In his speech - long, messy, and at times self-celebratory - the US president actually pronounced what the paper calls a 'final farewell' to American leadership of the Western liberal system. He presented tariffs as a kind of 'ticket in' to trade with a 300 million consumer powerhouse. "The United States keeps the whole world afloat", he said. Then, as often happens according to theNew York Times, Trump backtracked. He announced that he had reached a 'framework agreement' on Greenland and the Arctic and withdrew the tariffs that would have gone into effect on 1 February.

Source: International New York Times January 22, 2026 18:02 UTC