The US overview in the morning: Trump solidifies plans for EU tariffs, development aid budget cut

US President Donald Trump plans to impose tariffs of 25 percent on products from the European Union. "We're going to announce that very soon, and it's going to be 25 percent, generally speaking, on cars and everything else," Trump said during his first cabinet meeting. According to Trump, the regulation will come into force in early April. Trump again accused the Europeans of exploiting the USA. The EU was founded "to rip off the USA." This is "the purpose" of the EU.

Read more about the planned tariffs here.

According to Donald Trump, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to cut 65 percent of its staff. The EPA itself did not provide details on the extent of the job cuts specified by Trump, but said it was already cutting federal grants and reassessing its real estate needs. "President Trump and EPA Director (Lee) Zeldin are working hand in hand to create a more efficient and effective federal government," said an EPA spokesman. So far, the agency has laid off nearly 400 employees "on probation" and furloughed nearly 200 employees who had worked for the EPA on environmental justice issues.

Read more about job cuts at the Environmental Agency here.

According to Elon Musk, the US government's austerity measures, which were supported by Elon Musk , also unintentionally and briefly affected Ebola prevention. Cuts were made to the development aid agency USAID "accidentally", Musk said. However, they were immediately reinstated. Musk used the incident as an example to defend the government's actions. He seemed amused by the temporary suspension of Ebola prevention - he laughed. "We will not be perfect," said the tech billionaire. With such large savings, mistakes are inevitable, but they will be "quickly corrected", he said.

Read more about the temporary halt in funding for Ebola prevention here.

In the wake of the cuts at the US development agency USAID, the US State Department has announced drastic cuts in the budget for development aid programs abroad. A good 5,800 contracts with a term of several years have been cut by 92 percent, the US State Department announced. This corresponds to a sum of around 54 billion dollars (around 52 billion euros). A ministry spokesman explained that the cuts were the result of a process led by the USAID leadership. This also includes funds that were "personally reviewed" by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Read more details about the budget cuts in development aid here.

The White House Reporters Association is fighting against any interference by the US government in the workings of independent media. "Our board will not support any attempt by this or any other administration to undermine independent reporting on the White House," wrote Eugene Daniels, chairman of the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA). He was reacting to the US government's announcement that it would henceforth take control of the White House press pool and determine who is part of it .

You can also read about the most important decisions made by the US President since taking office here.