This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the effects of the Trump administration's tariffs on the U.S.-Australia-U.K. submarine agreement, plus what a potential war over Taiwan would cost and more.
In Congress this week, House Democrats decried the Trump administration's announced tariffs -- which currently sit at a minimum 10% rate on the bulk of U.S. imports -- arguing that they impose needless economic pain on U.S. allies and strain military alliances:
Following a chaotic fortnight for international trade, during which President Trump imposed and then partially rescinded wide-ranging tariffs on U.S. trading partners, lawmakers and defense executives alike are trying to make sense of and prepare for the likely effects of these tariffs on their businesses, constituents and international relationships.
A war over Taiwan would cause a 25% downturn in gross domestic product in Asia, which in turn would plunge domestic GDP by 10% to 12% and spike unemployment by seven to 10 points -- causing 500,000 "excess deaths of despair," which is a metric that measures deaths induced by economic decline:
A Chinese invasion of Taiwan would strike an instant blow to the world economy and deal long-term damage to the web of allies and partners the U.S. has built over the years, Adm. Sam Paparo, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee this week.
Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republican state House Speaker Matt Hall met with the Trump administration's cabinet this week to discuss several of the state's priorities, including the future of Selfridge Air National Guard Base:
President Trump said he will work with Michigan's bipartisan leadership to keep Selfridge Air National Guard Base "open, strong, thriving" after its fleet of A-10 Warthogs begins to retire in 2026.
The Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations program will have eight companies working on it:
The Pentagon's innovation arm announced today the selection of eight companies for a Defense Innovation Unit-led program enabling the design and build of "fixed on-site microreactor nuclear power systems on select military installations.”
Starting in calendar year 2026, the Army will begin deploying an initial set of six Modular Open Systems Architecture Instrumentation Containers (MOSAIC) to ships:
HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Inside the Army's Redstone Test Center at Redstone Arsenal here, the service is testing out a series of containers that will be able to collect long-range missile test data including telemetry, flight safety, satellite communications and weather data.
In November, the KC-46A Program Office, Air Mobility Command and Boeing determined that incidents of fuel system leaks on the aircraft’s fuel manifold have been mostly resolved:
The Air Force downgraded two of seven category 1 deficiencies on the KC-46A Pegasus, Inside Defensehas learned, but five problems that could result in death of an operator or significant damage to the tanker remain.
The Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor -- made by L3Harris under a Missile Defense Agency contract -- can be built at a "continuous, high-volume" rate:
L3Harris is ready to up production of its fire-control space sensor that was named in President Trump’s executive order for greater homeland defense, a company official said yesterday -- it’s just waiting for the order.
A new executive order requires Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to within 60 days develop a list of "priority partners" for U.S. arms sales and "prioritize end-items for potential transfer to those partners":
President Trump has signed an executive order aimed at reforming the U.S. foreign military sales process, requiring the phased implementation of a new plan intended to accelerate the process and create new accountability metrics.
