Live updates: Trump meets with NATO secretary general, threatens more tariffs

President Donald Trump is hosting NATO secretary general Mark Rutte at the White House on Thursday.

Here are the latest live updates. 

Trump administration demands UN agencies disclose any ‘anti-American’ ties

5:15 p.m. ET: The Trump administration is demanding U.N. humanitarian agencies that receive or disburse U.S. funding to fill out a questionnaire disclosing any ties to communism, socialism or anti-American beliefs, the Associated Press reported. 

That’s according to U.S. and U.N. officials and a copy of the survey obtained by the AP.

UNICEF and the U.N. Refugee Agency joined the remaining offices and bureaus at the recently dismantled U.S. Agency for International Development in receiving the questionnaire.

It probes several Trump administration concerns, including whether any of the programs are promoting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

It was unclear how widely the administration sent the survey, which was verified by a current USAID staffer, a U.S. official and three U.N. officials.

Trump’s nominee for US ambassador to Canada says it’s a ‘sovereign state’

4:15 p.m. ET: Pete Hoekstra was speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on his nomination.

Asked by Democratic Sen. Chris Coons, if he agrees that Canada is a sovereign state and shouldn’t be "even jokingly referred to as the 51st state," Hoekstra replied:

"Canada is a sovereign state, yes."

The Associated Press reported that President Donald Trump has rankled Canadians by insisting that their country would be better off as the newest member of the United States. Both countries are also embroiled in a trade war initiated by Trump.

Hoekstra is a former congressman from Michigan who was U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands in Trump’s first term.

Trump wants his birthright citizenship restrictions to be partly allowed for now

3:25 p.m. ET: The Trump administration’s emergency applications filed in the high court on Thursday ask the Supreme Court justices to narrow court orders entered by district judges in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington that have blocked President Donald Trump’s order nationwide, the Associated Press reported.

Three federal appeals courts have rejected the Trump administration’s pleas.

The order Trump signed shortly after being sworn in for a second time would deny citizenship to people born after Feb. 19 whose parents are in the country illegally. It also forbids U.S. agencies from issuing any document or accepting any state document recognizing citizenship for such children.

Earthjustice sues the Trump administration for withholding funds from farmers and nonprofits

2:45 p.m. ET: The environmental law nonprofit argues that the Trump administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are unlawfully withholding funds appropriated by Congress through the Inflation Reduction Act, the Associated Press reported. 

Earthjustice is representing five farms and three nonprofits that were awarded USDA grants funded by the IRA. The projects that were promised funding include improving energy efficiency, planting trees in historically underserved communities and providing technical assistance to farmers.

The freeze "erodes the trust that the USDA worked so hard to build," said Brien Darby, Executive Director of Cultivate KC, one of the organizations.

The USDA has not responded to a request for comment, the AP noted. 

Trump claims egg prices are down, says ‘we inherited that problem’

2:05 p.m. ET: Speaking from the Oval Office Thursday, Trump claimed that egg prices are down, but it's not yet clear if prices are lower on grocery shelves. 

"We inherited that problem: eggs," he said. 

Wholesale egg prices have dropped this month as demand has dropped, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, after surging 28% from January to February, according to the Labor Department’s Producer Price Index.

But it’s not clear yet if consumers will benefit. Egg prices remain higher than they were at the start of 2025, according to Federal Reserve Economic Data.

Trump questions Denmark's claim to Greenland

1:50 p.m. ET: Trump says "Denmark’s very far away" from Greenland, despite being part of that country’s kingdom.

"A boat landed there 200 years ago or something. They say they have rights to it," Trump said in the Oval Office. "I don’t know if that’s true. I don’t think it is, actually."

He noted that the U.S. already has a military presence in Greenland and, "Maybe you’ll see more and more soldiers going there."

Trump also suggested that Greenland’s election was very good "for us" and "the person who did the best is a very good person as far as we’re concerned."

On Wednesday, Greenland's likely new prime minister rejected Trump's effort to take control of the island. 

"We don’t want to be Americans. No, we don’t want to be Danes. We want to be Greenlanders, and we want our own independence in the future," Jens-Frederik Nielsen, 33, told Britain’s Sky News. "And we want to build our own country by ourselves."

Trump says he’s ‘not going to bend’ on tariffs coming for Canada

1:10 p.m. ET: Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday that he’s not going to change his mind on the tariffs he’s imposing on Canada.

"We’ve been ripped off for years," Trump said. "We’re not going to bend."

Acknowledging the economic impact, he said, "There’ll be a little disruption. But it won’t be long."

Putin agrees in principle with US Ukraine ceasefire proposal

1 p.m. ET: Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in principle on Thursday with a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in its war against Ukraine.

"We agree with the proposals to halt the fighting, but we proceed from the assumption that the ceasefire should lead to lasting peace and remove the root causes of the crisis," Putin said.

Putin’s statement noted that Ukrainian troops are encircled in their last foothold in Russia’s Kursk region, and it’s necessary to determine before a ceasefire whether they will surrender.

He also noted that it’s necessary to develop a mechanism of control over possible breaches of the truce.

And he questioned whether Ukraine could use the 30-day ceasefire to mobilize and rearm.

Trump welcomes NATO secretary to White House 

12:50 p.m. ET: President Donald Trump welcomed NATO secretary general Mark Rutte to the White House for a meeting and lunch. 

Trump said Rutte is doing a "fantastic job" as head of the 32-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization and that "I got to know him very well" when Rutte was prime minister of the Netherlands, the Associated Press reported. 

"We had a great relationship," Trump added.

Trump has been ratcheting up his anti-NATO rhetoric, expressing an unwillingness to defend members who don’t meet defense spending targets.

What to know about the Trump-NATO meeting 

Local perspective:

NATO secretary general Mark Rutte, who heads the 32-member transatlantic military alliance, is meeting with Trump at a critical moment for Europe and NATO. 

Last week, Trump implied that the U.S. could abandon its commitments to the alliance if member countries don’t meet defense spending targets, the Associated Press reported. 

RELATED: Trump's trade war 2.0: Timeline of tariffs, retaliation, and global fallout

This came a day after Trump’s selection for NATO ambassador, former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker, told senators that the Trump administration’s commitment to the military alliance was "ironclad."

According to the AP, Trump is also showing doubt that NATO would come to the United States’ defense if the nation were attacked. 

Additionally, the Trump administration is moving forward with talks with Moscow to sign off on a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire that Trump thinks may bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. 

Trump’s alcohol tariff threat

Dig deeper:

President Donald Trump issued a threat on social media on Thursday, saying he would impose a 200% tariff on European wine, champagne, and spirits if the European goes forward with a planned tariff on American whiskey on April 1.

Trump called the longtime U.S. ally "one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the World, which was formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States."

The commander-in-chief said the 200% tax on U.S. consumption of European products "will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S."

RELATED: Trump's 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports take effect

According to the Associated Press, Trump has separate tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, with plans to also tax imports from the European Union, Brazil and South Korea by charging "reciprocal" rates beginning on April 2.

Meanwhile, the European Union responded to Trump’s tariffs with a measure of their own. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that as the United States was "applying tariffs worth 28 billion dollars, we are responding with countermeasures worth 26 billion euros," or about $28 billion, the AP reported. 

U.S. bourbon makers encourage Trump to stop trade war

The other side:

American bourbon makers are urging President Donald Trump to stop his tariff trade war. "The US-EU spirits sector is the model for fair and reciprocal trade, having zero-for-zero tariffs since 1997," the Associated Press reported, citing a statement by Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council.

"The U.S. spirits sector supports more than $200 billion in economic activity, 1.7 million jobs across production, distribution, hospitality and retail, and the purchase of 2.8 billion pounds of grains from American farmers," it says.

"We urge President Trump to secure a spirits agreement with the EU to get us back to zero-for-zero tariffs, which will create U.S. jobs and increase manufacturing and exports for the American hospitality sector. We want toasts not tariffs."

Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear told the Associated Press Trump’s tariff policy is hurting the American economy and may lead to higher consumer prices impacting business.

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