmar. The country sits on the Sagaing Fault, a major north-south fault that separates the India plate and the Sunda plate.

Brian Baptie, a seismologist with the British Geological Survey, said that the quake caused intense ground shaking in an area where most of the population lives in buildings constructed of timber and unreinforced brick masonry.

“When you have a large earthquake in an area where there are over a million people, many of them living in vulnerable buildings, the consequences can often be disastrous,” he said in a statement.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com