The U.S. Military Buildup Near Iran Intensifies

SPEAKER_1 (0:02)

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Luke Vargas (0:32)

The Pentagon build up near Iran intensifies. Plus the US and Taiwan finalize a trade deal centered around chip investments. And the bill comes due for Detroit after Washington's EV U-turn.

Stephen Wilmot (0:45)

The most notable feature perhaps is the $7,500 tax credit, which until the beginning of October, you could get against the purchase of an EV. And since that has fallen away, EV sales in the US have really fallen off a cliff.

Luke Vargas (0:59)

It's Friday, February 13th. I'm Luke Vargas for the Wall Street Journal. And here is the AM Edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today. The US. Navy's largest aircraft carrier is on its way to the Middle East. After spending months in the Caribbean, the USS Gerald R. Ford will be joining another aircraft carrier and nine warships already in the Middle East as the US steps up plans for a potential attack on Iran. Journal correspondent Jared Malson says the Trump administration has been using a carrot and stick approach with Iran since promising to protect protesters.

Jared Malson (1:35)

Since then, we've seen an evolution of US policy. The protests have died down after this brutal crackdown by the Iranian regime in which they have apparently killed thousands of people. Now the administration has pivoted to this very uncertain policy where they are both negotiating with Iran over their nuclear program and also saying that if they don't make a deal, they will strike Iran. The administration is also dialing up the economic pressure on Iran through imposing more sanctions, for example, on its shadow fleet of tankers that it uses to export oil. So all of those things are happening at the same time and Trump keeps saying that he wants to make a deal and if that doesn't happen, there will be strikes, so he seems to be keeping his options open.

Luke Vargas (2:24)

Jared says that the Trump administration has acknowledged the potential downsides of military action and ruled out possible regime change.

Jared Malson (2:32)

There are tens of thousands of US troops deployed in the region who they would have to protect. They would also need the air defenses in place to protect Israel as they have in the previous round of clashes with Iran. And Secretary of State Marco Rubio in January said there was a lot of complexity to the Iranian system where they essentially couldn't go in and do what they did in Venezuela with Maduro.

Luke Vargas (2:56)

Washington and Taipei have today finalized a trade deal to lower the tariff on Taiwan from 32% to 15%. Core to the deal is an agreement that the world's largest advanced chipmaker, TSMC, will continue investments in the US and in turn be exempt from tariffs, as the journal's Zhou Yu Wang explains.

Zhou Yu Wang (3:16)

Taiwan is where most of the world's advanced semiconductor chips are being made and the German administration has been trying to basically bring the semiconductor production back to US soil, which is why TSMC is playing a key role in this tariff negotiation.

Luke Vargas (3:37)

Zhou Yu told us that officials also see the deal strengthening security ties. Beijing hasn't commented on the announcement but said last month that it opposes any official exchanges between Taiwan and Washington.

It's been one year now since Vice President JD. Vance addressed the Munich Security Conference and standing before US allies eager for clues about the Trump administration's approach to tackling a slew of global threats, turned the tables on them.

JD Vance (4:07)

Europe faces many challenges, but the crisis this continent faces right now, the crisis I believe we all face together, is one of our own making.

Luke Vargas (4:17)

Those words left conference chairman Christoph Heusgen close to tears.

Christoph Heusgen (4:22)

We have to fear that our common value base is not that common anymore. Let me conclude and this becomes difficult.

Luke Vargas (4:32)

Vance's remarks suggesting a deepening estrangement with Europe proved prescient and the transatlantic relationship this year looks as strained as ever, as France's Emmanuel Macron recently observed.

Emmanuel Macron (4:43)

Competition from the United States of America through trade agreements that undermine our exports interests demand maximum concessions and openly aim to weaken and subordinate Europe, combined with an endless accumulation of new tariffs that are fundamentally unacceptable.