US president to address Congress after dramatic start to second term

President Donald Trump is set to deliver the first joint address to Congress of his second term, capping a dramatic few months in which he has unleashed an aggressive agenda to reshape US trade and foreign policy.

The speech comes on the day Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, the US’s biggest trading partners, as well as additional 10 per cent levies on China.

All three countries signalled they planned to retaliate, sending US stocks plummeting on Tuesday.

Administration officials said the theme of Trump’s speech would be the “renewal of the American dream”. The president is expected to defend his tariffs and efforts to slash government spending, while calling for an extension of his sweeping 2017 tax cuts.

Trump’s remarks on Ukraine and Russia will be among the most closely watched of the night, coming on the heels of his move to cut off military aid to Kyiv and last week’s big Oval Office altercation with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The shift in US policy on the conflict has been dramatic. In his final State of the Union address as president a year ago, Joe Biden began his speech with a clarion call for Congress and America to support Kyiv.

“We have to stand up to Putin,” Biden said. “History is watching. If the United States walks away, it will put Ukraine at risk. Europe is at risk. The free world will be at risk, emboldening others to what they wish to do us harm.”