US president says he accepted invitation in first phone conversation between leaders since January
Donald Trump said he had accepted an invitation to meet Xi Jinping in China after a phone conversation on trade was held between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies.
In a post on Truth Social, the US president said the “very good” call lasted about 90 minutes and the conversation was “almost entirely focused on trade”.
Continue reading...President brings in ban for visitors from 12 countries and restricts travel from a further seven
Donald Trump has ordered an investigation into Joe Biden’s actions as president, alleging top aides masked his predecessor’s “cognitive decline”.
The investigation will build on a Republican-led campaign already under way to discredit the former president and overturn some of his executive actions, including pardons and federal rules issued towards the end of his term in office.
Continue reading...Home secretary appears to accept early release proposals will put more pressure on police as she is questioned at select committee
Defence sources believe that Britain will be forced to sign up to a target of lifting defence spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035 at this month’s Nato summit after a campaign by the alliance’s secretary general to keep Donald Trump onboard, Dan Sabbagh reports.
Later today the data (use and access) bill will return to the Commons from the Lords in the third round of “ping pong” between the two houses. It is not unusual for “ping pong” to go on for a round or two, as bills which are almost ready for royal assent shuttle between the elected and unelected chamber while they try to resolve matters of dispute. But, in this case, the Lords are digging in a bit more than usual.
The government has been accused of “supporting thieves”, as it suffered a further heavy defeat at the hands of peers pressing their demand for steps to safeguard the creative industries against artificial intelligence.
The fourth and latest setback for the Labour frontbench over the issue in the House of Lords was inflicted despite pleas by a minister for the upper chamber to end its prolonged stand-off over the data (use and access) bill.
Continue reading...Morocco’s commercial centre has brought investment to the continent – but critics say it masks domestic inequality
For centuries, Casablanca was a significant trading hub for merchants from across the breadth of the Atlantic coast, given its geographical position between Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
These days, Morocco’s economic capital is merging those historical roots with a strong modern commercial identity. One such manifestation is the Casablanca Finance City (CFC) district, whose high-rise buildings stand as a symbol of the city’s dream of being a main gateway for international investment into Africa.
Continue reading...Beijing says it will safeguard its interests after Donald Trump claimed it had ‘totally violated’ agreement
China has accused the US of “seriously violating” the fragile US-China detente that has been in place for less than a month since the two countries agreed to pause the trade war that risked upending the global economy.
China and the US agreed on 12 May to pause for 90 days the skyrocketing “reciprocal” tariffs that both countries had placed on the others goods in a frenzied trade war that started a few weeks earlier. Tariffs had reached 125% on each side, which officials feared amounted to virtual embargo on trade between the world’s two biggest economies.
Continue reading...Prime minister also reaffirms policy on Taiwan while hitting back at Donald Trump’s doubling of tariffs on steel and aluminium imports
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Anthony Albanese has responded to the United States’ calls for a huge rise in defence spending amid fears about China, while hitting back at Donald Trump’s move to double tariffs on steel and aluminium.
On Saturday US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, urged US allies in the region, including Australia, to “share the burden” and lift defence spending to 5% of GDP, warning that “Beijing is credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific”.
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Continue reading...Trump announced on Friday night that he planned to double rates on imported steel, piling more pressure on the industry
The UK’s trade secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, will meet his US counterpart next week to thrash out a timeline for exempting the UK from US steel and aluminium tariffs after Donald Trump announced he would double them.
British officials are seeking clarity on the implications of Trump’s announcement on Friday night that he planned to double the tariffs from 25% to 50% from Wedneday 4 June, piling further pressure on global steel trade.
Continue reading...Time and time again over the past four months, reality has failed to match Trump’s rhetoric
“Tariffs are easy,” Donald Trump claimed in March. For his administration, and the world, they have proven anything but. Now an obscure New York court has blocked his signature trade policy, setting up a battle that looks sure to end up in the supreme court.
The plan was simple. For decades, Trump has made the case for tariffs. Now, in his second term, he would dramatically hike them on the world; raise trillions of dollars for the federal government; cut taxes for Americans; and lure manufacturers to the country’s industrial heartlands, creating millions of jobs.
Continue reading...Don Farrell says US president’s latest tariffs announcement ‘an act of economic self-harm’ and he will continue to advocate for their removal
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Australia’s trade minister, Don Farrell, has described Donald Trump’s trade tariffs as “unjustified and not the act of a friend”, after the US president announced he would double import duties on steel and aluminium to 50%.
Trump told a steelworkers rally in Pittsburgh that raising the tariff would “even further secure the steel industry in the United States. Nobody is going to get around that”.
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Continue reading...President took to social media to denounce Beijing in the latest development in his ongoing tariff war
Donald Trump declared that China has “totally violated its agreement” against the US on trade just two weeks after the countries reached a deal, raising fears that the trade war will continue to rattle the global economy.
“I made a FAST DEAL with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday morning. “Everybody was happy! That is the good news!!! The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US.”
Continue reading...CEO of Europe’s largest industrial group says he has been in direct talks with Donald Trump’s administration
Volkswagen, Europe’s largest industrial group, has said it will make a “massive” investment in the US. The group, which includes Porsche, revealed it has been in direct talks with Donald Trump’s administration as it faces damaging tariffs.
Oliver Blume, who heads the group, said the talks were “constructive” and “fair”, in an interview that suggests the company, whose market capital is £44bn, is not willing to leave tariff negotiations to Brussels alone.
Continue reading...Wall Street up in early trading after US president commends bloc for calling to ‘quickly establish meeting dates’
Donald Trump has indicated there has been progress in US trade talks with the EU, helping send share prices rising on Wall Street, after he commended the bloc for calling to “quickly establish meeting dates”.
“I have just been informed that the EU has called to quickly establish meeting dates. This is a positive event, and I hope that they will,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, saying the EU would be “very happy and successful” if it agreed a deal.
Continue reading...European leaders call for ‘lowest possible’ border taxes after levies postponed from 1 June to 9 July
EU leaders have expressed hopes for a quick deal to resolve the trade war with the US after Donald Trump announced he was delaying his threatened 50% tariffs for the bloc until 9 July.
The US president said on Sunday he would pause the border tax due to be imposed on 1 June, which he had announced two days earlier, after what he called a “very nice call” with Ursula von der Leyen.
Continue reading...Enactment of 50% tariffs postponed until July so both sides can ‘reach a good deal’ after pressure from European leaders
Donald Trump has announced that he will pause his threatened 50% tariffs on the European Union until 9 July, after a “very nice call” with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.
The European Commission president announced in a social media post that she had spoken with Trump and secured the delay to give the two sides more time to negotiate.
Continue reading...Maroš Šefčovič’s remarks come after pace of talks prompted Trump to propose 50% tariff on goods from bloc
The European Union’s trade chief has struck a defiant tone after Donald Trump threatened to place a 50% tariff on all goods from the bloc, saying any potential trade deal between Brussels and Washington must be based on “respect not threats”.
The US president made his announcement after voicing frustration with the pace of progress on a trade agreement with the EU. The new rates would come into effect from 1 June.
Continue reading...Announcement wipes about $70bn off Apple shares amid pressure on company to build smartphones in US
Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on iPhones if they are not made in the United States, as he stepped up the pressure on Apple to build its signature product in the country.
The president wiped approximately $70bn (£52bn) off the company’s shares with a post on the Truth Social platform that said iPhones sold inside the US must be made within the country’s borders.
Continue reading...Retailer warns sales will slip for all of 2025 as customers pull back spending amid fears over tariffs and economy
Sales at Target fell more than expected in the first quarter, and the retailer warned they will slip for all of 2025 year as its customers, worried over the impact of tariffs and the economy, pull back on spending.
Target also said that customer boycotts have also done some damage during the latest quarter. The company scaled back many diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in January after they came under attack by conservative activists and the White House. Target’s retreat created another backlash, with more customers angered by the retailer’s reduction of LGBTQ+-themed merchandise for Pride month in June of 2023.
Continue reading...Ivan Espinosa says UK plant will not be hit by cost cuts as Japanese firm reveals seven factories to close
Nissan’s new chief executive has said the Japanese carmaker would be open to building cars for a Chinese partner at its factory in Sunderland after he confirmed it would not be closed in a round of deep cost cuts.
This week Nissan revealed plans to close seven factories and cut 20,000 jobs after sustaining heavy losses.
Continue reading...Bank of England’s Catherine Mann wary of firms looking to rebuild profit margins after a squeeze
Businesses will need to show they are keeping a lid on prices before there can be further interest rate cuts, according to the Bank of England interest rate-setter Catherine Mann.
In a warning to retailers and consumer goods companies to resist pushing up prices by more than the increase in their costs, Mann said she was wary of firms looking to rebuild their profit margins after a squeeze in recent years.
“I need to see the loss of pricing power, I need to see that firms are starting to be much more moderate in setting their prices,” she said.
Faced with lower US profits, pharmaceutical companies could demand higher prices elsewhere in the world, or even withdraw products entirely
Donald Trump’s pressure on medicine companies could drive up the cost of Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) or see companies withdraw some medicines from Australian shelves , experts have warned.
The US president on Monday threatened to force medicine companies to lower their prices in the US, giving them 30 days to cut costs or face more severe action in an executive order.
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