ABC11 by Michael Perchick

President Donald Trump participated in a wide-ranging exclusive interview with ABC News Senior National Correspondent Terry Moran Tuesday night, marking the first 100 days in office of his second term.

The Trump administration, while promoting an "American First" agenda, has taken several steps to engage at the international level, with the president stating his desire to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. He initially said he would end the war within 24 hours, though fighting has continued, as Russia ramps up its offensive in Ukraine.

"Ukrainians are now fighting really the greatest axis of evil that exists right now," said Olena Kozlova-Pates, President of Ukrainians in the Carolinas.

She recently visited her family in Ukraine, and added that she speaks with them daily.

"On one hand, they're just used to it. They just know that this is their daily life right now, and they have to deal with it. On the other hand, again, it's just crazy. It's the type of situation that you certainly would never assume and expect your parents, your aging parents, a grandmother, who is almost 90 years old, to be living in this (situation)," said Kozlova-Pates.

Kozlova-Pates said she's grateful for support locally and from a bipartisan group of North Carolina lawmakers.

"The hope is that (the Trump) administration would perhaps reconsider some of its approaches and certainly its rhetoric," said Kozlova-Pates.

"There's lots of ways we can increase our sanctions on the financial sector and banning Swift to leveraging and declaring Russia as a state sponsor of terror, which triggers a lot more sanctions. (There) could be more sanctions in the energy sector with gas and oil and in export controls and dual-use technologies that end up in the hands of Russians," said Jason Pates, Olena's husband, who serves as a volunteer with Ukrainians in the Carolinas.

Separately, the Trump administration has worked to negotiate an end to the fighting between Israel and Hamas. There was progress made at the beginning of his term, with a temporary ceasefire featuring the release of 33 living hostages, including Chapel Hill native Keith Seigel.

"I was held for 484 days in unimaginable conditions, every single day felt like it could be my last. President Trump - you are the reason I am home alive," said Seigel, in a video he made shortly after his release. He's since shared his story in further detail, as he continues to advocate for the release of all hostages.

However, fighting has since resumed in Gaza, and efforts to free the remaining hostages held by Hamas, including American Edan Alexander, have not led to a lasting ceasefire.

A key focus of Trump's term thus far has been on global trade, in which he's instituted broad-based tariffs. The President believes they will foster investment, with his office stating it has secured more than $5 trillion in US-based investments thus far. Further, Trump, while acknowledging the possibility of short-term disruption, asserted that tariffs will help create jobs in the United States while lessening the country's dependence on overseas manufacturing.

Some economists have questioned the strategy, saying it will lead to price increases. Businesses, already reporting effects on their costs.

"The vinyl that we use will go up 20%. The scrim and mesh banner will go up 25%," said Hamid Lalani, owner of Mercury Signs in Apex, reading off a letter he received from a wholesaler.

Lalani started the company in 2019 after a career in Silicon Valley.

"I decided that I'll have some more fun with doing something other than software," Lalani said.

He supports efforts to onshore production of certain industries, but said it's a years-long process.

"We are going through a painful phase because we would love to have aluminum plants all over North Carolina, but they don't exist today, and they're not going to happen overnight. But we don't want to shut down until ten years from now when there's an aluminum plant. Obviously, we have to adjust, and that's kind of what we're going through," said Lalani.

He participated in a roundtable earlier this month with other Triangle businesses, organized by Democratic Congresswoman Deborah Ross, which focused on the effects of tariffs. Lalani, like other business owners who were present, cited concerns about the uncertainty of the implementation of tariffs, as the administration has instituted pauses and exemptions for certain products. He noted one specific deal that was affected by those concerns.

"We gave (the other company) the proposal, they said, you know, there's too much uncertainty at this time. Why don't we revisit this issue in three months and see what happens?" Lalani said.

In another instance, Lalani said that they are absorbing costs on what should be a multi-year project, after being unable to project future costs.

"We'll make everything now, and we'll put it in storage and get paid for it. And then we will pay for storage because we had not charged for storage when we first (signed the contract). We will actually take a hit on the storage cost and get the signs ready, even though they don't need it for two-and-a-half years," Lalani said.

A new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos Poll found just 34% of Americans approved of tariffs on imported goods, with 64% against them.

Link to full article: https://abc11.com/post/trump-first-100-days-trumps-foreign-policy-marked-efforts-end-wars-implementation-tariffs/16281352/