The rate hikes between the U.S. and China are the latest in an ongoing trade war that experts say threatens to raise prices for consumers in America.
But Trump’s change in course for other countries, which came a week after “Liberation Day,” will see a 90-day pause on the trade plan. The Trump administration faced intense pressure after financial markets suffered severe drops, but some administration officials insisted the reversal had always been a part of the trade plan.
Ohio GOP lawmakers praised Trump for the trade plan, while Ohio Democrats called the switch-up chaotic.
The market continued to fluctuate after the reciprocal tariff pause.
What’s happening in the region:
• Immigration: A federal judge on Thursday said that she will prevent the Trump administration from ordering Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans with temporary legal status through the humanitarian parole program to leave the country later this month. This ruling will impact more than 500,000 people whose permits were slated for cancelation on April 24, including an unknown number of the estimated 12,000 to 15,000 Haitian immigrants in the Springfield area.
• The future of Medicaid: Roughly 770,000 Ohio Medicaid members are at risk of losing their health insurance as state lawmakers seek the implementation of work requirements and federal lawmakers seek budget cuts. The federal government covers about 69% of Ohio’s total Medicaid program, which provides health care to 26% of Ohioans, according to the Health Policy Institute of Ohio. Trump and congressional leaders have said Medicaid will be protected, but experts say ambitious federal spending reduction goals are nearly impossible to meet without impacting Medicaid.
• Energy assistance: The Trump administration laid off the entire staff of a $4.1 billion program that helps millions of low-income households pay for heat during the winter and cooling in the summer. Roughly 265,000 Ohio households were served through Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program in 2023. Local community action agencies — which manage the LIHEAP programs throughout Ohio — said they’re waiting on the last 10% of funding for the fiscal year, as well as word on how the program will operate in the coming years.
• HUD field offices: The Trump administration has plans to shutter dozens of U.S. Housing and Urban Development offices and reduce staff at the federal agency. Housing advocates say this will increase the wait time for assistance and put housing-insecure people at risk during a time of increased homelessness in Ohio. No decisions have been made about Ohio’s two field office locations — one in Columbus, one in Cleveland — as of this week, a HUD spokesperson said.
• Civilians and union dues: Union dues are no longer being deducted from Air Force civilian employee paychecks. The Trump administration has moved to curtail or eliminate collective bargaining for hundreds of thousands of federal employees, particularly those working in intelligence and national security jobs — although this order was challenged in federal court. The local union representing government workers in the Dayton area is moving its members over to AFGE’s e-dues system.
• NIOSH: U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Cincinnati, was among those who sent a letter urging the Trump administration to reinstate more than 1,500 workers terminated from the Cincinnati-based National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The letter says 423 positions were eliminated in the Cincinnati area, jobs that had a $108 million statewide economic impact on Ohio in fiscal year 2024. The agency lost more Ohio jobs than anywhere else nationwide.
Other federal updates:
• Water pressure and showerheads: The Trump administration this week in an executive order called for an immediate end to water conservation standards that restrict the number of gallons per minute that flow through showerheads and other appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines and toilets. “No longer will showerheads be weak and worthless,” the White House shared in a fact sheet. Showers account for about 20% of the average American family’s daily indoor water use, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
• Federal budget: The U.S. House narrowly approved a GOP budget framework on Thursday, days after the Senate approved the same plan. The budget proposal requires one House committee to find $880 billion in savings. Democrats argue this GOP effort will mean that Republicans are paying for tax cuts by making deep cuts in Medicaid. Republicans claim that’s not their plan.
• SAVE Act: The U.S. House on Thursday approved legislation requiring documentary proof of U.S. citizenship for anyone registering to vote, something voting rights group have warned could disenfranchise millions of Americans but backers say is needed for election integrity.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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