“The U.S.-China trade war has lurched from fragile truce to bare-knuckle brawl. It is about to intensify further when the two countries hike fees on each others’ commercial ships Tuesday — a move that, on the U.S. side, could end up raising consumer costs and driving down imports from Asia,” Politico reports.

President Trump warned Russia yesterday he may send Ukraine long-range Tomahawk missiles if Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t end the nearly four-yearslong conflict soon, the AP reports.

Said Trump: “I might say, ‘Look: if this war is not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks.’ The Tomahawk is an incredible weapon, very offensive weapon. And honestly, Russia does not need that.”

Playbook: “After a weekend spent seemingly on the brink of a(nother) trade war with China, Trump walked the whole thing back again last night with a series of friendly messages to Chinese President Xi Jinping.”

“Having angrily threatened to slap China with an additional 100 percent tariff from Nov. 1 if Beijing did not drop its latest restrictions on rare earth exports, Trump suddenly pulled a U-turn and started playing nice again.”

Said Trump: “I think we’re gonna be fine with China. I have a great relationship with President Xi. He’s a very tough man, he’s a very smart man, he’s a great leader for their country, and I think we’ll get it set.”

Reuters: Every trade cloud has a TACO lining.

“President Trump was set to address Israel’s Parliament on Monday morning, hours after Hamas released the last 20 living hostages from Gaza as part of a cease-fire deal that was brokered in part by the United States,” the New York Times reports.

“The 20 hostages returned to Israeli territory after Hamas freed them early Monday, a crucial step in the deal that took effect on Friday. In exchange, buses carrying Palestinian prisoners released by Israel arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the first of nearly 2,000 prisoners expected to be freed in the coming hours.”

“The Chinese government has come out swinging in response to President Donald Trump’s threat Friday of 100 percent tariffs on China’s imports in response to Beijing’s new export curbs on rare earths,” Politico reports.

“In its first official reaction to that warning, Beijing on Sunday signaled that it will retaliate against any new levies that the Trump administration may impose on Chinese imports.”

“Beijing dismissed Trump’s concerns about the restrictions it announced last week — which will block exports that contain even trace amounts of Chinese rare earths essential to U.S. manufacturers — as a ‘classic case of ‘double standards.’ And said the export ban is a justified response to what it described as ‘discriminatory’ Trump administration trade curbs on items including high-end semiconductors.”