The FTSE 100 has tumbled as US president Donald Trump is set to impose crippling tariffs on UK goods being exported to America.
The index of the UK’s most highly capitalised companies dropped as much as 1.2 per cent in London ahead of Mr Trump’s self-described “Liberation Day” on Wednesday.
The president is set to slap various high tariffs on imported goods from around the world to counter trade practices that his government deems unfair.
The UK is hoping to secure a “UK-US economic prosperity deal” which will exempt British goods from tariffs on imports into America.
On Sunday, Sir Keir spoke with the US president in what Downing Street described as part of “productive negotiations” towards a deal, agreeing to “stay in touch in the coming days”.
Mr Trump announced a 25 per cent import tax on all cars imported to the US, a measure expected to hit British luxury car makers such as Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin.
The levy would be on top of a series of tariffs set to come into effect on 2 April, which could include a general 20 per cent tax on UK products in response to the rate of VAT.
Key points
- FTSE tumbles over Trump tariff fears
- UK to be hit by US tariffs this week, officials reportedly fear
- 'Liberation Day': What tariffs is Donald Trump threatening?
- Illegal migration makes me angry, Starmer says
- Starmer touts highest number of deportations in eight years
Pictured: Sir Ed Davey rides hobby horse over jumps
11:01
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Alexander Butler
Sir Ed Davey has ridden a hobby horse over a series of jumps at a golf course in Oxfordshire to launch the Liberal Democrats' local election campaign.
In front of a crowd of Lib Dem activists, the party leader declared: "It's official, it's a two-horse race."
After taking his hobby horse over some jumps, Sir Ed crashed through a blue fence, vowing to do the same to the Tories in May.
Watch: Starmer addresses people smugglers
10:56
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Alexander Butler
This is my message to people smugglers. pic.twitter.com/i0L9YpjBwB
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) March 31, 2025
What is most common nationality of illegal migrants?
10:33
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Alexander Butler
Five nationalities together accounted for more than half the total number of migrants who were detected entering the UK illegally in 2024.
Afghan nationals were the most common group, making up 15 per cent (6,339) of the 43,630 migrants who arrived in the country through illegal routes last year, Home Office figures show.
The next most common nationalities were Iranian (5,370 or 12 per cent), Syrian (4,945 or 11 per cent), Eritrean (3,920 or 9 per cent) and Vietnamese (3,798 or 9 per cent).
Some 1,457 of arrivals last year (3 per cent) had no nationality recorded.
The top two nationalities in 2024, Afghan and Iranian, were also the most common in 2023, accounting for 17 per cent and 14 per cent of total arrivals in that year respectively.
The proportion of arrivals who were Vietnamese rose from 4 per cent in 2023 to 9 per cent in 2024, while the proportion from Syria increased from 7 per cent to 11 per cent.
Pictured: Starmer chairs roundtable
10:31
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Alexander Butler
Primark owner tumbles on FTSE 100
10:02
,
Karl Matchett
Separately, it's worth noting that as well as tariffs weighing on share prices, the owner of Primark is the biggest faller in morning trading on the FTSE 100 - Associated British Foods (ABF) is down 4.6 per cent already.
That's following the departure of Primark CEO Paul Marchant, who resigned after an allegation over his behaviour towards a woman at a social event.
ABF stated that Mr Marchant stood down with immediate effect and finance director Eoin Tonge will take over on an interim basis.
Mr Marchant had led Primark since 2009. While ABF have a wide-ranging empire including agriculture, ingredient production and food brands including Twinnings and Kingsmill, clothing retailer Primark is a key component of the business and contributed nearly half of the total £20bn group revenue last year. Parent company ABF’s CEO George Weston said he was “immensely disappointed” with the situation.
FTSE down 0.85%
10:00
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Karl Matchett
It has certainly been a morning of negative sentiment as far as the markets go in the UK and around Europe, following more weekend tariff concern and a steep overnight drop in Asia.
By 9am after an hour of trading, only 10 per cent of the FTSE 100 companies were in positive territory and only three were up by more than 0.4 per cent.
On a wider lens, while the FTSE 100 is down 0.85 per cent as a whole, smaller companies have it worse so far - the FTSE 250 is down 1.34 per cent, while in Europe each of the CAC 40 in France, the DAX in Germany and the Euronext 100 are down by between 0.7 and 0.8 per cent each.
Uncertainty is weighing heavily on the minds of investors ahead of further announcements by the Trump administration - and with his 2 April deadline to impose further duties on the US's biggest importers.
Yvette Cooper: Small boat gangs leave children for dead
09:49
Yvette Cooper has lashed out at the people smuggling gangs behind the rise in small boats crossing the English Channel, describing how they cram families into flimsy boats and sometimes leave small children for dead.
The home secretary said: “We've seen the small boats take off as taxi boats make people wait in the freezing water, in the freezing sea, so they then wait to be picked up, to climb onto the boats, and then overcrowd the boats, with women and children put in the center of the boat.
“The boat can then fold in. Then it’s the women and children who get crushed… we've seen children crushed to death, and yet the boat carries on and that's a shameful, disgraceful crime.
“Criminal gangs have profited from those lives being lost, and that's why we cannot let that carry on.”
Starmer touts highest number of deportations in eight years
09:34
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Archie Mitchell
More than 24,000 people with no right to be in the UK have been deported since Labour came to power, with Sir Keir Starmer touting an eight-year high in immigration enforcement.
The prime minister said Labour has restored order to the immigration system, with a 21 per cent increase in enforced returns and a 16 per cent jump in foreign national offenders being removed from the UK since 5 July.
That included the four biggest chartered return flights in British history, with more than 850 on board.
Sir Keir said: “Immigration crime funds the vile people-smuggling gangs that trade in human misery, breach our borders and threaten Britain’s economic security.
“This government is taking back control, doing the hard graft needed to deliver results, working with our international allies to smash these gangs and secure our borders.
“We’ve already removed more than 24,000 people with no right to be here and we’re finally shutting down exploitative illegal working, dismantling criminal networks, while forcing people-smuggling gangs out of business.
“For too long, the UK was a soft touch. That ends now. No more gimmicks, no empty promises, just serious action for British security.”
Starmer slams Tory Rwanda ‘gimmick’
09:26
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Archie Mitchell
Sir Keir Starmer is keen to remind voters of the Conservative approach to tackling illegal migration, laying into the Rwanda “gimmick”.
The prime minister laid out how the Tories spent £700m sending just four volunteers to the east African nation, saying Labour would come up instead with “pragmatic solutions that work actually fixing what’s wrong”.
“Focusing our efforts and resources on the nuts and bolts of removing people, getting the asylum system working properly, that's how we've delivered the highest return rates for eight years and the four biggest return flights ever,” Sir Keir said.
He added: “We're also ramping up the deportation of foreign national offenders with a new team of specialist frontline staff going into our prisons, speeding up the removal of prisoners who have no right to be in this country.”
Small boat migrants should make their own countries better, says Starmer
09:21
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Alexander Butler
Sir Keir Starmer has said those coming to the UK on small boats should instead be at home contributing to their own countries’ economies.
The prime minister is continuing to argue that cracking down on the crossings is not being done out of a lack of compassion, but because it is the right thing to do.
“There's nothing progressive about allowing working age people to come here illegally, instead of supporting them to build their own economies, secure a better future for their own countries and build a safer, more prosperous world,” the PM said.
Analysis: PM’s approach risks giving ground to Farage
09:19
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Archie Mitchell
It is clear who Sir Keir Starmer has in mind when he declares that small boats crossing the English Channel make him “angry”.
The prime minister knows Nigel Farage is capitalising on a wave of outrage at the spiralling cost of housing those who arrive here in hotels across the country.
But, by adding to the outrage without offering tangible progress on bringing down the number of crossings, the prime minister risks giving ground to Mr Farage.
Small boat crossings are running at a record high this year, and voters will not turn out for Sir Keir at the ballot box simply because he shares their anger.
To win back the votes of those concerned about small boats, the PM must show progress is being made tackling the issue.
People smuggling should be treated like terrorism, Starmer says
09:17
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Alexander Butler
People smuggling should be treated as a global security threat much like terrorism, Sir Keir said.
“This evil trade pits nations against each other. There is nothing progressive or compassionate about turning a blind eye to this,” he said.
“We have got to get to grips with it once and for all. We need to treat people smuggling as a global security threat similar to terrorism.”
Illegal migration makes me angry, Starmer says
09:15
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Alexander Butler
The PM said illegal migration angered him as he urged European countries to work together to eradicate the trade.
“Illegal migration undermines our ability to control who comes here. It makes people angry. It makes me angry, frankly,” Sir Keir told a conference.
“Migrants are vulnerable people being ruthlessly exploited by vile gangs. We must take decisive action. We can only smash these gangs once and for all if we work together.”
UK must not allow 'vile' people smuggling trade to continue, Starmer to say
09:09
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Alexander Butler
Sir Keir Starmer is set to speak at an immigration crime summit about cracking down on illegal migration to the UK.
The PM will say the UK and other countries affected by people smuggling must not allow the “vile trade” to pit them against one another.
Ministers 'disappointed' in the number of small boat crossings
09:05
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Alexander Butler
Ministers are “disappointed” in the number of small boat crossings in recent months, according to a Home Office minister.
Dame Angela Eagle told Sky News that the Government needs “time” to dismantle people smuggling gangs.
Speaking to Sky News, the border security and asylum minister was asked whether she was disappointed in the number of crossings.
She said: “Of course, we’re disappointed. Some of that is about having more people per boat, which is also more dangerous and more reckless.
“But what we’ve got to do – we’ve been in government for eight months – these people smuggling gangs have been allowed to establish themselves across the Channel and be very sophisticated with their global networks for six years. We are going to dismantle them by working with other people cross-jurisdiction, operationally too.”
'Decent chance' of UK avoiding tariffs, Trump's former trade advisor says
09:00
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Alexander Butler
Kelly Ann Shaw, a former trade adviser to Donald Trump, has said the UK has a “decent chance” of avoiding tariffs if the US President takes a more "targeted" approach with them.
She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: “What I would say is, it's not clear that any country is going to get an exemption.
“And what has been interesting is that over the past 48 hours, there have been a number of reports in Washington that the President is considering potentially going back to this concept of a universal baseline tariff that would apply to all countries.
“Now, while he's pending final decision, assuming he moves forward with a plan to be more targeted, which was floated the last two weeks by many of his senior advisers, I do think that the UK has a decent chance.”
“They've got a trade surplus with the United States, relatively balanced trade, and the two leaders seem to be off to a good start.”
Starmer preparing for trade war as Trump tariffs on UK ‘look inevitable’
08:44
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Alexander Butler
Keir Starmer is considering retaliatory measures against the US after abandoning hopes the UK can avoid direct tariffs set to be unleashed by Donald Trump this week.
The prime minister has suggested he could follow the EU and Canada’s lead on retaliatory tariffs, vowing to “act in the national interest” and “leaving everything on the table”.
At the beginning of last week, there had been optimism that the UK would avoid direct levies planned for the EU, China and Canada among others. And there was even a hope that the UK/US trade deal might still be completed in time for 2 April.
But a highly placed source admitted that once President Trump confirmed 25 per cent tariffs on imported vehicles last Wednesday, “negotiations became much harder” for the UK government.
Another source told The Independent: “After the business with cars, tariffs look inevitable now.”
Read the full story by The Independent’s Political Correspondent David Maddox here:
'Liberation Day': What tariffs is Trump threatening?
08:39
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Alexander Butler
The US president’s self-styled “Liberation Day” -- which will see tariffs slapped on goods around the world - is set for Wednesday 2 April.
He has vowed to introduce a raft of “reciprocal” tariffs on the US’s trading partners, which he claims will boost the American economy.
This could include a general 20 per cent tax on UK products in response to the rate of VAT, something experts warn could shrink the British economy by 1 per cent.
Mr Trump has already announced a 25 per cent import tax on all cars imported to the US, a measure expected to hit British luxury car makers such as Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin.
UK to be hit by US tariffs this week, officials reportedly fear
08:33
,
Alexander Butler
The UK will be hit by US tariffs this week despite a “productive” phone call between Sir Keir Starmer and president Donald Trump over a trade deal, officials reportedly fear.
British representatives are racing to avoid Mr Trump’s self-styled “Liberation Day” on Wednesday, which will see high tariffs slapped on imported goods from around the world.
They hope to secure a “UK-US economic prosperity deal” which will exempt British goods from tariffs on imports into America.
But officials fear they will not have agreed a deal by this date, and hope to renegotiate the tariffs in the future, according to The Guardian.
