War-torn and struggling countries among those facing steepest Trump reciprocal tariffs

Myanmar, which is reeling from a huge earthquake and civil war, faces 44% rate amid suspicions that the underlying target is China

Developing nations in South-east Asia, including war-torn and earthquake-hit Myanmar, and several African nations are among the trading partners facing the highest tariffs set by US President Donald Trump.

Upending decades of US trade policy and threatening to unleash a global trade war, Trump on Wednesday announced a raft of tariffs he said were designed to stop the US economy from being “cheated”.

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Republicans join Democrats in Senate vote to rescind Trump Canada tariffs

Resolution that would block tariffs passes 51-48 in Senate, in vote that shows Republican unease over president’s plans

Several Republican senators joined Democrats to pass a resolution that would block Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, a rare rebuke of the president’s trade policy just hours after he announced plans for sweeping import taxes on some of the country’s largest trading partners.

In a 51-48 vote, four Republicans – Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and both Kentucky senators, the former majority leader Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul – defied Trump’s pressure campaign and supported the measure. Democrats used a procedural maneuver to force a vote on the resolution, which would terminate the national emergency on fentanyl Trump is using to justify tariffs on Canada.

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Canada Trump tariff exemption ‘like dodging a bullet into the path of a tank’, says business leader

Automotive industry and prime minister Mark Carney note that 25% tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum and automobiles will still come into effect within hours

Canada’s exemption from Donald Trump’s global tariffs was “like dodging a bullet into the path of a tank”, say business leaders as other levies are poised to hit key industries that drive the country’s economy.

In a theatrical unveiling of tariffs on countries with “unfair” practices on Wednesday afternoon, Canada was noticeably absent, alongside trade ally Mexico.

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Trump goes full gameshow host to push his tariff plan – and nobody’s a winner

There were charts and scores, as if The Price Is Right had come to Washington. The big prize? A global trade war

It was Jeopardy!, or The Price Is Right, come to Washington.

On an unseasonably chilly day in the White House Rose Garden, Donald Trump stood with a giant chart listing which reciprocal tariffs he would impose on China, the European Union, the United Kingdom and other hapless contestants.

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

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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Trump’s tariffs: how might Europe respond to unleashing of trade war?

Bloc’s options include retaliating with tariffs on US goods and services and forming closer ties with other countries

Donald Trump is getting ready to impose sweeping and immediate tariffs on all foreign goods, thereby unleashing a trade war and upending the multilateral trading system that the US helped to build after the second world war.

Here is how Europe might respond:

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

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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Trump set to announce new round of tariffs on his so-called ‘liberation day’

President’s plans have rattled global stock markets and triggered heated rows with US’s largest trading partners

Donald Trump will announce his latest round of tariffs at the White House on Wednesday, threatening to unleash a global trade war on what he has dubbed “liberation day”.

Trump has rattled global stock markets, alarmed corporate executives and economists, and triggered heated rows with the US’s largest trading partners by announcing and delaying plans to impose tariffs on foreign imports several times since taking office.

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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

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

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

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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Trump says he ‘couldn’t care less’ if tariffs make car prices go up

Trump says tariffs on foreign-made cars would would lead to increased sales of US-made cars

Donald Trump said on Saturday he did not warn car industry executives against raising prices as tariffs on foreign-made autos come into force, telling NBC News he “couldn’t care less” if they do.

The president’s comments came as the White House prepared to impose new tariffs on a range of consumer goods on 2 April, a move that has drawn criticism from international leaders and concerns about potential price increases for consumers.

Guardian staff contributed reporting

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Keir Starmer urged to get tough with Trump as US tariff threat looms

PM told to be as robust as Canada with the US president as the UK stages last-ditch talks to strike trade deal

Keir Starmer should fight back strongly against Donald Trump if he imposes punitive tariffs on British exports, senior UK and EU diplomats said on Saturday night, amid heightened fears that the US president could trigger a global trade war with devastating effects on the UK economy.

British government officials in London and Washington are working frantically this weekend to try to persuade Trump not to slap duties on more key UK industries on what he is calling “liberation day” on Wednesday. The US president has already announced plans for 25% levies on imports of cars, steel and aluminium to the US.

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

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

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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Trump describes ‘productive’ call with Mark Carney amid US-Canada trade war

US president says he and Canadian prime minister ‘agree on many things’ after first talk since Carney assumed role

Donald Trump described a long-awaited call with the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, as “extremely productive” amid a trade war between the two nations launched by the US president.

The Friday morning call, requested by the White House, marks the first time the two leaders have spoken since Carney became prime minister on 14 March.

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End of an era for Canada-US ties, says Carney, as allies worldwide decry Trump’s car tariffs

Canadian PM says Donald Trump has permanently altered relations, as countries around the globe insist import taxes are harmful to all, including Washington

Canada’s prime minister has said the era of deep ties with the US “is over”, as governments from Tokyo to Berlin to Paris sharply criticised Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on car imports, with some threatening retaliatory action.

Mark Carney warned Canadians that Trump had permanently altered relations and that, regardless of any future trade deals, there would be “no turning back”.

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Flight bookings between Canada and US down 70% amid Trump tariff war

Airline capacity between two countries reduced through October 2025 as high-profile incidents of Ice arrests on rise

Airline travel between Canada and the US is “collapsing” amid Donald Trump’s tariff war, with flight bookings between the two countries down by over 70%, newly released data suggests.

According to data from the aviation analytics company OAG, airline capacity between Canada and the US has been reduced through October 2025, with the biggest cuts occurring between the months of July and August, which is considered peak travel season. Passenger bookings on Canada to US routes are currently down by over 70% compared to the same period last year.

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Rising fears of Trump tariffs pummel US consumer confidence to four-year low

Tariffs panned by economists for sowing uncertainty that they said made it challenging for businesses to plan ahead

US consumer confidence plunged to the lowest level in more than four years in March, with households fearing a recession in the future and higher inflation because of tariffs.

The Conference Board said on Tuesday that write-in responses to the survey showed “worries about the impact of trade policies and tariffs in particular are on the rise”, adding: “There were also more references than usual to economic and policy uncertainty.”

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Chinese premier meets pro-Trump senator and calls for ‘dialogue over confrontation’

Meeting comes as China hopes to reach a deal to avert further tariff pressure from Washington

Republican senator Steve Daines, a staunch supporter of Donald Trump, met Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing on Sunday, as China hopes to reach a deal to avert further tariff pressure from Washington.

The meeting marks the first time a US politician has visited China since Trump took office in January. Earlier this month, China’s ministry of foreign affairs promised that China will “fight to the end” with the US in a “tariff war, trade war or any other war”.

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