Category Archives: International trade

Trump hits UK with 10% tariffs as he ignites global trade war

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Britain gets off comparatively lightly but US president’s action could still cost billions in lost growth

Donald Trump has hit the UK with tariffs of 10% on exports to the US as he ignited a global trade war that could wipe billions off economic growth.

The US president accused other nations, including allies, of “looting, pillaging, raping and plundering” the US, as he announced tariffs on economic rivals including 20% on the EU and 34% on China as part of what he dubbed “liberation day”.

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Wednesday briefing: What the latest wave of tariffs mean for the US, UK, Europe – and you

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In today’s newsletter: The administration’s sweeping tariffs have left markets bracing for volatility – but what impact will they have on an unsteady global economy?

Good morning. According to Donald Trump, it’s “liberation day”: the advent of a new trade order in which Americans reap the benefit of massive tariffs on imports, and the rest of the world picks up the tab.

Unsurprisingly, the United States’ trading partners tend to take a very different view. And they are doing everything they can to avoid being passive targets for the White House’s carnivorous vision of American exceptionalism.

Israel-Gaza war | Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced a major expansion of the military operation in Gaza on Wednesday, saying large areas of the enclave would be seized and added to the security zones of Israel. Follow the latest here.

Israel-Gaza war | Some of the bodies of 15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers, killed by Israeli forces and buried in a mass grave in Gaza, were found with their hands or legs tied and had gunshot wounds to the head and chest, according to two eyewitnesses. The accounts add to evidence pointing to a potentially serious war crime on 23 March.

UK news | More than 20 women have contacted police to say they fear they may have been attacked by the serial rapist Zhenhao Zou, with detectives fearing there may be even more victims to come. Zou, 28, was convicted last month of raping three women in London and seven in China between 2019 and 2024.

US politics | Cory Booker, the Democratic US senator from New Jersey, has broken the record for longest speech ever by a lone senator by spending 25 hours and five minutes inveighing against Donald Trump in the chamber. Booker’s speech was intended to highlight the “grave and urgent” danger that Trump poses to democracy.

Cinema | Val Kilmer, the actor best known for his roles in Top Gun, Batman Forever and The Doors, has died at the age of 65. His daughter Mercedes told the New York Times that the cause of death was pneumonia.

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Starmer dismisses claims he’s been ‘played’ by Trump, and says future trade deal could lessen impact of tariffs – UK politics live

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Starmer said that a future trade deal with the US might lead to the UK getting some exemptions from the tariffs

Richard Hughes, chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility, is giving evidence to the Treasury committee. There is a live feed here.

Hughes started by telling the committee that he wrote to the chancellor earlier this year to say that, when his five-year term ends later this year, he would like to have a second term in office.

We are of course negotiating an economic deal which will, I hope … mitigate the tariffs.

The US is our closest ally. Our defence, our security, our intelligence are bound up in a way that no two other countries are.

So it’s obviously in our national interest to have a close working relationship with the US, which we’ve had for decades, and I want to ensure we have for decades to come.

We are obviously working with the sectors most impacted at pace on that.

Nobody wants to see a trade war but I have to act in the national interests.

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Large majority of Europeans support retaliatory tariffs against US, poll finds

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Survey shows between 56% and 79% across seven countries in favour if Trump introduces ‘Liberation Day’ levies

A large majority of western Europeans support retaliatory tariffs against the US, a survey has suggested, if Donald Trump introduces sweeping import duties for major trading partners as expected this week.

The US president appears likely to unleash a range of tariffs, varying from country to country, on Wednesday, which he has called Liberation Day. He also said last week that a 25% levy on cars shipped to the US would come into force the next day.

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Trump prepares to unveil reciprocal tariffs as markets brace amid trade war fears

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President promises he will be ‘very kind’ but critics warn his strategy risks triggering chain reaction and global trade war

As Donald Trump prepared to unveil a swathe of reciprocal tariffs, global markets braced and some Republican senators voiced their opposition to a strategy that critics warn risks a global trade war, provoking retaliation by major trading partners such as China, Canada and the European Union.

The US president said on Monday he would be “very kind” to trading partners when he unveils further tariffs this week, potentially as early as Tuesday night.

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Le boycott: French customers shun McDonald’s, Coca Cola and Tesla to protest against Trump

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France has been urged to shun Maga America as #BoycottUSA hashtag spreads, but teenagers say they can’t afford to join the action

On the rainy Grands Boulevards in Paris on Friday, the branches of McDonald’s and KFC were doing brisk business.

There was little sign of “le boycott” – a movement among French customers to reject American brands and products made in the US, in protest at Donald Trump’s trade tariffs and anti-Europe rhetoric.

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Italian PM calls for ‘reasoned’ approach to escalating tariff war between EU and US

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Giorgia Meloni says it is her responsibility to defend transatlantic unity in face of looming US levies

Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has called for a “reasoned” approach to an escalating tariff war between the EU and the US and repeated the importance of transatlantic unity.

The US president, Donald Trump, has announced sweeping tariffs on his country’s allies and adversaries, including a 25% levy on car imports starting next week, and a 200% tariff on champagne, wine and other alcoholic drinks from the EU.

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Starmer is warned against ‘appeasing’ Trump with tax cut for US tech firms

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Labour MP and Lib Dem leader express concern social media companies could be let off hook just as benefits are cut

Keir Starmer has been warned against “appeasing” Donald Trump as he considers reducing a major tax for US tech companies while cutting disability benefits and public sector jobs.

His chancellor, Rachel Reeves, confirmed on Sunday that there were “ongoing” discussions about the UK’s £1bn-a-year digital services tax that affects companies including Meta and Amazon.

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US-EU trade war could cost Ireland more than €18bn, says report

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Report co-authored by Irish government also finds tariffs could cause job losses and relocation of US multinationals

A trade war between the US and the EU could cost Ireland more than €18bn (£15bn), trigger waves of job losses and cause US multinationals to relocate, according to a report co-authored by the Irish government.

Ireland’s GDP could shrink by 3.7% over the next five to seven years under the worst-case scenario, in which Donald Trump imposed 25% tariffs on all exports on the EU and the EU retaliated with counter-tariffs, the study carried by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) found.

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Carney visits Macron and Starmer as he seeks alliances amid Trump trade war

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Canadian PM stresses importance of ‘reliable allies’ in Paris before travelling to London where he was received by king

Canada is the “most European of the non-European countries”, Mark Carney said during his first overseas trip as prime minister to France and the UK, where he is seeking stronger alliances to deal with Donald Trump’s attacks on his country’s sovereignty and economy.

Without mentioning the US president by name, Carney and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, made a joint appearance in Paris to show a united stance against what they said were economic and geopolitical crises – a reference to Trump’s trade war and “America first” diplomacy that has left longtime allies scrambling.

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‘Trump tariffs are reshaping our politics’: Canadians on their election

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Voters reflect on their priorities and mood shifts in their communities before a crucial contest

When the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, resigned in early January, after months of pressure to quit, the approval ratings of the progressive firebrand had dropped from their peak of 65% in September 2016 to 22%.

At the end of last year, the Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, described by many as “Trump Lite”, was the clear favourite to win Canada’s next general election, and the top pick of 45% of Canadians for prime minister. At the time, the three biggest issues for voters were all economic: reducing the cost of everyday items, inflation and interest rates, and access to affordable housing.

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Ed Davey calls on Keir Starmer to back Canada against Trump attacks

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Lib Dem leader says PM should make public show of support for ally against ‘shocking attacks’ on its sovereignty

The leader of the UK’s Liberal Democrats has called on the prime minister to publicly support Canada and oppose the “shocking attacks” on Canadian sovereignty, as the Trump administration further escalates its global trade war against longstanding allies.

Ed Davey, who leads the third largest political party in the UK, has called on Keir Starmer to travel to Canada in a show of support to the nation’s new prime minister, Mark Carney, as the commonwealth nation faces a generational crisis under Trump’s tariff war and suggestions that the country might become the 51st US state.

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Trump confirms detention of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil: ‘the first arrest of many to come’ – live

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Trump says Ice took the Palestinian student protester into custody after his executive order

Secretary of state Marco Rubio has announced that USAid will cancel the majority of its programs, while the rest will be folded into the state department.

Writing on X, Rubio said:

After a 6 week review we are officially cancelling 83% of the programs at USAID.

The 5200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States.

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Risk of ‘Trumpcession’ rising, economists say, as global markets fall

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Donald Trump’s brinkmanship and stop-start approach to tariffs rattle investors

The risk that the US economy will enter recession this year is rising, according to economists, as Donald Trump’s chaotic approach to tariffs continued to hit markets.

Shares on Wall Street fell sharply on Monday as investors bet the president’s unpredictable tariff trade war and handling of the economy would hit growth, amid a recent plunge in business and consumer confidence.

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Trump temporarily spares carmakers from US tariffs on Canada and Mexico

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After a call with top executives at GM, Ford and Stellantis, president approves one-month exemption from tariffs

Donald Trump has temporarily spared carmakers from sweeping US tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, one day after an economic strike on the US’s two biggest trading partners sparked warnings of widespread price increases and disruption.

The US president extended his aggressive trade strategy at midnight on Tuesday by targeting the country’s two closest neighbors with duties of 25%.

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Hong Kong firm to sell stake in Panama ports amid Trump pressure

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Deal with US finance giant BlackRock, valued at almost $23bn, comes amid push to curb perceived China influence

CK Hutchison Holdings, the Hong Kong-based logistics giant, announced plans to sell a majority stake in a business that controls ports in Panama to investors including the US financial giant BlackRock in a deal worth almost $23bn.

The sale of a 90% interest in Panama Ports Company, which holds the contract to run the ports of Balboa and Cristóbal until 2047, is part of a wider deal for Hutchinson Port’s global business. The deal comes at a time Donald Trump has piled on pressure to end what he sees as China’s influence and control over the Panama canal.

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China likely to target US agriculture, state media reports, as Trump tariff deadline nears

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Global Times signals Beijing’s likely countermeasure after US president threatened a further 10% duty to come into force on Tuesday

China is preparing countermeasures against fresh US import tariffs that are set to take effect on Tuesday, China’s state-backed Global Times reported, with American agricultural exports likely to be targeted.

Donald Trump last week threatened China with an extra 10% duty, resulting in a cumulative 20% tariff, while accusing Beijing of not having done enough to halt the flow of fentanyl into America, something China said was tantamount to “blackmail”.

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Chinese manufacturing surges despite threat of higher Trump tariffs

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Fastest expansion in three months as Chinese factories return to growth as new orders rise

China’s manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace in three months in February, despite the looming threat that Donald Trump will impose tariffs this week.

Production at China’s factories returned to growth last month, an official survey showed, thanks to higher new orders and purchase volumes.

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Trump says Putin would keep his word on a Ukraine peace deal

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President claims presence of US workers in Ukraine would deter Russian aggression after talks with Keir Starmer

Donald Trump has insisted that Vladimir Putin would “keep his word” on a peace deal for Ukraine, arguing that US workers extracting critical minerals in the country would act as a security backstop to deter Russia from invading again.

During highly anticipated talks at the White House with the prime minister, Keir Starmer, the US president said that Putin could be trusted not to breach any agreement, which could aim to return as much of the land as possible to Ukraine that was seized by Russia during the brutal three-year conflict.

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Trump’s threatened 25% tariffs on EU imports could trigger ‘economic turmoil’

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US president’s plan could prove to be an economic shock to both blocs, German thinktank says

Donald Trump’s threatened 25% tariffs on EU imports could trigger “economic turmoil”, sharply push down growth and send inflation soaring, according to a German thinktank.

The Kiel Institute said the US president’s promise on Wednesday that he would impose the levies “very soon” was a profound moment in the postwar relationship between Washington and Brussels and could prove to be an economic shock to both parties.

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