Category Archives: Tariffs

Bank ‘should cut UK interest rates to at least 4% in May amid tariff turmoil’

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Ex-Bank of England deputy governor Charlie Bean says cut of 0.5 points needed because of ‘crazy situation’ in US

The Bank of England should use its meeting next month to cut interest rates by at least half a percentage point to 4% in response to the financial turmoil created by Donald Trump’s trade tariffs, the former deputy governor Charlie Bean has said.

He believes an aggressive strategy is needed to combat the fallout from Trump’s tariff war, which has knocked trillions of pounds off global stock markets, undermining business and consumer confidence.

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Rightwing group backed by Koch and Leo sues to stop Trump tariffs

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New Civil Liberties Alliance says president’s invocation of emergency powers to impose tariffs is unlawful

A libertarian group backed by Leonard Leo and Charles Koch has mounted a legal challenge against Donald Trump’s tariff regime, in a sign of spreading rightwing opposition to a policy that has sent international markets plummeting.

The New Civil Liberties Alliance filed a suit against Trump’s imposition of import tariffs on exports from China, arguing that doing so under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) – which the president has invoked to justify the duties on nearly all countries – is unlawful.

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UK politics: Starmer sticks by manifesto pledge not to raise taxes amid tariff turmoil – as it happened

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Prime minister says ‘no one is pretending tariffs are good news’ during speech on car industry

In his Times article Keir Starmer describes the Trump tariffs as “the beginning of a new era”. He has been saying this at least since last Thursday, when he spoke about the tariffs at a Q&A with journalists at Labour’s local elections campaign launch. The speech this afternoon is being described as the PM’s most considered response so far to the global economic turmoil generated by the tariffs, but we have already heard quite a lot from Starmer on this topic already, in a Sunday Telegraph article yesterday and in No 10 briefings on the calls he had with world leaders about the situation over the weekend.

Is there a coherent strategy? On the basis of what he has said so far, there are at least five elements in the mix at the moment.

John Ryan is a local hero and we are truly humbled that he has publicly endorsed Reform UK ahead of May’s elections in Doncaster.

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Falling Australian dollar spells bad news for travellers and shoppers

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The value of one Australian dollar dropped to a low of 59.64 US cents, its lowest point since April 2020

Consumers and travellers will face higher prices after the Australian dollar fell to Covid-era lows, as markets reel from Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariff plan.

Fears of a global recession dragged the Australian dollar sharply lower on Monday against the country’s major trade partners and to its lowest point against the Euro, pound and US dollar since 2020.

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Asian markets plunge further amid tariff fallout; Trump says ‘sometimes you have to take medicine’ – business live

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Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbles nearly 9% on Monday as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 8% and South Korea trading temporarily halted amid Trump tariff concerns

Hong Kong stocks have plummeted more than 9% at open, while Singapore stocks dropped over 7%, according to reports.

Hong Kong and Chinese stocks dived on Monday as markets around the world crumbled in the face of the widening global trade war and fears it will unleash a deep recession, Reuters says.

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Asian markets plunge further amid tariff fallout; Trump says ‘sometimes you have to take medicine’ – business live

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Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbles nearly 9% on Monday as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 8% and South Korea trading temporarily halted amid Trump tariff concerns

Hong Kong stocks have plummeted more than 9% at open, while Singapore stocks dropped over 7%, according to reports.

Hong Kong and Chinese stocks dived on Monday as markets around the world crumbled in the face of the widening global trade war and fears it will unleash a deep recession, Reuters says.

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Asian share markets routed in early trading as Trump says ‘you have to take medicine’

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US president tells reporters the levies are ‘medicine to fix something’ as Nikkei tumbles nearly 9% in early trading, worsening huge losses from last week’s announcement

Donald Trump said foreign governments would have to pay “a lot of money” to lift sweeping tariffs that he characterised as “medicine,” as markets in Asia plunged in early trading on Monday.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One late on Sunday, the US president indicated he was not concerned about market losses that have already wiped out nearly $6tn in value from US stocks. “I don’t want anything to go down. But sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” he said.

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Asian share markets routed in early trading as Trump says ‘you have to take medicine’

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US president tells reporters the levies are ‘medicine to fix something’ as Nikkei tumbles nearly 9% in early trading, worsening huge losses from last week’s announcement

Donald Trump said foreign governments would have to pay “a lot of money” to lift sweeping tariffs that he characterised as “medicine,” as markets in Asia plunged in early trading on Monday.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One late on Sunday, the US president indicated he was not concerned about market losses that have already wiped out nearly $6tn in value from US stocks. “I don’t want anything to go down. But sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” he said.

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Government will step in to support key industries amid tariff turmoil, says Starmer

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Carmakers will be given more flexibility over targets on transitioning to electric vehicles

Keir Starmer has said the government will step in to support key British industries, as business grapples with the economic turmoil unleashed by Donald Trump’s global tariffs.

As the government attempts to counter the impact of the White House hitting the UK with a 10% base levy on exports to the US, the prime minister will promise to help shelter vulnerable sectors and will implement key parts of the industrial strategy months early.

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Senior Trump officials give conflicting lines on tariffs after markets turmoil

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Commerce secretary insists on CBS that tariffs will ‘stay in place’ as treasury secretary tells NBC negotiation is possible

Senior officials within Donald Trump’s administration gave conflicting messages on Sunday about the US president’s global tariffs that have caused a meltdown in stock markets, prompted warnings of a world recession and provoked rare expressions of dissent from within his Republican party.

Cabinet members fanned out across Sunday’s political talk shows armed with talking points on Trump’s 10% across-the-board tariff on almost all US imports, with higher rates targeted at about 60 countries. If the intention was to calm nerves with a clear statement of intent, then it backfired as top officials gave starkly contrasting signals.

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Senior Trump officials give conflicting lines on tariffs after markets turmoil

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Commerce secretary insists on CBS that tariffs will ‘stay in place’ as treasury secretary tells NBC negotiation is possible

Senior officials within Donald Trump’s administration gave conflicting messages on Sunday about the US president’s global tariffs that have caused a meltdown in stock markets, prompted warnings of a world recession and provoked rare expressions of dissent from within his Republican party.

Cabinet members fanned out across Sunday’s political talk shows armed with talking points on Trump’s 10% across-the-board tariff on almost all US imports, with higher rates targeted at about 60 countries. If the intention was to calm nerves with a clear statement of intent, then it backfired as top officials gave starkly contrasting signals.

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Starmer warns ‘world as we knew it has gone’ as countries mull tariff responses – live updates

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PM says he will use policy to shelter British businesses following the stock market turmoil prompted by Trump’s announcement

Starmer orders economic reset amid Trump’s tariff mayhem

Welcome back to our live coverage of the economic fallout from Donald Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs last week.

Almost $5tn (£4tn) was wiped off the value of global stock markets after the US president made his shock announcement last Wednesday, which included a 10% base tariff on imports into the US from the UK.

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‘Hands Off’ protests take off across US and Europe to oppose Trump agenda – as it happened

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Protesters gather at more than a thousand events across the US and in cities abroad, such as London, Berlin and Paris. This blog is now closed.

Hundreds of protesters gathered in central London on Saturday as part of global demonstrations against Donald Trump’s administration.

Crowds gathered in Trafalgar Square with banners that read “No to Maga hate” and “Dump Trump”. The rally is one of hundreds of so-called “Hands Off” demonstrations around the world – including in cities across the US, Paris and Berlin.

We see the foundations of our society, social security, Medicare, Medicaid, the very safety nets that people have fought for, for generations, to ensure that our country lives up to its promise, are being targeted by the billionaires and the oligarchs and the corporations.

This insidious rise of authoritarianism is fueled by corrupt billionaires and mega corporations who believe that they have the right to control every aspect of our lives, our healthcare, to our schools, to our thoughts, to our very free speech under the false banner of patriotism and freedom …

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Ted Cruz warns of midterm ‘bloodbath’ if Trump tariffs cause a recession

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Texas senator’s comments another sign of Republican unease over ‘reciprocal tariffs’ and stock market plunge

Ted Cruz, the US senator from Texas, has warned that his fellow Republicans risk a “bloodbath” in the 2026 midterm elections if Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs cause a recession.

Cruz also warned that the president’s tariffs, if they stay in place for long and are met by global retaliation on American goods, could trigger a full-blown trade war that “would destroy jobs here at home, and do real damage to the US economy”.

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Starmer to hold talks with other global leaders to discuss response to Trump tariffs, says No 10 – UK politics live

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UK prime minister to speak to international leaders this weekend to ‘maintain stability and strengthen our partnerships abroad’

Trump claims Starmer ‘very happy’ about tariffs

Downing Street has refused to confirm President Trump’s claim that Keir Starmer was “very happy” about the treatment the UK is getting under the new US global tariff regime. (See 9.32am.) Asked about the president’s words at the morning lobby briefing, the PM’s spokesperson said that the government had already set out its position yesterday and that it was “disappointed” by the US tariff policy.

Livia Tossici-Bolt has been sentenced at Poole magistrates’ court to a conditional discharge for two years for two charges of breaching a “buffer zone” outside an abortion clinic in Bournemouth, PA Media reports. See 11.22am.

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US added 228,000 jobs in March despite Trump’s deep cuts to federal workforce

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Figure up from 117,000 jobs added in February, far higher than expected, as unemployment rose slightly to 4.2%

The US added 228,000 jobs in March, far more than expected, as the US economy shook off the blow from the Trump administration’s deep cuts to federal workers.

The figure was up from an adjusted 117,000 jobs added in February. Unemployment rose slightly to 4.2%.

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IMF warns of ‘significant risk’ to global economy from Trump tariffs as markets plunge

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Fund boss Kristalina Georgieva says it is important that US and trading partners avoid escalating trade war

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that Donald Trump’s implementation of swingeing tariffs poses a “significant risk” to the global economy, as stock markets were hit by a punishing worldwide sell-off by investors.

Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the IMF, said it was important that the US and its trading partners avoided further escalating Trump’s trade war, while stock markets plunged on Friday as China retaliated against the tariffs.

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Asian markets drop further as IMF warns Trump tariffs ‘a significant risk’ to global economy – business live

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Kristolina Georgieva warns against retaliation to US levies while US president insists ‘markets will boom’ after sweeping tariff announcement

In the Pacific, Fiji is the hardest hit by Trump’s tariffs. It has been levied with a 32% tariff, Vanuatu at 22% and Nauru at 30%.

Fiji prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka said the move was akin to a “trade blockade” that his country could not win.

Today was the worst stock market experience in five years. Usually when you have a terrible stock market experience, it’s because a bank fails, a pandemic, a hurricane or because some other country does something.

We don’t have these kinds of stock market responses in response to policies that the President of the United States is proud of. That is something that is entirely without precedent. It is extremely dangerous.

If any administration of which I was a part had launched an economic policy so totally ungrounded in serious analysis or so dangerous and damaging, I would have resigned in protest.

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Canada to counter ‘unjustified’ US tariffs with 25% taxes on US cars, says Carney

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Canadian prime minister says country will impose taxes on US vehicles not compliant with continental free trade deal

Canada will retaliate against “unjustified, unwarranted” tariffs imposed by the United States with a 25% tax on US vehicles, says Mark Carney.

On Wednesday, Donald Trump announced wide-ranging tariffs on dozens of countries, but did not add new trade levies to Canada or Mexico. Despite the reprieve, however, the US has placed 25% taxes on Canadian steel, aluminum and vehicles.

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Trump tariffs see stocks dive and investors scramble to bonds, gold and yen

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Nasdaq futures tumbled 3.3% and in after-hours trade as $760bn was wiped from the market value of ‘Magnificent Seven’ technology leaders

Stocks dived and investors scrambled to the safety of bonds, gold and the yen on Thursday as Donald Trump unveiled a bigger-than-expected wall of tariffs around the world’s largest economy, upending trade and supply chains.

The technology sector was pummelled as manufacturing hubs in China and Taiwan faced new tariffs above 30%. In total, China now faces an eye-watering 54% in tariffs on its exports to the US.

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