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This is the world in brief from The Economist.

Our top stories. Donald Trump repeated his threat to impose tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China from Saturday, and added that he would also tax goods from the European Union.

He insisted that the levies were not merely, quote, a negotiating tool, and said he would, quote,

eventually put tariffs on goods ranging from semiconductors to aluminium.

Earlier, the White House press secretary denied a report by Reuters that the president would

delay the tariffs.

Germany's Bundestag voted against a draft law to curb irregular immigration proposed by the opposition

Christian Democrats, CDU.

On Wednesday, a separate non-binding CDU motion on the topic passed with the backing of the

hard right alternative for Germany, AFD.

Other mainstream parties accused the CDU's leader Friedrich M, of weakening the quote firewall that binds them against

working with the AFD. Mr. Mertz party leads polls ahead of elections on February 23rd.

Investigators in Washington, D.C. will try to retrieve the wreckage of a passenger plane

and military helicopter that crashed

into the Potomac River on Wednesday. The collision killed 67 people. Investigators have already

recovered the plane's black boxes, but hoped to, quote, salvage the aircraft to establish the crash's

cause. Mr. Trump suggested, without

...