Why Tariffs Haven’t Balanced Out Global Trade

WSJ What’s News

The Wall Street Journal

Daily News, News

4.1 • 4.2K Ratings

🗓️ 23 February 2026

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A.M. Edition for Feb. 23. After Friday’s Supreme Court ruling, new tariffs are on the table. But WSJ correspondent Tom Fairless says President Trump’s favored tool for remaking global trade hasn’t helped to shrink the U.S. trade deficit, with many U.S. trade partners now subsidizing their export-driven economies. Plus, violence erupts in Mexico after the military kills the country’s most powerful drug kingpin, escalating the government’s crackdown on cartels. And the once-boring ETF market is embracing more exotic and risky bets, with asset managers looking to grab a slice of the fees they generate. Daniel Bach hosts. Sign up for the WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:28.3	among real estate professionals violence in Mexico after authorities hunt and kill a cartel boss.
0:38.0	Plus, a second wave of protest builds in Iran.
0:41.1	And as President Trump doubles down on tariffs,
0:43.5	we'll hear why his signature policy isn't shrinking the trade deficit.
0:47.2	The big exporting economies like China, Germany, South Korea, Japan,
0:51.6	have been moving in the opposite direction.
0:53.2	So rather than try and restructure
0:56.1	their own economies to rely more on local demand and less on exports, they've doubled down on
1:02.6	exports. It's Monday, February 23rd. I'm Daniel Bach for the Wall Street Journal,
1:07.2	filling in for Luke Vargas. And here's the AM edition of What's News, the top headlines,
1:11.7	and business stories moving your world today.
1:19.5	We begin in Mexico, where the killing of the country's most powerful drug kingpin in a raid
1:24.2	by the Mexican military has sparked a wave of violence across the country.
1:28.6	The U.S. had placed a $15 million bounty on Nemesio Mancho Ossigera, a former police officer
1:34.6	who was the leader of the Holisco New Generation Cartel. His killing marks the most significant
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