Donald Trump has backed down in his global trade war, as the US president announced a 90-day period in which his so-called “reciprocal tariffs” will be lowered to 10 per cent for most countries.
In an opaquely worded statement on Truth Social, Mr Trump praised 75 countries which he said had not retaliated and had sought to negotiate with Washington, saying he had “authorised a 90 day pause, and a substantially lowered reciprocal tariff during this period, of 10 per cent, also effective immediately”.
Simultaneously, the US president intensified his trade war with China by announcing immediate new tariffs of 125 per cent, after Beijing moved to impose 84 per cent retaliatory levies.
Mr Trump claimed he had relented elsewhere because people were getting “yippy” and “a little bit afraid”.
While a Whitehall source claimed the 90-day pause showed “cool and calm can pay off”, it is understood that Sir Keir Starmer’s government is not expecting any immediate change to the UK’s current 10 per cent levy.
Wall Street stocks soared in response to Mr Trump’s softening of stance, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq closing 12.1 per cent higher, and the S&P 500 up 9.5 per cent.
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Key points
- Trump announces 90-day pause on some tariffs – but hits China with 125 per cent levy
- Beijing to impose additional tariffs of 84 per cent on US goods
- UK gilt yields hit 27-year high, after US bond market unease
- EU Commission votes in favour of first countermeasures against Trump's tariffs
- Trump's global tariffs come into effect
Watch: Trump says he’ll use ‘instinct’ to determine which firms could be exempt from tariffs
23:46
,
Andy Gregory
Donald Trump told reporters earlier that he would consider tariff exemptions for some companies hit particularly hard by the stock market chaos of the past weekcaused by his tariffs.
But asked he would make those determinations on which companies should be exempt, he said: “Just instinctively, more than anything else. You almost can’t take a pencil to paper. It’s really more of an instinct I think than anything else.”
Mapped: Which UK cities could be hit hardest by Trump’s tariffs?
23:33
,
Andy Gregory
US tariffs are set to cause an “uneven storm” across the UK with Coventry expected to be the worst affected, a think tank has warned.
The West Midlands, the home of British car manufacturing, and Wales, which is a significant contributor to British steel, are likely to take the brunt of the economic impact caused by Donald Trump’s escalating trade war, a study by Centre for Cities shows.
My colleague Rebecca Whittaker reports:
Full report: Trump dramatically changes course on tariffs with 90-day pause while hiking duties on China to 125%
22:55
,
Andy Gregory
Donald Trump changed course again on Wednesday and announced a 90-day pause of his so-called “reciprocal” tariffs while hiking other duties on China to 125 percent.
The US president’s decision followed several days of sharp losses on the stock market. In a Truth Social post, Trump claimed that his reversal was a result of what White House officials have claimed are dozens of foreign nations reaching out with the intention of re-negotiating trade policy with the United States, rather than implementing tariffs of their own.
He said on Wednesday afternoon that his decision was made in response to days of market panic and rippling effects across various economic sectors, which Trump and other White House officials spend days unsuccessfully trying to quell.
“I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line. They were getting yippy, you know, they were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid,” Mr Trump told reporters at a White House event with NASCAR drivers on Wednesday afternoon. “I’ve reversed it. It’s for a short period of time.”
John Bowden and Andrew Feinberg have the full report, from Washington DC:
UK and India ‘have agreed 90 per cent of free trade deal’
22:33
,
Andy Gregory
The UK and India have agreed 90 per cent of their free trade agreement, businesses were reportedly told on Tuesday during a briefing with negotiators from the UK’s Department for Business and Trade.
The Guardian cited a government source as saying that the contentious issue of mobility – which involves visas for Indian workers – had largely been resolved, adding: “We are nearly there. We are as close as we’ve ever been, but conversations at the political level cut both ways.”
Businesses were told on Tuesday’s call that some of the outstanding issues related to whisky and cars, according to the newspaper – two areas of the UK economy which are heavily exposed to US tariffs.
Goldman Sachs cuts forecast to say chance of US recession now 45%
22:10
,
Andy Gregory
Goldman Sachs has cut its probability of a US recession from 65 to 45 per cent after Donald Trump’s announcement of a 90-day pause, with the investment bank saying the tariffs left in place were still likely to result in a 15 per cent increase in the overall tariff rate.
Analysts said the sudden spike in Wall Street stock values may not undo all of the damage from Mr Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs announcement.
Surveys have found slowing business investment and household spending due to worries about the impact of the tariffs, and a Reuters/Ipsos survey found that three out of four Americans expect prices to increase in the months ahead.
US tariffs on Mexico and Canada unaffected by 90-day pause, White House official says
21:58
,
Andy Gregory
The US tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada will not be affected by the 90-day pause announced by Donald Trump, a White House official said.
Washington’s 25 per cent tariff on goods it imports from Mexico and Canada that are not covered under the region’s USMCA trade pact remains in effect, the official said – adding that energy and potash from the two countries will also continue be tariffed at 10 per cent.
The bulk of goods from Mexico and Canada that are covered under the trade agreement have been excluded from the United States’ wide ranging tariff policies.
Fox pundit says Trump was forced to capitulate on tariffs by a bonds sell-off in Japan
21:38
,
Andy Gregory
Speaking on the typically Trump-friendly Fox Business, journalist Charlie Gasparino said in no uncertain terms that it was the US president “who capitulated” in his global tariffs showdown, as a result of uncertainty in the US bond market – which had prompted talk of a possible intervention by the US Federal Reserve.
Mr Gasparino said: “Let's be clear what happened, who capitulated here and why ... it is the White House who capitulated based on everything I hear and all my sources, and the reason why is because of the bond market and what happened last night.”
Writing on social media, he added: “Top money managers say it was Japan, not China, selling last night that upended the bond market and forced Trump’s hand into a pause.”
Wall Street closes after major gains in wake of Trump tariff softening
21:12
,
Andy Gregory
Wall Street has been offered a reprieve following Donald Trump’s announcement, with the S&P 500 closing up 9.5 per cent on Wednesday, the Nasdaq gained 12.1 per cent and the Dow Jones rose by 7.8 in Wednesday’s trading.
However, the S&P 500 remains 3.7 per cent lower than it was prior to Mr Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement seven days ago, while the Nasdaq is down 2.7 per cent, and the Dow Jones down 3.8.
Watch: Trump says ‘no other president would have done what I did’
20:54
,
Andy Gregory
Trump says ‘people were getting a little bit afraid’
20:50
,
Andy Gregory
Asked why he paused his tariffs, just hours after telling the markets to “be cool”, Donald Trump told reporters: “I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line.
“They were getting yippy … a little bit afraid.”
Pressed on whether he could consider exempting some larger companies which have been particularly hard-hit by the recent market turmoil, the US president said: “We’re going to take a look at it, there are some that have been hard, there are some that by the nature of the company get hit a little bit harder.”
Asked how he will determine which companies were hardest-hit, Mr Trump said: “Just instinctively.”
The bond market now is beautiful, says Trump
20:45
,
Andy Gregory
Donald Trump said the bond market had recovered well after investors became queasy about it in reaction to his tariffs.
Earlier on Wednesday, analysts had warned that the US Federal Reserve could be forced to intervene to stabilise the bond market after a sharp rise in US Treasury yields overnight, signalling that US assets were temporarily losing their safe-haven status.
US 10-year Treasury yields hit a seven-week high of nearly 4.5 per cent – but have now fallen back to 4.34.
“The bond market now is beautiful,” Mr Trump told reporters, speaking after a $39-bn auction also eased concerns by coming in within market expectations, priced at a high yield of 4.435 per cent, lower than the rate forecast at the bid deadline – suggesting solid investor demand.
Cool and calm pays off, says government source
20:27
,
Jane Dalton
Government sources said Mr Trumps decision showed “cool and calm can pay off”.
One said: “It’s how the PM does business and it’s the right approach. He has been urging it in all his calls this week and will continue to.”
We'll keep negotiating with US, says Downing Street
20:13
,
Jane Dalton
Downing Street said the government would continue to talk to the US administration.
A No10 spokesperson said: “A trade war is in nobody’s interests. We don't want any tariffs at all, so for jobs and livelihoods across the UK, we will coolly and calmly continue to negotiate in Britain’s interests.”
US stock markets soar to record gains
20:09
,
Jane Dalton
US deal not enough, pledges Starmer
20:07
,
Jane Dalton
Sir Keir Starmer has warned that striking an economic deal with the US or securing lowered American tariff rates for the UK would not be "enough" for Britain.
Before Donald Trump suspended or reduced most of his tariffs, the Prime Minister conceded he was unsure whether the 10% import tax imposed on British goods would be in place indefinitely and said the Government must "step up" to adapt to a rapidly changing world.
United European approach pays off, says next German leader
19:54
,
Jane Dalton
Friedrich Merz, Germany's likely next chancellor, said US President Donald Trump's pause of tariffs for 90 days was evidence of a united European approach to trade having a positive effect, and called for tariff-free US-EU trade.
"Europeans are determined to defend ourselves and this example shows that unity helps most of all," he told TV show RTL Direkt.
"Let's all set tariffs of 0% on transatlantic trade, and then the problem will be solved," he added.
US stock markets soar to near-record gains after Trump announces pause on most of his tariff plan
19:36
,
Andy Gregory
US stock markets have soared to near-record gains after Donald Trump announced a pause on most of his sweeping global tariffs.
You can refresh our breaking report below for more details, and we’ll be bringing you more live updates here on the blog:
This is Trump's Liz Truss moment, say Lib Dems
19:26
,
Andy Gregory
Responding to news that Donald Trump has paused higher tariffs against most countries for 90 days, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said: “This is Donald Trump’s Liz Truss moment.
“He’s been forced into an embarrassing climbdown. Now we need to get him to go further and get rid of his remaining reckless tariffs. That means an economic coalition of the willing and uniting with our allies.”
Markets ‘didn’t understand’ Trump’s tariffs strategy, claims US Treasury secretary
19:18
,
Andy Gregory
US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent has claimed that the markets “didn't understand” Donald Trump’s tariff strategy.
“The market didn't understand, those were maximum levels. The countries can think about those levels as they come to us to bring down their tariffs, their non-trade barriers,” he told reporters at the White House.
He said Mr Trump “created maximum negotiating leverage for himself” and the Chinese have “shown themselves to the world as the bad actors”.
US Treasury secretary denies 90-day pause due to market turmoil
19:11
,
Andy Gregory
Asked whether the 90-day pause on “reciprocal tariffs” was due to the chaos in financial markets, US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent told reporters outside the White House: “No. It’s because of a large number of inbounds – we’ve had more than 75 countries contact us and I imagine, after today, there will be more.
“So it is just a processing problem. Each one of these solutions is going to be bespoke, it is going to take some time, and President Trump wants to be personally involved – so that’s why we’re giving the 90-day pause.”
WTO says trade between US and China could drop by as much as 80%
18:57
,
Andy Gregory
The World Trade Organisation has estimated that Donald Trump’s trade war could cut the trade of goods between the US and China by as much as 80 per cent.
“This tit-for-tat approach between the world’s two largest economies, which together account for roughly 3 per cent of global trade, carries wider implications that could severely damage the global economic outlook,” it said.
Dividing the global economy into two blocs in this way could lead to a long-term reduction in global real GDP by nearly 7 per cent, the statement added.
Its preliminary estimate was issued around the time Mr Trump further raised tariffs on imports from China but paused some others for 90 days.
Wall Street soars after Trump announces 90-day tariff pause
18:51
,
Andy Gregory
Wall Street’s main stock indexes have soared after Donald Trump announced he had authorised a 90-day pause on some tariffs, effective immediately.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has now risen 6.2 per cent in today’s trading, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.9 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite has shot up by 8.6 per cent.
Trump announces 90-day pause on some tariffs – but hits China with 125 per cent levy
18:35
,
Andy Gregory
Donald Trump has announced he will immediately raise tariffs on Chinese goods to 125 per cent – and appeared to call a 90-day pause in tariffs on 75 nations which have not retaliated and sought to negotiate with the US.
For the latter nations, Mr Trump said – in an opaquely worded statement – that he had “authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately”.
Writing on Truth Social, he hit out at China and claimed: “At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable.”
But in better news for Washington’s allies, the US president added: “Conversely, and based on the fact that more than 75 Countries have called Representatives of the United States, including the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and the USTR, to negotiate a solution to the subjects being discussed relative to Trade, Trade Barriers, Tariffs, Currency Manipulation, and Non Monetary Tariffs, and that these Countries have not, at my strong suggestion, retaliated in any way, shape, or form against the United States, I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately.”
Analysis | Trump created his own reality. Now we’re all stuck in it
18:26
,
Andy Gregory
“My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day,” Donald Trump said from the White House Rose Garden, using a term of his own making as he unveiled a sweeping tariff plan against all US trading partners.
The day will “forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again,” the president said.
Wednesday’s fanfare stood in the face of advice from droves of experts, who warned about the “catastrophic” effects these taxes would have on US consumers. One day after “Liberation Day,” global stock markets plummeted and world leaders vowed to retaliate.
In his inaugural address, the president said “like never before” five times, and the tariffs plan is just the latest example of his ability to construct an alternate version of reality.
“We really haven’t seen anything like this,” Chapman Rackaway, a political science professor at Radford University, told The Independent. He called this level of reality-bending “unprecedented” in modern US history.
Read more in this analysis piece by our US news reporter Kelly Rissman:
Watch: JPMorgan chief says he expects a recession after Trump tariffs
17:59
,
Andy Gregory
Selectively editing a quote from Jamie Dimon, Donald Trump made it appear that the JPMorgan Chase chair had recently praised his escalating trade war in an interview with Fox News, my colleague Justin Baragona reports from New York.
Posting on Truth Social shortly after the interview, Mr Trump wrote: “‘Fixing Trade and Tariffs is a good thing!’ Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase, Chairman & CEO, on Maria B Show!”
In reality, however, Dimon warned that a recession was a “likely outcome” due to Trump’s sweeping tariffs and that he expected loan defaults to rise amid an economic slowdown.
Watch a clip from the interview below:
UK 30-year gilt yields close at 5.6% after hitting highest point since 1998
17:36
,
Andy Gregory
The cost of long-term borrowing has risen for the UK government after British 30-year gilt yields surged to their highest point since 1998 on Wednesday to hit 5.61 per cent, surpassing a previous 27-year high set in January.
The yield was at 5.6 per cent when London’s financial markets closed for the day, in moves that followed a sharp rise in 30-year US Treasury yields overnight – signalling that US assets were temporarily losing their safe-haven status, analysts said, as Donald Trump’s tariffs continue to wreak havoc on global markets.
George Saravelos, global head of foreign exchange research at Deutsche Bank, said that if the turbulence continues, “we see no other option for the Fed but to step in with emergency purchases of US Treasuries to stabilise the bond market”, in a similar intervention to that by the Bank of England following Liz Truss’s disastrous 2022 mini-Budget.
Mr Saravelos added: “While we suspect the Fed could be successful in stabilising the market in the short-term, we would argue there is only one thing that can stabilise some of the more medium-term financial market shifts that have been unleashed: a reversal in the policies of the Trump administration itself.”
The sell-off in UK gilts, meanwhile, came amid rising bets from investors that the Bank of England will need to cut rates faster than previously expected this year.
Most traders now expect a rate cut of at least a quarter point at the Bank’s next meeting in May, while some were even pricing in a half-point drop.
FTSE 100 down 2.9 per cent as trading closes
17:13
,
Andy Gregory
London's FTSE 100 share index closed at a fresh 13-month low on Wednesday after European markets dropped further following the launch of President Donald Trump’s tariff regime.
The index of top UK stocks finished down 2.92 per cent, or 231.05 points at 7,679.48 for the day.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 index also closed 2.5 per cent lower on Wednesday.
Trump ‘got it very wrong’ over tariffs, says economist used by US president
16:55
,
Holly Evans
A renowned economist who co-wrote research used by Donald Trump to justify his aggressive tariff hikes says the White House got it “very wrong”.
University of Chicago Economics Professor Brett Neiman, who was also a Biden administration Treasury official, said the Trump administration wildly overcalculated tariff rates placed on nearly all countries that export to the U.S.
The U.S. Trade Representative released its workings and cited a paper produced by four economists, including Prof Neiman, supposedly supporting its approach.
Read the full article here:
Spain defends closer trade ties with China after US warns against 'cutting own throat'
16:50
,
Holly Evans
Spain will pursue closer trade ties with China in the interests of its citizens and of the EU, its agriculture minister Luis Planas said on Wednesday, rejecting a U.S. warning that moving closer to the Asian country would be "cutting your own throat".
"We have excellent trade relations with China which we intend to not only continue having, but expanding," Planas told reporters from Ho Chi Minh City, where he was accompanying Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez on a trip to Vietnam and, on Friday, China.
Planas had been asked about earlier comments by U.S. treasury secretary Scott Bessent, who criticised Spanish economy minister Carlos Cuerpo's suggestion that Europe should more closely align with China.
"That would be cutting your own throat," Bessent told a banking event in Washington, adding that China would continue to produce too many goods and dump them on markets elsewhere.
Sanchez and Planas are heading to Beijing later this week to forge closer economic ties amid the global fallout of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policy, seeking to position Spain as an interlocutor between China and the EU and attract Chinese investment.
Trump not trying to reinvigorate US-Russia trade by sparing Moscow tariffs
16:35
,
Holly Evans
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told lawmakers on Wednesday that President Donald Trump was not trying to re-invigorate trade with Russia by sparing Russian goods from reciprocal or baseline tariffs, but it was up to Trump whether to impose any future duties.
Greer told the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee that Russia was excluded from the tariffs because it already was facing heavy U.S. sanctions and sectoral trade embargoes, as were Belarus, Cuba and North Korea.
Republicans in US Congress express concern over impact to pensioners
16:31
,
Holly Evans
Republicans in Congress are worried that the market rout sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs is taking a heavy toll on retirees and people approaching retirement age - a critical constituency for their party.
Stocks have plummeted in the week since Trump kicked off a trade war with the U.S.' major trading partners while Treasuries have also been hit with fresh selling pressure, weighing on the private 401(k) accounts and other investments Americans rely on to fund their retirements.
Some Republican lawmakers have expressed worry this week about the hit to Americans' investments ahead of next year's midterm elections, when control of both chambers of Congress will be up for grabs.
"People are going to look at their 401(k) statements. They did vote for President Trump and they voted for me. ... I'm just trying to figure out if they are going to feel good about this," said Thom Tillis of North Carolina, one of seven Senate Republicans who have signed on to a bipartisan bill that would give Congress the authority to review and override new tariffs.
Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana expressed similar concern.
"It's not fun. I don't like it. I like it when the market goes up," Kennedy told reporters. He said he wants to give Trump's gambit a chance, but that the president ought to do a better job of informing the public about his short-term goals.
"We don't know how long it'll take (to see positive results), we don't know what the short-term consequences will be," Kennedy said. "We don't know if the medicine will be worse than the disease."
Rachel Reeves agrees £128m export and investment deal with India
16:14
,
Holly Evans
The Chancellor has agreed £128 million worth of new export deals and investments with India.
Rachel Reeves and her Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman signed a joint statement for a package that includes the new deals as well as recent ones worth £271 million after meeting in London.
These include plans for Paytm, India’s largest digital payment app, to invest in the UK and for HSBC Bank to expand its presence to 34 cities in India from 14 currently.
The Chancellor said: “In a changing world, it is imperative we go further and faster to kickstart economic growth.
“We have listened to British businesses, which is why we’re negotiating trade deals with countries across the world, including India, so we can support them and put more money in people’s pockets as part of our Plan for Change.
“Our relationship with India is longstanding and broad and I am delighted with the progress made throughout this dialogue to develop it further.”
US markets hold steady as global markets thrown into turmoil
15:55
,
Karl Matchett
While most of the rest of the global markets spent today in the red, the US is in the green in early trading - the S&P 500 is 0.5 per cent up, the Dow 0.1 per cent up and the Nasdaq 1.3 per cent up.
The president himself, meanwhile, has taken to social media to suggest "this is a great time to buy" - presumably he's referencing stocks, rather than products from China - but billionaire investor Bill Ackman isn't in agreement.
“If the president doesn’t pause the effect of the tariffs soon, many small businesses will go bankrupt. Medium-sized businesses will be next," he wrote on X.
The Pershing Square Capital CEO added: "Our stock market is down. Bond yields are up and the dollar is declining. These are not the markers of successful policy."
Our stock market is down. Bond yields are up and the dollar is declining. These are not the markers of successful policy.
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) April 9, 2025
I am receiving an increasing number of emails and texts from small business people I do business with or have invested in, expressing fear that they will…
Tech shares lift Wall Street amid escalating U.S.-China tariff war
15:45
,
Holly Evans
Wall Street's main indexes inched higher on Wednesday as investors lapped up cheaper technology stocks in a choppy session that remained centered on tariff moves as China retaliated with more levies on U.S. goods.
Most megacap and growth stocks rose, with Apple and Nvidia adding nearly 2.5 per cent each and Microsoft up 1.2 per cent. The tech sector was up 1.5 per cent.
"The reflex to buy the dip is very strong and certainly the wipeout you've seen in tech stocks makes them cheap relative to where they were," said Chris Beauchamp, chief strategist at IG.
Despite the early gains, all three benchmarks were down more than 10 per cent from the levels seen before the reciprocal U.S. tariff were announced last week.
EU describe Trump's tariffs as 'unjustified' as they vote for countermeasures
15:29
,
Holly Evans
The EU has voted to approve retaliatory tariffs on 23 billion dollars (£18bn) of U.S. goods, describing Trump’s tariffs as “unjustified and damaging”.
The tariffs will go into effect in stages, with some on 15 April and others on 15 May 1 and December. The EU executive commission did not immediately provide a list of the goods on Wednesday.
Members of the 27-country bloc repeated their preference for a negotiated deal to settle trade issues.
The commission said in a statement: "The EU considers US tariffs unjustified and damaging, causing economic harm to both sides, as well as the global economy. The EU has stated its clear preference to find negotiated outcomes with the US, which would be balanced and mutually beneficial."
The head of the EU's executive commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has offered a zero-for-zero tariffs deal on industrial goods including cars. But Mr Trump has said that is not enough to satisfy US concerns.
Retail firm Walmart aims to keep prices low amid Trump tariff woes
15:19
,
Holly Evans
Walmart stuck to its full-year sales and income growth forecasts on Wednesday and vowed to keep prices low, even as U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs fuel fears of a global recession.
The company's shares, which have fallen nearly 9 per cent since the announcement of a raft of tariffs on 2 April, rose about 5 per cent in early trading.
Walmart, which is the biggest U.S. importer of containerized goods, is at the risk of taking a hit from Trump's tariffs, mainly on Asian countries that supply everything from clothing to toys to the retailer.
"We've learned how to manage through turbulent periods," Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said at a two-day investor meeting in Dallas, Texas, that started on Tuesday.
"And while we don't know everything that is going to happen. We do know what our priorities are, and we know what our purpose is, and we'll be focused on keeping prices as low as we can," he said. "And we'll focus on managing our inventory and our expenses well."
The company had in February forecast sales for the fiscal year ending January 2026 to rise between 3 per cent and 4 per cent, and annual adjusted operating income to increase between 3.5 per cent and 5.5 per cent.
Swiss president hopes to reach solution with Trump soon
15:12
,
Holly Evans
Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter said on Wednesday she had spoken to U.S. President Donald Trump by telephone about trade and that she was looking forward to working out solutions in the very near future.
"In today's phone call with President Donald Trump I conveyed both Switzerland's stance on bilateral trade, and ways to address U.S. ambitions," she said on X. "We agreed to continue talks in the interest of both our countries. Looking forward to working out solutions in the very near future."
In today’s phone call with President @realDonaldTrump I conveyed both, stance on bilateral trade, and ways to address ambitions. We agreed to continue talks in the interest of both our countries. Looking forward to working out solutions in the very near future.
— Karin Keller-Sutter (@keller_sutter) April 9, 2025
China issues risk alert for tourists travelling to US
15:10
,
Holly Evans
China on Wednesday issued a risk alert for Chinese tourists travelling to the U.S., according to a statement from the culture and tourism ministry.
The ministry said it reminded Chinese tourists to assess the risks of travelling to the U.S. and travel with caution, citing recent "deterioration of China-U.S. economic and trade relations and the domestic security situation in the U.S.".
'BE COOL', says Trump on social media
15:00
,
Holly Evans
Shortly after the US markets opened in the US, Donald Trump wrote on his social media site Truth Social: "BE COOL!
"Everything is going to work out well. The USA will be bigger and better than ever before!"
He followed that up with another message, all in capital letters: "THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT."
'It's a changing world' with UK needing to step up, Starmer says
14:47
,
Holly Evans
Doing a trade deal with the US or changing the rates of American tariffs will not be “enough”, Sir Keir Starmer has said, insisting the world has changed and the UK needed to act differently.
Asked by ITV’s Peston if the 10% tariff on importing goods to America would be in place forever, the Prime Minister replied: “Look, I don’t know.
“We are negotiating and we hope to improve the situation, but what I mean by this is that simply thinking that any change in the rates, or any deal is going to be enough, to my mind is wrong, because just as we’ve done with defence and security, where we’ve recognised it’s a changing world, we’ve got to step up and act differently.
“In that case with defence spend, co-ordinating better across Europe, so too with trade and the economy.
“We are actually, there’s a changing world, we’re entering a new era. We have to think and behave in a way that reflects that, and that’s why we’ve turbocharged what we’re doing on the economy.”
Mapped: Which UK cities could be hit hardest by Trump’s tariffs?
14:34
,
Holly Evans
US tariffs are set to cause an “uneven storm” across the UK with Coventry expected to be the worst affected, a think tank has warned.
The West Midlands, the home of British car manufacturing, and Wales, which is a significant contributor to British steel, are likely to take the brunt of the economic impact caused by Donald Trump’s escalating trade war, a study by Centre for Cities shows.
The 10 per cent tariff on all imports will see the cost of UK goods rise across the Atlantic, from artisan cheese and beer to cars and machinery.
Read the full article here:
U.S. treasury secretary says tariff deals likely with allies
14:28
,
Holly Evans
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that he thinks the Trump administration can reach tariff deals with U.S. allies as he prepares to lead negotiations with over 70 countries in the coming weeks, but China remains an outlier due to its retaliation.
Bessent, speaking to an American Bankers Association conference in Washington, said he would take a lead negotiating role in negotiations over President Donald Trump's tariffs.
He added that despite financial market turmoil, "in general, the companies I've spoken to, people who have come, the CEOs, who have come into Treasury, tell me that the economy is very solid.”
