This executive order formalizes a new trade framework with Japan built around reciprocity and national security. It moves a July framework deal into action by directing a tariff structure that aims to level the playing field for American producers while securing critical supply chains. Because it references earlier actions on steel, aluminum, autos, and copper, the immediate impact is clarity for exporters and importers in those sectors, plus a stronger signal that the two countries are aligning on strategic industries.

What this really means is that policy and geopolitics are pulling in the same direction. Expect closer coordination with Japan on sensitive supply chains, potential price shifts in metals and autos, and a faster path for U.S. agencies to calibrate tariffs to security goals rather than just market dynamics. Businesses get more predictability about rules and timelines, but they’ll still need to watch for follow-on regulations and any trade partner responses that could adjust costs or market access.

U.S. entry into World War I came after nearly three years of declared neutrality. From 1914 to early 1917, President Wilson tried to keep the country out while the public was split along ethnic, regional, and ideological lines. American trade leaned toward the Allies, the British blockade squeezed commerce with Germany, and German submarine attacks kept pushing the limits. The Lusitania sinking and other incidents sparked outrage, but Wilson won reelection in 1916 pledging peace.

The break came in early 1917. Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare, threatening neutral ships. Then, the Zimmermann Telegram proposed a German alliance with Mexico if the U.S. joined the war. Wilson asked Congress for war in April, framing it as a defense of neutral rights and a fight to make the world safe for democracy. Economic ties to the Allies and the fall of the Russian tsar also eased political resistance.

Congress declared war on April 6, 1917. The U.S. mobilized quickly, sent the American Expeditionary Forces to France, and helped tip the balance in 1918. At home, the draft, wartime production boards, and propaganda expanded federal power, while laws like the Espionage and Sedition Acts restricted dissent. The war ended with the Armistice in November 1918. Wilson pushed the Fourteen Points and a League of Nations, but the Senate rejected membership, feeding a turn inward even as the U.S. emerged as a leading economic and military power.

Political parties exist to organize political power and connect citizens to government. They give voters simple choices by grouping ideas and candidates under clear labels. Parties help people with similar views act together, so individual preferences become a shared program that can win elections and shape policy.

In elections, parties recruit and train candidates, set platforms, raise money, and mobilize voters. They offer cues that help busy voters make sense of complex issues. By coordinating campaigns across offices and levels of government, parties lower the cost of participation and increase turnout and engagement.

In government, parties structure lawmaking and accountability. They organize legislative leadership, set agendas, and help members work together to pass budgets and laws. The majority party tries to govern, while the minority provides opposition and scrutiny. Strong or weak, parties remain the main link between public demands and the policies that follow.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica; OpenStax Introduction to Political Science; OpenStax American Government; International IDEA; American Political Science Association task force report More than Red and Blue.