Hello and welcome to Background Briefing, available 24-7 at Background Briefing.org.

I'm Ian Masters, and today we'll examine a number of stories and issues in the news.

We'll begin with Trump's escalating trade war against Canada and China,

with the doubling of tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum to 50%,

which appears to be more personal than a reciprocal response

since Canada's former Prime Minister called Trump out as a smart man making a dumb move,

while Mexico's president sweet talked him into delaying tariffs on Mexico.

Joining us is Matt Gold, a professor of law at Fordham University, where he teaches international

trade law. He frequently consults with the U.S. business on the negotiations of NAFTA and other U.S. trade agreements and has been consulted by the White House and National Security Council staff, State Department and members of Congress on issues at the intersection of trade and national security, any advised President Obama's re-election campaign, and was the trade policy advisor to Joe Biden's presidential campaign.

He previously held an appointment within the executive office of the president as the deputy assistant U.S. trade representative for North America.

Then we'll look into the fate of a student protester at Columbia University,

Mahmoud Halil, who is facing deportation in spite of having a green card because of what

Trump describes as pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity.

Joining us is Margot Schlinger, Professor of Law at the University of Michigan, and a leading

authority on civil rights issues and civil and criminal detention. She was class counsel in

Hamama v. Aduchi, a national class action to ensure due process for Iraqi nationals

whom the Trump administration sought to deport, and has served as an expert in numerous

cases addressing detention conditions. From 2010 to 2011, she served as the presidential

appointed officer for civil rights and civil liberties at the United States Department of Homeland

Security. Then finally, we'll assess the extent to which the world's

richest man is beginning to feel a reversal of fortune as sales of Tesla have plummeted by 40%

and people around the world are boycotting his products and demonstrating against his

...