Woman arrested at LAX, accused of brokering weapons deals for Iran

An Iranian woman who resides in Southern California was arrested on suspicion of “trafficking arms on behalf” of the Iranian government, an official said on Sunday, April 19.

Shamim Mafi, 44, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on April 18, said Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California.

According to a criminal complaint, Mafi is accused of having “conspired with others to perpetrate an unlawful scheme to broker the sale of weapons, weapons components, and ammunition on behalf of the Government of Iran,” violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

The International Emergency Economic Powers Act gives the president “broad authority to regulate a variety of economic transactions following a declaration of national emergency,” according to theCongressional Research Service. PresidentDonald Trumphas used thislaw to impose sweeping tariffs.

See how Middle Eastern countries are caught in the crossfire of the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran.
Bahrain
Smoke rises in the sky after blasts were heard in Manama, Bahrain, Feb. 28, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Syria
Syrian children stand on the wreckage of an Iranian rocket that was reportedly intercepted by Israeli forces in the southern countryside of Quneitra, near the Golan Heights, close to the town of Ghadir al-Bustan.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Iraq
A plume of smoke rises near Erbil International Airport in Erbil on March 1, 2026. Loud explosions were heard early on March 1 near Erbil airport, which hosts US-led coalition troops in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, an AFP journalist said.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Iraq
Members and officers from the Iraqi Interior Ministry's Explosives Directorate inspect the fuel tank of a rocket that landed in a rural village in the Siyahi area near the city of Hilla in the central Babil province on March 1, 2026. Iraq, which has recently regained a sense of stability but has long been a proxy battleground between the U.S. and Iran, warned that it did not want to be dragged into the war that started on Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Qatar
A prayer appealing to God for protection is projected on the dome of al-Hazm shopping mall in Doha on March 1, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Qatar
Motorists drive past a plume of smoke rising from a reported Iranian strike in the industrial district of Doha on March 1, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Bahrain
A building that was damaged by an Iranian drone attack, after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Manama, Bahrain, March 1, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Saudi Arabia
The empty terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh is pictured on March 1, 2026. Global airlines cancelled flights across the Middle East after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Saturday, plunging the region into a new conflict. In Saudi Arabia, Iranian missiles targeting Riyadh's international airport and the Prince Sultan Airbase, which houses U.S. military personnel, were intercepted, a Gulf source briefed on the matter told AFP.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> United Arab Emirates
A food delivery bike drive close to a plume of smoke rising from the Zayed Port following a reported Iranian strike in Abu Dhabi on March 1, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> United Arab Emirates
An oil tanker is pictured offshore in Dubai on March 1, 2026. Attacks have damaged tankers, and many ship owners, oil majors and trading houses suspended crude oil, fuel and liquefied natural gas shipments via the Strait of Hormuz.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Oman
Smoke billows from an oil tanker under U.S. sanctions, that was hit off Oman's Musandam peninsula, in this screen grab from a video obtained by Reuters on March 1, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Kuwait
Smoke rises from a reported Iranian strike in the area where the U.S. Embassy is located in Kuwait City on March 2, 2026. Black smoke was seen rising from the U.S. embassy in Kuwait City on March 2 after the latest volley of Iranian strikes, an AFP correspondent saw,

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Saudi Arabia
A satellite image shows efforts to control a fire as smoke rises in the Ras Tanura oil refinery in Saudi Arabia after a drone attack, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia March 2, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Turkey
People make their way after crossing from Iran into Turkey at the Kapikoy Border Gate in eastern Van province,Turkey, March 2, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> United Arab Emirates
Delivery persons ride motorcycles along a road as a tall smoke plume billows following an explosion in the Fujairah industrial zone on March 3, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> United Arab Emirates
Pieces of missiles and drones recovered after Iran's strikes are displayed during a press briefing by the UAE government held in Abu Dhabi on March 3, 2026. Iran stepped up its attacks on economic targets and US missions across the Middle East on March 3, as the US president warned it was "too late" for the Islamic republic to seek talks to escape the war. As drones and missiles crashed into oil facilities and U.S. embassies in the Gulf, Washington's ally Israel bombarded targets in Iran and pushed troops deeper into Lebanon to battle the Tehran-backed militia Hezbollah.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Lebanon
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike on the southern suburbs of Beirut on March 3, 2026. The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders for dozens of locations in Lebanon on March 3, including warning residents in two southern Beirut neighbourhoods to stay away from several buildings ahead of an imminent operation.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Lebanon
Emergency personnel work at the site of an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 3, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Lebanon
Rescuers gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Jamaa Islamiya offices in the southern Lebanese coastal city of Sidon on March 3, 2026.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> United Arab Emirates
Tankers are seen off the coast of the Fujairah, as Iran vows to close the Strait of Hormuz, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, March 3, 2026.

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See how the Iran war’s fallout is hitting the Middle East

See how Middle Eastern countries are caught in the crossfire of thewar launched by the United States and Israel against Iran.BahrainSmoke rises in the sky after blasts were heard in Manama, Bahrain, Feb. 28, 2026.

According to the complaint, Mafi, with the assistance of an unnamed co-conspirator, “brokered the sale of 55,000 bomb fuses to the Sudanese Ministry of Defense.” In addition, they “brokered the sale of millions of rounds of ammunition from Iran to Sudan.”

Mafi is accused of brokering weapons deals on behalf of Iran through a company she owns with a co-conspirator as recent as early 2025, according to the complaint. That includes one contract valued at over 60 million euros for a sale of Iranian-made drones to Sudan’s ministry of defense, according to the complaint. Other items that Mafi brokered, or attempted to broker, included “bombs” and “assault weapons,” according to the complaint.

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Essayli said that Mafi is expected to make her first court appearance on April 20. It’s not immediately clear who represents Mafi.

According to the complaint, Mafi was born in Iran but is a lawful permanent resident of the United States and maintains a residence in Woodland Hills of Los Angeles.

She frequently traveled to and from Los Angeles, and Mafi “only spends part of her time” in the U.S., according to the complaint.

Mafi faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison if convicted, according to Essayli.

Paris Barraza is a reporter covering Los Angeles and Southern California for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her atpbarraza@usatodayco.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Los Angeles woman arrested, accused of 'trafficking arms' for Iran

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

April 22, 2026

Woman arrested at LAX, accused of brokering weapons deals for Iran

An Iranian woman who resides in Southern California was arrested on suspicion of “trafficking arms on behalf” of the Iranian government...

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Did Pope Leo find his voice in Africa? Or did the world finally hear him?

LUANDA, Angola (AP) — And in Africa, the lion roared.

APTOPIX Angola Africa Pope

There is a case to be made that Pope Leo XIV, the careful, reserved, Midwestern Augustinian, found his voice on his epic trip through Africa, blasting the“handful of tyrants”and“chains of corruption”that have held parts of the continent hostage for centuries.

But the fact is, Leo has beenpreaching this kind of messagefor a while now, including in the context of the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran. It just took U.S. President Donald Trump’s unprecedented broadside and Vice President JD Vance's claims oftheological superiorityfor many people to pay attention, especially American Catholics.

“Yes, Pope Leo might give the impression that he is engaging, in his quiet way and with authority, and this is how it looks to the world press and social media,” Cardinal Michael Czerny, a top Vatican official and aide to Leo, told The Associated Press.

“But in fact the Holy Father’s homilies and talks in Africa have been prepared, well in advance, in terms of the local African reality and the church," Czerny said. "So, if they seem relevant to the current wars, controversy, this reminds us of Jesus saying, ‘Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear!’”

Leo tried to make that point when he came to the back of Air Pope One on April 18, en route from Cameroon to Angola, and complained that“a certain narrative”had taken hold suggesting he was in a feud with Trump over the Iran war and his peace messages in Africa were directed at the president.

Leo insisted his words about tyrants and the religious justification for war had been wrongly interpreted and he was referring only to the African context, and to a separatist conflict in western Cameroon, in particular.

The thin line of the pope's explanation

But Leo also was trying to have it both ways. Yes, he was talking about the separatist conflict at a peace meeting in Bamenda. Yes, he was preaching the Gospel message of peace and fraternity. But he alsohas been talking about Trump, a lot.

“That distancing of Pope Leo from some interpretations was really a move to de-escalate a very dangerous situation,” said Massimo Faggioli, a professor of theology at Trinity College Dublin. “Because the Vatican needs the United States to restore some kind of peaceful — not order — but a horizon of peace, a hope of peace.”

Leo criticized Trump, directly, before he got to Africa. And in one remarkable comment two weeks ago, he encouraged the faithful to contact their congressional representatives to demand an end to the war.

The headline from the April 7 encounter outside Leo's country house in Castel Gandolfo was that Leo had called Trump’s threat to annihilate Iranian civilization“truly unacceptable.”

But the more significant message followed. “I would invite the citizens of all the countries involved to contact the authorities, political leaders, congressmen, to ask them, tell them to work for peace and to reject war,” Leo said.

Faggioli termed the comment “the Vatican’s nuclear option,” making a direct appeal to U.S. voters to take a stand, because it genuinely feared Trump was about to take the Iran war in a vastly more catastrophic direction.

What came before Leo's unprecedented appeal

The Holy See had never resorted to such a directly political message from a pope even at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, when a Catholic president — John F. Kennedy — was on the verge of a nuclear confrontation with the Soviet Union, Faggioli said.

At that moment, Pope John XXIII did make a public appeal — his famous Oct. 25, 1962, radio address — with a strong, direct plea for peace including to “those who have the responsibility of power” to “do everything in their power to save the peace.”

The pope also sent private letters to Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and worked behind the scenes through diplomatic channels to de-escalate the situation. But he didn't urge U.S. voters to essentially choose which Catholic to listen to: their president or their pope.

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“What is at stake now is that at a time of war, loyalties of Catholics are tested in a particular way,” Faggioli said. He added that however the situation ultimately resolves itself, the tension will complicate any future political aspirations of Catholics seeking high office, whether Vance on the Republican side or California Gov. Gavin Newsom on the Democratic side, as long as a U.S.-born pope is still in Rome.

Kathleen Sprows Cummings, director of the Global Catholic Research Initiative at the University of Notre Dame, said Leo has consistently operated “on a higher plane” but American Catholics are used to church discussion of morality in the context of sexuality, gender and abortion, and it's jarring to process foreign policy through a moral lens.

“So JD Vance can say the pope should stick to morality," she said, “but war and peace are ancient moral issues.”

The Rev. Antonio Spadaro, the under-secretary in the Vatican’s culture department, said Leo is continuing in the tradition of popes past to preach the Gospel message of peace. What has changed, he said, was how Trump reacted.

“The strong reaction arrived from America," he said. "It was America that reacted to Leo’s words, and not vice versa.”

Even with his direct comments about Trump, Leo was not engaging in an attack, Spadaro said.

“It’s very dangerous to imagine that the pope is fighting with Trump, because it means demeaning the pope to a level of contrast, one against the other, which Trump may want but that the pope has no intention of doing," he said.

New role, same Leo, Vatican official says

Spadaro added that from his perch, Leo hasn't changed at all from when he was known as Robert Prevost, the Chicago-born missionary priest.

“I see the Prevost I’ve always seen,” Spadaro said. “Let’s say it’s the backdrop that has changed, so his calm yet very direct style stands in stark contrast to a chaotic scenario, and that’s why it’s striking.”

For better or worse, the incredible saga of Trump, the war and geopolitics seems far removed from Leo’s day-to-day ministering to his flock in Africa, who have turned out in droves to welcome the American pope in each stop on his four-nation tour.

The polyglot pope has made it easy for them to hear his words, delivering speeches, homilies and prayers in the languages of the faithful: French in Algeria, English and French in Cameroon, Portuguese in Angola and, starting Tuesday, Spanish in Equatorial Guinea.

Lucineia Francisco left her family behind on Sunday so she could see Leo at theShrine of Mama Muxima, Angola’s most popular pilgrimage destination. Some 30,000 people turned out for Leo’s rosary prayer.

“My kids were crying to come, but I said no,” Francisco said. “This is a spiritual journey that I’m really going to face on my own.”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’scollaborationwith The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

This version corrects the title for Rev. Antonio Spadaro, the under-secretary in the Vatican’s culture department

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

April 22, 2026

Did Pope Leo find his voice in Africa? Or did the world finally hear him?

LUANDA, Angola (AP) — And in Africa, the lion roared. APTOPIX Angola Africa Pope There is a case to be made that Pope Leo XI...

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Researchers have spent decades breeding better potatoes for chips, and their work isn't done

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — There’s a surprising amount of science in abag of potato chips.

Making Better Chips

Researchers have spent decades developing potatoes for chip makers that can grow inall kinds of climates, avoid diseases and pests, sit in storage for months and still deliver a satisfying crunch. They've also kept an eye on consumer trends; a shift to snack-size portions has increased the demand for smaller chipping potatoes, for example.

“The potato industry is dynamic," said David Douches, a Michigan State University professor who leads the school’s Potato Breeding and Genetics Program. “The needs change, the costs, the pressures that they have, and the markets change. So we have to adapt to that with our varieties.”

Douches has developed five new potato varieties for chips in the the last 15 years. His latest breakthrough is abioengineered potatothat can maintain a proper sugar balance when stored at colder temperatures, which can help keep potatoes from rotting. He is currently growing seeds for commercial testing of the potato, which is not yet on the market.

Douches' work helps fight world hunger; he has developed disease-resistant varieties for farmers in Nigeria, Kenya,Rwandaand Bangladesh. But he's also helping U.S. chip makers, gratefulsnackersand Michigan's $2.5 billion potato industry. WhileIdaho leadsthe U.S. in potato production, Michigan is the top producer of potatoes for chips.

There are around 50 unique potato varieties grown for chips in the U.S. right now, according to the National Chip Program, a cooperative that brings together Michigan State and 11 otheruniversity breeding programswith growers,companies that make chips, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Efforts to improve those varieties are constant. The National Chip Program evaluates around 225 new potato varieties each year and selects 100 for further trials, said Tim Rendall, the director of production research at Potatoes USA, a trade group that oversees the chip program.

The close partnership between researchers,farmersand potato chip companies is unusual in the food industry, said Phil Gusmano, the vice president of purchasing at Better Made Snack Foods, which has produced potato chips in Detroit since 1930. Better Made worked closely with Douches when he was developing two of the varieties the company uses now, Gusmano said.

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“We were able talk about size profile and different needs that make a really good chip,” Gusmano said. “And the great thing is, they’re willing to listen to what we have to say, because if they put together a potato that doesn’t really meet the needs for the end processor, it doesn’t do them any good.”

Breeding a newtype of potatocan take up to 15 years, Douches said. The simple potato has a surprisingly complicatedgenetic structure, with four chromosomes in each cell compared to two in most species, including humans. That makes it harder to predict which traits that cross-bred plants will inherit, he said.

“We’re never able to fix a trait and carry that over to the next generation, so it’s very difficult to find a potato that has all the traits that we want,” Douches said.

Douches became fascinated with potato breeding and genetics while in graduate school. At Michigan State, he focuses on chipping potatoes, since Michigan is a leading producer. Around 70% of the state’s potato crop is destined for chip processing, according to the Michigan Ag Council. The trade group estimates that one of every four bags of potato chips produced in the U.S. contains Michigan potatoes.

Breeding potatoes that can sit in storage for nearly a year has been one of the biggest challenges in Douches' 40-year career. Historically, farmers harvested potatoes and then stored them in huge piles at around 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius). Temperatures any colder cause sugar levels to rise in the root vegetables, and higher sugar content leads to darker potato chips. But warmer storage conditions can lead to rot.

“You think they’re just these inanimate objects, but they actually are respiring and breathing,” Douches said. “When you do that to them, you’ve got, like, a two- to three-day window where they’re happy.”

His Manistee variety, which was released in 2013, can be safely stored until July at 45 F (7.2 C) degrees. His new bioengineered potato can be stored at 40 F (4.4 C).

Gusmano said Better Made used to sourcepotatoesfrom outside of Michigan for half the year because the Michigan potatoes it harvested in the fall only could be stored until February. The company now uses newer varieties, like Douches' Mackinaw potato, which can be stored until July and is resistant to several common diseases.

“We’re not shipping potatoes from all over the country to be fried here in Michigan,” Gusmano said. “Instead, they’re being shipped from an hour and a half away all year long.”

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

April 22, 2026

Researchers have spent decades breeding better potatoes for chips, and their work isn't done

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — There’s a surprising amount of science in abag of potato chips. Making Better Chips Researchers ha...

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Gov. Beshear questions University of Kentucky decision-making after Barnhart’s $950,000 job

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear released a statement Tuesday questioning the decision-making at the University of Kentucky amid a fraught period for the school's athletics department.

Beshear said he is “losing confidence and growing increasingly concerned” after the universityannounced last monththat Mitch Barnhart, the longest-serving athletic director in the Southeastern Conference, is retiring to take on a new role at the school.

"My concerns include the creation of a new $1 million job that has no defined duties," Beshear said in the statement, “and the announcement that the new dean of law was the only candidate not recommended by law school faculty.”

The university announced last month that Barnhart will step down at the end of June. Kentucky President Eli Capilouto later named him the executive-in-residence for the UK Sport and Workforce Initiative, a role that will pay Barnhart $950,000 per year through August 2030, according to contract details. The contract vaguely defines the job, mostly describing it as a collaborative role for the “promotion of sports.”

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Supporters have also questioned the school's decision-making, and some have expressed concern over the direction of some of its sports programs — as men's basketball coach Mark Pope is coming offa second round exitin the NCAA Tournament and has missed on a couple top transfer portal targets — though it is less common for such critique to come from an official like Beshear.

Beshear's concerns also included hiring decisions.

“I've been told that despite previously saying the dean (of law) must be approved by UK's Board of Trustees, the university has shifted and now states that approval is not needed,” Beshear said. “I worry that these actions are related to certain donors pushing partisan and undue outside influence onto the university. I hope students, faculty, trustees and the community attend this week's board meetings and ask the tough questions that should be answered."

AP college sports:https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

April 21, 2026

Gov. Beshear questions University of Kentucky decision-making after Barnhart’s $950,000 job

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear released a statement Tuesday questioning the decision-making at the University of Kent...

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Analysis-With tariffs stalled, Trump's China policy drifts

By Michael Martina

WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) - When President Donald Trump returned to office in 2025, he vowed to use tariffs to reset relations with China, which he said was "killing" the United States with its trade policies.

Now, more than a year into his second term, Trump's aggressive trade moves have not fundamentally altered Beijing's trade or military actions. Instead, Washington's China policy appears adrift, causing confusion among officials and driving contradictory decisions.

The administration's erratic moves toward Beijing have been on ‌full display in recent months. Those include adding top Chinese companies to a military blacklist only to withdraw the list moments later, and a decision by Trump to greenlight AI semiconductor sales to China within minutes of his government labeling Chinese ‌access to them a national security threat.

As Trump prepares for his planned May 14-15 visit to China to meet President Xi Jinping, the first such trip by an American president in eight years, critics argue such inconsistencies, coupled with his improvisational dealmaking style, have undermined the U.S. in its competition with Beijing.

"You have departments and agencies acting ​on their own accord, often with different objectives, and even at times in countervailing ways," said Ely Ratner, a former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs.

"On any given day, it feels like the policy can zigzag in either direction," Ratner said.

Responding to Reuters questions on the administration's approach to China, White House spokesperson Kush Desai said Trump's trade agenda had "flipped the script" on decades of failed policy that hollowed out the U.S. industrial base.

"By leveraging our economy - the biggest and best consumer market in the world - and his great relationship with President Xi, President Trump has empowered America to finally operate from a position of strength in global diplomatic and trade matters," Desai said.

Trump launched his second term China policy with a dramatic trade broadside, initially hiking tariffs on Chinese goods to around 145%.

Beijing did not back down, however, and retaliated with tariff increases of ‌its own.

The countries eventually forged an uneasy détente after China, which holds a virtual monopoly on ⁠the refining and processing of the world's rare earths, threatened to choke off supplies of the minerals needed by U.S. industries.

A February ruling by the Supreme Court invalidating many of Trump's duties further undercut the administration's strategy.

"Their entire original strategy was centered around using tariffs to pressure China into major concessions. That effort quickly ran aground," said Scott Kennedy, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank. "There has ⁠been no coherent Plan B."

The tariffs did produce at least one result Trump has sought: the U.S. goods trade deficit with China decreased by 32% to $202 billion in 2025 compared to 2024, U.S. government data show.

But tariffs have not changed Beijing's mercantilist trade policies, and their fitful use likely reduced industry incentive to reshore manufacturing, a major goal of Trump's America First approach. The U.S. lost 91,000 manufacturing jobs from February to December of last year.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who have run China policy instead of hawkish Secretary of State Marco Rubio, appear to have lowered expectations for ​an ​overhaul in commercial relations, shifting emphasis to a new "managed trade."

"Where do we want to be with China? We want relations to be stable. We want our trade ​to be more balanced. We want it to be in non-sensitive goods," Greer said in March.

In the ‌face of Trump's turmoil, China has sought to portray itself as the responsible power.

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"We ... stay committed to acting as a positive and stable force for good," its foreign ministry said in January when asked if Beijing benefited from the chaotic U.S. approach.

CONFLICTING SIGNALS

The administration's reversals haven't just been on tariffs.

In December, Trump declared on social media that he had approved the controversial sale of advanced Nvidia H200 AI semiconductors to China, the very chips his Justice Department only 30 minutes earlier said were being smuggled to China, constituting a threat to national security.

Two U.S. officials told Reuters those conflicting signals left them and others in the government flummoxed.

In February, Trump's Pentagon blacklisted top Chinese technology companies for allegedly aiding the Chinese military, only to mysteriously withdraw the list an hour later with little explanation.

In the fall, the Commerce Department issued rules to extend export controls to thousands of subsidiaries of Chinese companies, arguing it closed a significant loophole by which foreign companies could access sensitive technology. But the U.S. paused those measures, along with planned U.S. port fees for Chinese-built vessels intended to boost American shipbuilding, in the face ‌of China's threat to restrict rare earths.

"These contradictions ultimately trace back to President Trump, who makes decisions in the moment, unconstrained by a broader strategy," said ​Zack Cooper, who studies U.S. strategy in Asia at the American Enterprise Institute think tank.

'TAKING PAWNS'

Some of Trump's actions have put Beijing on the back foot.

His military operations ​in Iran and Venezuela have weakened two countries that have been close partners for China as well as significant oil suppliers.

Trump ​in December approved $11 billion in weapons sales to Taiwan, a major boost for the democratically governed island China claims as its territory.

He also pressured Panama to dislodge a Hong Kong port operator from around the Panama Canal ‌and blockaded oil from reaching Communist-run Cuba.

"Iran was an extremely powerful signal to the Chinese that the ​United States continues to have overmatch," said Alex Gray, a former senior ​national security official during Trump's first term.

But the costly war with Iran has burned through advanced missile stockpiles and redirected U.S. military assets away from Asia. And even the additional support for Taiwan has been tempered by fears that Trump might barter away U.S. backing for a favorable trade deal from Xi.

"If this is a chess match, the U.S. is taking pawns off the periphery rather than controlling the center of the board. Beijing doesn't like it, but it's an inconvenience rather than a strategic ​setback," said Jonathan Czin, a China expert at the Brookings Institution.

Meanwhile, Trump's antagonism toward American allies – over ‌the NATO alliance, tariffs and the Iran conflict – may erode the hard-earned consensus on the need to push back against China's actions on the global stage.

To Beijing, the U.S. approach looks like institutional breakdown, said Wang Dong, a professor ​at China's Peking University, adding that China would not be diverted from its strategic course by short-term "gambits."

"While transactional tactics and coercive signaling persist, they are increasingly overshadowed by deep coordination failures across the U.S. government," Wang said. "This inconsistency erodes ​U.S. credibility."

(Reporting by Michael Martina, Trevor Hunnicutt and David Brunnstrom in Washington and the Beijing newsroom; Editing by Don Durfee and Alistair Bell)

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

April 21, 2026

Analysis-With tariffs stalled, Trump's China policy drifts

By Michael Martina WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) - When President Donald Trump returned to office in 2025, he vowed to use tarif...

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