The FTSE 100 has opened down again after Asian markets plummeted as fears of a global trade war led investors to ramp up bets on the risk of recession.
Monday's rout extends a two-day sell-off that wiped trillions of dollars from equity values after US president Donald Trump's administration announced sweeping tariffs last week.
Global markets are braced for another dire day as Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slumped more than 12 per cent in morning trade, which, if sustained, would make for the benchmark's largest daily fall since the 2008 global financial crisis.
China's CSI300 blue-chip index fell more than 5 per cent with selling in nearly every sector, while China's yuan slipped to its lowest value since January and bonds rallied sharply. Beijing is facing a combined 54 per cent tariffs on US exports, and announced retaliatory measures on Friday – which was a public holiday.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index plunged nearly 9 per cent after market opened in Tokyo. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped more than 6 per cent, while South Korea's Kospi lost 4.4 per cent.
UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said the “world as we knew it has gone” in the wake of Mr Trump tariffs.
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Key points
- Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slumps more than 12%
- China markets continue to bleed
- Japan briefly halts trading as Nikkei dives nearly 8%
- Over 50 nations negotiating with US, say Trump advisers
- Trump tariffs could slow European growth by up to 1%
FTSE 100 continues to drop – now to more than 3%
08:05
,
Tara Cobham
The FTSE 100 continues to drop – now plummeting more than 3 per cent.
Just five minutes after opening on Monday morning, the UK’s benchmark had already plunged 3.15 per cent.
FTSE 100 opens down
08:04
The FTSE 100 index has opened down on Monday morning as markets tumble.
The UK’s benchmark sank more than 2 per cent upon opening and keeps on dropping.
Analysis: No surprises at all about direction almost all markets headed – downwards
08:00
,
Business and money editor Karl Matchett
Business and money editor Karl Matchett writes:
As another week on the stock markets kick into gear, there's set to be no surprises at all about the direction almost everyone is headed: downwards.
Fresh from enormous overnight drops in the Asian markets - the Hang Seng down by a massive 12 per cent in Hong Kong - we can expect to see the FTSE 100 and 250 drop too once it opens shortly, albeit to not as great an extent.
Banks and financials were hammered last week on the London Stock Exchange but few across the board escaped the sharp falls and it looks to be more of the same today, at the very least.
European markets braced for another dire day
07:57
,
Tara Cobham
The FTSE 100 index is set to open in a few minutes.
The UK’s benchmark sank almost 5 per cent on Friday in what was its worst day of trading since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020.
Asian markets open down amid tariffs fallout
07:40
,
Tara Cobham
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slumped more than 12 per cent in morning trade, which, if sustained, would make for the benchmark's largest daily fall since the 2008 global financial crisis.
China's CSI300 blue-chip index fell more than 5 per cent with selling in nearly every sector, while China's yuan slipped to its lowest value since January and bonds rallied sharply. Beijing is facing a combined 54 per cent tariffs on US exports, and announced retaliatory measures on Friday – which was a public holiday.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index plunged nearly 9 per cent after market opened in Tokyo. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped more than 6 per cent, while South Korea's Kospi lost 4.4 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slumps more than 12%
07:37
,
Tara Cobham
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slumped more than 12 per cent in morning trade.
If sustained, it will mark the benchmark's largest daily fall since the 2008 global financial crisis.
Trump calls tariffs 'medicine' as further turmoil injected into global markets
07:29
,
Tara Cobham
US President Donald Trump warned foreign governments they would have to pay "a lot of money" to lift sweeping tariffs, characterising the duties as "medicine" and triggering further carnage across global financial markets on Monday.
Asian shares sank across the board and US stock market futures traded sharply lower as investors feared that Trump's tariffs could lead to higher prices, weaker demand and potentially a global recession.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump indicated he was not concerned about losses that have already wiped out trillions of dollars in value from equity markets around the world.
"I don't want anything to go down. But sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something," he said as he returned from a weekend of golf in Florida.
Trump said he had spoken to leaders from Europe and Asia over the weekend, who hope to convince him to lower tariffs as high as 50 per cent due to take effect this week.
"They are coming to the table. They want to talk but there's no talk unless they pay us a lot of money on a yearly basis," Trump said.
Hong Kong stocks plunge over 12%
07:26
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Hong Kong’s stock market is one of the worst hit today, with the Hang Seng Index dropping 12.7 per cent as of this afternoon.
Hong Kong is on course for the benchmark's largest daily fall since the 2008 global financial crisis.
On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index slumped 6.34 per cent during opening trade.
'Trump not trying to crash the stock market', says White House chief
07:00
,
Alexander Butler
President Donald Trump is not intentionally trying to crash the stock market, the White House national economic council director Kevin Hassett has said.
Speaking on ABC’s This Week on Sunday, Mr Hassett said the stock market crash following Mr Trump’s tariff announcement was “not a strategy”.
He was questioned about it after Mr Trump shared a video on social media platform Truth Social that claimed the president was causing the markets to plummet as part of a larger economic plan.
Mr Hassett insisted: “He’s not trying to tank the market. He’s trying to deliver for American workers. It’s not a strategy for the markets to crash”.
Japan halts trading as Nikkei dives nearly 8%
06:58
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost nearly 8 per cent shortly after the market opened today.
By midday, it was down 7.2 per cent at 31,337.76.
A circuit breaker briefly suspended trading of Topix (Tokyo Stock Price Index) futures after an earlier sharp fall in US futures. A circuit breaker is a safety mechanism that is used to halt trade when the stock market experiences fluctuations.
Among the biggest losers was Mizuho Financial Group, whose shares sank 11.4 per cent. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group’s stock lost 10.7 per cent as investors panicked over how the trade war may affect the global economy.
Trump tariffs could slow European growth by up to 1%
06:33
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
US president Donald Trump's tariff measures could slow euro area economic growth by anywhere between 0.5 and 1 percentage points, Greek central bank governor Yannis Stournaras said.
Mr Stournaras' comments come against the backdrop of European Union countries weighing approval of a first set of targeted countermeasures on up to $28bn of US imports, covering products ranging from dental floss to diamonds, in the coming days.
The 27-nation bloc faces 25 per cent import tariffs on steel and aluminium and cars and "reciprocal" tariffs of 20 per cent from Wednesday for almost all other goods.In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Stournaras warned that the looming global trade war risk sparking a large "negative demand shock" in the eurozone that could weigh heavily on Europe's economic growth.
"A notable adverse impact on growth could lead to activity being much weaker than expected, dragging inflation below our targets," he said.
Sir Keir agrees with new Canada PM trade war 'in no-one's interest'
06:00
,
Alexander Butler
A Downing Street spokesperson said:“The Prime Minister spoke to the Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney this evening.
“They discussed their commitment to working together to maintain global economic stability in the wake of the announcement from the United States this week.
“An all-out trade war is in no-one’s interest, they agreed.
“Both agreed on the importance of free and open trade between like-minded nations, and the Prime Minister stated that trading blocs such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership will be important in this new global era.
“Prime Minister Carney thanked the Prime Minister for his leadership on Ukraine and reaffirmed his commitment to Canada playing a role in the Coalition of the Willing.
“Looking ahead, the Prime Minister said he was looking forward to travelling to Canada for the G7 Summit in June. They agreed to stay in close contact.”
India looks to fast US trade deal to resolve tariffs
05:59
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
India does not plan to retaliate against US president Donald Trump's 26 per cent tariff on imports from the Asian nation, an Indian government official said, citing ongoing talks for a deal between the countries.
Prime minister Narendra Modi's administration has looked into a clause of Trump's tariff order that offers a possible reprieve for trading partners who "take significant steps to remedy non-reciprocal trade arrangements", the official told Reuters.
New Delhi sees an advantage in being one of the first nations to have started talks over a trade deal with Washington, and is better placed than Asian peers like China, Vietnam, and Indonesia, which have been hit by higher US tariffs.
Taiwan won't retaliate with tariffs, says leader
05:55
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Taiwan's president Lai Ching-te said this morning that the island does not seek to impose retaliatory tariffs against the US.
"Instead, we’ll start talking from bilateral 'zero tariffs'," said on X. "To ensure Taiwan's competitiveness, we'll increase US imports and adopt other measures. Working together, we'll usher in a golden age of shared prosperity."
US president Donald Trump last week imposed a 32 per cent imports duty on Taiwan, which has caused a big sell-off in markets this morning – Taiwan was observing a public holiday on Thursday and Friday so trading was closed.
Taiwan's benchmark index has now dropped to its lowest level in more than a year and was poised for its biggest one-day percentage drop since at least 1990, LSEG data showed.
China, the EU and Canada have said they plan to retaliate with their own tariffs on US products. Beijing, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan, has already announced its own 34 per cent reciprocal tariffs on US goods.
India's stock market plummets
05:32
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
India's Nifty50 and Sensex indices crashed to 9-month lows, dropping around 5 per cent during opening trade this morning.
IT companies, which earn a significant share of their revenue from the US, collectively lost around 7 per cent.
The broader small-caps and mid-caps lost 6.2 per cent and 4.6 per cent respectively.
Over 50 nations negotiating with US, say Trump advisers
05:19
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
US president Donald Trump's top economic advisers have sought to portray the tariffs as a savvy repositioning of the US in the global trade order.
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said more than 50 nations had started negotiations with the US since Mr Trump imposed tariffs on dozens of countries last Wednesday.
Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said on CBS News that the tariffs would remain in place "for days and weeks".
‘The US is the biggest loser’: What Independent readers are saying about Trump’s tariffs
05:00
,
Alexander Butler
In pics: Screens display a bleeding Hang Seng stock index in Hong Kong
04:47
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Taiwan poised for biggest one-day percentage drop since 1990
04:41
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Taiwan stocks plummeted almost 10 per cent this morning in their first trading since US president Donald Trump announced new import tariffs last week.
After opening following a two-day market holiday on Thursday and Friday, Taiwan's benchmark index dropped to its lowest level in more than a year and was poised for its biggest one-day percentage drop since at least 1990, LSEG data showed.
Taiwan's top financial regulator announced yesterday it would impose temporary curbs lasting all this week on short-selling of shares to help deal with potential market turmoil from the tariffs.
The island, hit with a 32 per cent duty, was singled out by Mr Trump as among the US trading partners with one of the highest trade surpluses with the country.
Taiwan on Friday announced a T$88bn ($2.65bn) support package for companies hit by the tariffs, while president Lai Ching-te said the island would buy more from and invest more in the US, with the aim of a zero-tariff regime between the two.
Trump says China's objection to tariffs stalled TikTok deal
04:40
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
US president Donald Trump has claimed that China's objections to new tariffs stalled a deal to sell off TikTok to keep it operating in the US.
“We had a deal pretty much for TikTok — not a deal but pretty close — and then China changed the deal because of tariffs,” Mr Trump told reporters on Air Force One while returning to Washington.
“If I gave a little cut in tariffs, they would have approved that deal in 15 minutes, which shows the power of tariffs.”
China is facing 54 per cent tariffs on US exports after Mr Trump slapped Beijing with 34 per cent tariff last week on top of the exitising 20 per cent he had already imposed earlier this year.
ByteDance's TikTok was forced out of the US after a 2024 law mandated the company to divest TikTok’s US unit by 19 January this year.
The company has balked at selling a lucrative business, which has been valued from $20bn to as high as $150bn, according to Bloomberg.
China markets continue to bleed
04:13
,
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Asian share markets crashed this morning as fears of a global trade war led investors to ramp up bets on the risk of recession.
Hong Kong and Chinese stocks were particularly badly hit as markets around the world crumbled in the face of a widening global trade war and fears it will unleash a deep recession.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell almost 10 per cent in morning trade which, if sustained, would make for the benchmark's largest daily fall since the 2008 global financial crisis.
Banking stocks collapsed, with Hong Kong-listed shares of HSBC and Standard Chartered tumbling 15 per cent.China's CSI300 blue-chip index fell more than 5 per cent with selling in nearly every sector. China's yuan slipped to its lowest since January and bonds rallied sharply.
China, which is now facing US tariffs of 54 per cent, responded in kind on Friday by slapping extra levies on US imports.
Starmer to declare end of globalisation while Trump’s tariff war rages
04:00
,
Alexander Butler
Musk lashes out at architect of Trump’s tariffs in first public comments about policy
02:00
,
Alexander Butler
There's trouble in Trumpland; Tesla CEO and head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, has taken public swipes at Donald Trump’s adviser on trade and manufacturing, Peter Navarro, who helped shape the president's reciprocal tariff policy that tanked markets across the world.
Musk is typically vocal in his support and defense of the president, but has been quiet since Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff announcement that killed $2.5 trillion from the U.S. stock market — a loss of value that cost the Tesla CEO more than $30bn, according to CNBC.
On X, which Musk owns, he took swipes at Navarro, a Harvard-educated economist who advises Trump on trade. Navarro who was originally tapped for a spot in the White House by Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is the author of books on China and the economic threats he says the nation poses to the U.S.
Trump official admits US workers won’t get jobs in new factories spurred by tariff strategy
01:00
,
Alexander Butler
Donald Trump’s secretary of Commerce seemingly admitted on Sunday that US workers would not see long-lost manufacturing jobs return as a result of the president’s new tariff strategy, which places duties on nearly all US imports.
Howard Lutnick appeared on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday and promised that “trillions” of dollars would flow into the US in the form of new investments in America’s manufacturing sector. Margaret Brennan, the show’s host, questioned whether those factories would be “automated”, as Lutnick had said previously.
Pointing out that the construction of new factories “takes years” and will do nothing to bring down costs of consumer goods for Americans in the short term, Brennan added: “You said that robots are going to fill those jobs. So those aren't union worker jobs.”
Why did Russia escape Trump’s tariffs?
Sunday 6 April 2025 23:00
,
Alexander Butler
Almost no countries were spared from President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs; even small, uninhabited islands in the Indian Ocean were included in the exhaustive list. But one country was notably missing: Russia.
One of the United States’ largest adversaries was omitted from the list of countries slapped with even the 10 percent baseline tariff – a move that raised some eyebrows given Trump’s previously friendly relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But other countries, including the uninhabited Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, which have a population of 59 and Svalbard and Jan Mayen, islands in the Arctic Circle with approximately 2,000 people, were hit with tariffs.
Trump tariffs: Who will be hardest hit by China-US trade war?
Sunday 6 April 2025 22:00
,
Alexander Butler
China has announced 34 per cent tariffs on imported US goods in the wake of president Donald Trump’s increased taxes on Chinese goods coming into America.
Who will do the best or worst out of the trade war? Data correspondent Alicja Hagopian and political correspondent Millie Cooke take a look.
Previously, retaliatory tariffs from China only covered specific industries such as fuel and agricultural products. Now, all US exports to China will be hit.
The US imports far more from China than it exports. In 2024, goods exported to China were worth $143.5bn, according to the US Trade Representative office.
Meanwhile, the US bought three times as many goods ($438.9bn) in the same period.
Read more here:
Cheese, wine and whiskey: How your shopping basket could be affected by Trump’s tariffs
Sunday 6 April 2025 21:00
,
Alexander Butler
Tariffs that will make exporting goods to America more costly could hit shopping baskets in the UK as producers around the globe look to recoup the extra costs.
Donald Trump‘s levies mean industries worldwide are scrambling to assess what the impact on them will be and there is no doubt that consumers in the US will see prices there rise as manufacturers pass on those costs to the buyer.
But that in turn means that many might opt out of paying higher prices, while businesses in America might cancel orders coming in from overseas to avoid paying those extra costs. That might mean raising prices elsewhere to reduce their losses.
Read the full story here:
Trump's 20% tariff casts shadow over Italian wine exports
Sunday 6 April 2025 20:00
,
Alexander Butler
The outlook for Prosecco, Brunello di Montalcino and other Italian wines in the United States is increasingly gloomy, producers and importers said, following President Donald Trump's imposition of a 20 per cent tariff on European imports.
Italy exports more wine to the U.S. than any other country. Last year, it sold 2bn euros ($2.2bn) worth of wines, spirits and vinegars in the U.S. market, a quarter of its total worldwide exports, according to trade group Federvini.
Italian producers and US importers gathered at a wine fair in Verona, in the north-eastern Veneto region this weekend, said business had already been slowed by the fear of US tariffs and they fear more lasting damage as the duties take effect.
Under the announced levies, Italian wine revenues would fall by some 323m euros per year, said Lamberto Frescobaldi, chairman of the Italian Wine Union lobby.
Wine traders and producers are pinning their hopes on a deal between Europe and the U.S. to scrap or reduce the tariffs.
"Hopefully, the EU will not retaliate - a trade war would be difficult to navigate," Simone Luchetti, president of US importer Banville, said
Sir Keir agrees with new Canada PM trade war 'in no-one's interest'
Sunday 6 April 2025 19:25
,
Alexander Butler
A Downing Street spokesperson said:“The Prime Minister spoke to the Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney this evening.
“They discussed their commitment to working together to maintain global economic stability in the wake of the announcement from the United States this week.
“An all-out trade war is in no-one’s interest, they agreed.
“Both agreed on the importance of free and open trade between like-minded nations, and the Prime Minister stated that trading blocs such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership will be important in this new global era.
“Prime Minister Carney thanked the Prime Minister for his leadership on Ukraine and reaffirmed his commitment to Canada playing a role in the Coalition of the Willing.
“Looking ahead, the Prime Minister said he was looking forward to travelling to Canada for the G7 Summit in June. They agreed to stay in close contact.”
Musk lashes out at architect of Trump’s tariffs in first public comments about policy
Sunday 6 April 2025 19:00
,
Alexander Butler
There's trouble in Trumpland; Tesla CEO and head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, has taken public swipes at Donald Trump’s adviser on trade and manufacturing, Peter Navarro, who helped shape the president's reciprocal tariff policy that tanked markets across the world.
Musk is typically vocal in his support and defense of the president, but has been quiet since Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff announcement that killed $2.5 trillion from the U.S. stock market — a loss of value that cost the Tesla CEO more than $30bn, according to CNBC.
On X, which Musk owns, he took swipes at Navarro, a Harvard-educated economist who advises Trump on trade. Navarro who was originally tapped for a spot in the White House by Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is the author of books on China and the economic threats he says the nation poses to the U.S.
Over 50 nations want to start trade talks with US after tariffs, Trump officials say
Sunday 6 April 2025 18:18
,
Alexander Butler
More than 50 nations have reached out to the White House to begin trade talks since US president Donald Trump rolled out sweeping new tariffs, top officials said.
The officials defended levies that wiped out nearly $6 trillion in value from US stocks last week and downplayed economic fallout.
Mr Trump’s economic advisors tried to portray the tariffs as a savvy repositioning of the US in the global trade order.
Neither Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent nor the other officials named the countries or offered details about the talks.
Irish finance minister rules out wage subsidy scheme to help sectors hit by tariffs
Sunday 6 April 2025 17:36
,
Holly Bancroft
Ireland's Minister for Finance has ruled out a wage subsidy scheme for sectors affected by US tariffs, saying it is not appropriate now.
Paschal Donohoe said he is not aiming to bring forward a proposal that would introduce supports similar to those brought in during the Covid-19 pandemic.
It comes as government ministers and businesses grapple with the 20 per cent tariffs imposed by president Donald Trump.
"I don't believe an economy-wide wage subsidy scheme in the way we had during the Covid pandemic would be appropriate," he told Irish media RTE.
"I am hopeful that our efforts to engage with employers, in combined with the high level of employment that we already have here in Ireland, will offer a sufficient response back.
"But what we will do is we will evaluate what steps are necessary, but we need to avoid doing anything that has such a cost that it, in turn, could create other difficulties for us in the time ahead. We have to keep our economy safe.
"That means supporting and protecting jobs, and it means keeping our public finances safe."
'Trump not trying to crash the stock market', says White House chief
Sunday 6 April 2025 17:25
,
Holly Bancroft
President Donald Trump is not intentionally trying to crash the stock market, the White House national economic council director Kevin Hassett has said.
Speaking on ABC’s This Week on Sunday, Mr Hassett said the stock market crash following Mr Trump’s tariff announcement was “not a strategy”.
He was questioned about it after Mr Trump shared a video on social media platform Truth Social that claimed the president was causing the markets to plummet as part of a larger economic plan.
Mr Hassett insisted: “He’s not trying to tank the market. He’s trying to deliver for American workers. It’s not a strategy for the markets to crash”.
France suggests stricter regulations on US Big Tech in light of tariffs
Sunday 6 April 2025 17:02
,
Holly Bancroft
France’s economy and finance minister Eric Lombard has suggested imposing stricter regulations on US Big Tech’s use of data in response to president Donald Trump’s tariffs.
In an interview with Le Journal Du Dimanche, Mr Lombard said: “We may strengthen certain administrative requirements or regulate the use of data”.
He added the EU could also “tax certain activities” but did not specify what these would be.
Mr Lombard also told French media that Trump’s tariffs could cause tax revenues to fall in France, predicting “then GDP would fall compared to forecasts, which would worsen the deficit”.
US commerce secretary defends tariffs on island inhabited by penguins
Sunday 6 April 2025 16:58
,
Holly Bancroft
US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick has said that president Donald Trump's tariffs would remain in place "for days and weeks," and that some islands inhabited by penguins were included on the list so that countries could not use them as a loophole.
"What happens is, if you leave anything off the list, the countries that try to basically arbitrage America, go through those countries to us," he told CBS News' "Face the Nation" program.
US commerce chief says steeper tariffs will not be postponed
Sunday 6 April 2025 16:32
,
Holly Bancroft
US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick has told CBS news that the steeper tariffs due to be imposed on 9 April will not be postponed.
Mr Lutnick was asked about whether president Donald Trump would follow through on the harsher measures. He replied: “They are coming, he announced it and he wasn’t kidding. The tariffs are coming, of course they are”.
He also said that islands with few or no inhabitants, such as Penguin Island, had to be included in the tariffs in case another country tried to use them as a loophole.
Sir Keir Starmer speaks with EU leaders
Sunday 6 April 2025 16:17
,
Holly Bancroft
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has told EU leaders he is “disappointed” by the tariffs imposed by president Donald Trump.
Sir Keir spoke with EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen, German chancellor Olaf Scholz, and leader of the German Christian Democratic Union party Friedrich Merz.
In a read-out of the discussions, a Downing Street spokesperson said: “Discussing the announcement of additional tariffs by the United States, they all agreed that – as with defence and security - this is a new era for the global economy. Europe must rise to meet the moment and ensure the impact on hard-working people is minimised, while working closely with other countries to help maintain wider economic stability.
“The prime minister reiterated that he was disappointed by the new tariffs and stressed he will continue to act in the UK’s national interest - remaining calm while preparing for all eventualities.
“He updated on his plans to go further and faster to strengthen the UK’s economy and ensure it is as resilient as possible and can withstand these kinds of global shocks. He added that it would be important for the UK to strengthen its trading relationships with others across the globe at the same time.
“The prime minister agreed to keep in close contact.”
Trump tariffs: Who will be hardest hit by China-US trade war?
Sunday 6 April 2025 16:00
,
Holly Bancroft
China has announced 34 per cent tariffs on imported US goods in the wake of president Donald Trump’s increased taxes on Chinese goods coming into America.
Who will do the best or worst out of the trade war? Data correspondent Alicja Hagopian and political correspondent Millie Cooke take a look.
Previously, retaliatory tariffs from China only covered specific industries such as fuel and agricultural products. Now, all US exports to China will be hit.
The US imports far more from China than it exports. In 2024, goods exported to China were worth $143.5bn, according to the US Trade Representative office.
Meanwhile, the US bought three times as many goods ($438.9bn) in the same period.
Read more here:
Taiwan's president offers zero tariffs as basis for US negotiations
Sunday 6 April 2025 15:44
,
Holly Bancroft
Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te has offered zero tariffs as the basis for talks with the US, pledging to remove trade barriers rather than imposing reciprocal measures and saying Taiwanese companies will raise their US investments.
President Donald Trump announced across-the-board import tariffs on Wednesday, with much higher duties for dozens of trading partners, including Taiwan, which runs a large trade surplus with the U.S. and faces a 32 per cent duty on its products.
The US tariffs, however, do not apply to semiconductors, a major Taiwanese export.
In a video message released by his office after meeting executives from small and medium-sized companies at his residence, Taiwan’s president said given Taiwan's dependence on trade the economy would inevitably have a hard time dealing with the tariffs, but that he thought the impact could be minimised.
"Tariff negotiations can start with 'zero tariffs' between Taiwan and the United States, with reference to the U.S.-Canada-Mexico free trade agreement," Lai said.
Taiwan's cabinet is considering what large-scale agricultural, industrial and energy purchases to make from the United States, while the defence ministry has already put forward its weapons purchase plans, he added.
"All purchases will be actively pursued," Lai said.
India does not plan to retaliate against US tariffs - reports
Sunday 6 April 2025 15:32
,
Holly Bancroft
India does not plan to retaliate against US president Donald Trump's 26 per cent tariff on imports from the Asian nation, an Indian government official has told Reuters.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration has looked into a clause of Trump's tariff order that offers a possible reprieve for trading partners who "take significant steps to remedy non-reciprocal trade arrangements", said the official, who declined to be named as the details of the talks are confidential.
Reuters reported last month that New Delhi is open to cutting tariffs on U.S. imports worth $23 billion.
EU commission president: 'Europe stands ready to defend its interests'
Sunday 6 April 2025 15:06
,
Holly Bancroft
The EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said the Europe “stands ready to defend its interests through proportionate countermeasures if necessary” after US president Donald Trump imposed new tariffs on goods coming into America.
Ms von der Leyen issued a statement on Sunday, following a call with UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer.
The read-out said: “The president expressed her deep concern over the tariffs announced by president Trump on April 2 and the harm they pose to all countries - both through their direct and indirect effects, including on the world’s poorest nations.
“Recognising that the tariffs represent a major turning point for the United States, she reaffirmed the EU's commitment to engaging in negotiations with the US, while making clear that the EU stands ready to defend its interests through proportionate countermeasures if necessary. At the same time, she emphasised her determination to work with partners in responding to this new reality for the global economy, acknowledging that each trading partner will act in