5 things you need to know this morning: May 12, 2025

Start your day off right with five things you need to know this morning.

Five things you need to know

1. China and US agree deal to dramatically lower tariffs

China and the US have agreed a deal to dramatically cut tariffs on each other's products, with President Donald Trump saying there has been a "total reset" in relations between the two countries. During the 90-day reprieve, US tariffs on Chinese goods will fall from 145 per cent to 30 per cent, while Chinese tariffs on US goods will fall from 125 per cent to 10 per cent.

Pres. Trump hailed trade discussions between the U.S. and China in Geneva, calling it a "total reset with China."

"The relationship is very, very good. I'll speak to President Xi maybe at the end of the week," Trump said. https://t.co/VlJ86AjTXL pic.twitter.com/Spe6pTllTX

— ABC News (@ABC) May 12, 2025

2. Canadians continue to avoid US, statistics show

Canadians continued to dodge the US in April, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada. The number of Canadian residents who made return trips by car to our southern neighbour fell 35.2 per cent on an annual basis last month; by air, the decline was 19.9 per cent.

Statistics Canada says Canadian-resident return trips from U.S. down again in April https://t.co/R5gOBJL3Ky

— CTV News (@CTVNews) May 12, 2025

3. Liberals win another seat – by 1 vote

Happy days for the Liberals – the party's got another seat. A judicial recount in the Quebec riding of Terrebonne resulted in the seat flipping from the Bloc to the Grits by just one vote, meaning Mark Carney's party now has 170 MPs in the Commons, two short of a majority.

After a judicial recount, the Quebec riding of Terrebonne has flipped to the Liberals, who have beaten the Bloc Québécois by one vote. The result means the Liberals have 170 seats in the House of Commons — just two shy of a majority government. https://t.co/9XCoDObsOe

— CBC News (@CBCNews) May 11, 2025

4. South African refugees arrive in US as Trump speaks of genocide

The first few dozen South African farmers are due to arrive in the US today after being granted asylum by President Trump. Their move to the US has been greeted with dismay by the South African government, and by Trump's opponents in the US, amid claims by some that white South Africans are not persecuted in their home country, though Trump says they are victims of genocide.

Trump on South Africa: It is a genocide that is taking place that you people don't want to write about. pic.twitter.com/qaxT5h0Pbw

— Acyn (@Acyn) May 12, 2025

5. UK to end 'squalid chapter' of 'open borders' by cutting back on immigration: PM

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has introduced tougher immigration laws after warning that the country's "experiment in open borders" could create an "island of strangers." Starmer, who leads the left-liberal Labour Party, said the UK would "take back control" of its borders and put an end to the "squalid chapter" of mass immigration, which has seen millions of people move to the densely populated country since the COVID-19 pandemic.

'We risk becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together.'

Sir Keir Starmer announces measures which he says will help control the number of immigrants coming into the country to live and work. pic.twitter.com/Clg1KVpAY4

— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) May 12, 2025