Baseline' 10% import levy takes effect at US seaports, airports and customs warehouses, with some higher tariffs to begin next weekDonald Trump's 10% tariff on all imports from many countries, including the UK, has come into force after 48 hours of turmoil.US customs agents began collecting the unilateral tariff at US seaports, airports and customs warehouses on Saturday, with higher levies on goods from 57 larger trading partners due to start next week - including from the EU, which will be hit with a 20% rate. Continue reading...
Labour faces tough choices on its economic strategy. It must be guided more by its progressive values rather than political expediencyThe market reaction to Donald Trump's announcement last Wednesday that he would be levying punitive tariffs on imports from the rest of the world was immediate: US stock markets experienced their worst single-day decline since Covid. The long-term implications will depend on how permanent Trump's reshaping of the global economic order turns out to be. At the moment, his administration is sending contradictory signals as to whether these tariffs are here to stay, or whether they are intended to be used to in effect blackmail other countries into doing the bidding of the US. But the global recession they could trigger raises huge strategic headaches for a British government already struggling to square the fiscal circle and deliver its pledge to boostgrowth.There is no logic to Trump's trade populism: contrary to his claims, the US has done immensely well out of being the dominant economy in the global free trade system of recent decades. If Trump doesn't change course quickly, his act of economic self-sabotage will reverberate around the world, harming not just Americans, but triggering increasing poverty in America's poorer trading partners, generating even more of the global instability that has become synonymous with Trump's presidency. Continue reading...
PM ready to ditch old assumptions' and is debating possible changes to fiscal rules to boost growthKeir Starmer is preparing to rethink key elements of the government's economic policy in an emergency response to Donald Trump's tariff blitz, amid growing concern in Downing Street that the US president's trade war could do lasting damage to the UK.The prime minister believes, say allies, that old assumptions should be discarded" in the UK's response, suggesting he and the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, may be preparing to raise taxes again - despite having promised not to do so - or even possibly change their iron clad" fiscal rules to allow more borrowing and fire up economic growth at home in the event of recession. Continue reading...
Beijing has launched a charm offensive with other countries as US tariffs tighten. If they can't be won over, it may have no choice but to stimulate its vast domestic marketChina's leader, Xi Jinping, says he is prepared to dance if it means sidestepping some of the worst of Donald Trump's trade tariffs. Last week he sent a letter to India's president, Droupadi Murmu, urging her to join him in a tango to celebrate 75 years of bilateral trade.Xi said it was the right choice" for the two countries to be partners of mutual achievement and realise the Dragon-Elephant Tango'", which, he added, fully serves the fundamental interests of both countries and theirpeoples." Continue reading...
As the White House retools US imperialism with import duties, others must resist dependency - deepening regional ties and reducing exposure to chokepointsWhen Donald Trump stood before union auto workers in the Rose Garden he declared Liberation Day", promising to stand up for Main Street. Whether that pledge will be fulfilled is moot. He will declare victory either way. What the US president offered was not just an economic programme, but an imperial one.Mr Trump's logic, if it exists, lies in the 397-page report on foreign trade barriers" he brandished on Wednesday. Its message is brutally simple: you may sell your goods to Walmart shoppers, but only if you let US cloud services hoover up your data, US media flood your screens and US tech monopolies operate on their terms - not yours.TikTok is the test case for Trump's platform nationalism: only US firms may mine data, reap profits and rule the digital empire. Continue reading...
by Andrew Sparrow (now) and Yohannes Lowe (earlier) on (#6WD2G)
Union says the government should intervene directly and force the council to settle the disputeTrump claims Starmer very happy' about tariffsDowning 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. Continue reading...
by Kiran Stacey, Eleni Courea and Heather Stewart on (#6WDCM)
Experts say UK may have to raise taxes in autumn as senior MPs caution against too many concessions in US trade talksDonald Trump's tariffs signal a new global economic era, Downing Street has said, as economists warned that the British government would probably have to raise taxes in response.No 10 said on Friday the prime minister believed that this week's trade announcement by the US president, which has started a global trade war and sent stock markets tumbling, marked a turning point in history. Continue reading...
by Heather Stewart and Richard Partington on (#6WDGN)
President's move has no historic parallels, but the deep uncertainty for the global economy may prove as destructive as the tariffsFrom world leaders, to the tiniest manufacturers thousands of miles from Washington, decision-makers across the global economy are racked with uncertainty as they scramble to come to terms with Donald Trump's historic tariffs.Experts are all but unanimous that the impact on global growth of Wednesday's extraordinary Rose Garden press conference will be negative - but just how bad remains highly uncertain. Continue reading...
Fears of global recession rise as stock markets continue to fall after China responds to US president's bullying tactics'Stock markets around the world plunged for a second day on Friday as China announced retaliatory tariffs of 34% on US imports, signalling a major escalation of a trade war ignited by Donald Trump and feeding fears of a global recession.For all imported goods originating from the US, an additional tariff of 34% on top of the current applicable tariff rate will be imposed," Beijing's finance ministry said. Continue reading...
by Richard Partington Senior economics correspondent on (#6WCN1)
Economists say levies of between 10% and 50% have dramatically added to the risk of a worldwide downturnGlobal financial markets have been plunged into turmoil as Donald Trump's escalating trade war knocked trillions of dollars off the value of the world's biggest companies and heightened fears of a US recession.As world leaders reacted to the US president's liberation day" tariff policies demolishing the international trading order, about $2.5tn (1.9tn) was wiped off Wall Street and share prices in other financial centres across the globe. Continue reading...
The UK is among those least hit by the US president's war on the world economy. Retaliation at this point makes no senseThe tirade was astonishing. On Wednesday afternoon the world watched as the leader of its most powerful nation accused friends and foes alike of having looted, pillaged, raped, plundered", and simultaneously waved a bogus list of tariff imbalances. The playground paranoia was cringeworthy. What on earth was going on?The answer can only be that Donald Trump is America's elected president for the next four years. He says he wants to end the military conflicts the US has fought or sponsored round the globe for a quarter of a century. We are waiting for that. Meanwhile, he is waging an economic war on world trade, a response that his biographer and ghostwriter, Tony Schwartz, blames on his childhood: a life spent feeling like a victim ... any time he does not totally dominate he feels ripped off". Continue reading...
A global trade war could affect everything from prices to pensions, and inflation to interest ratesDonald Trump's announcement that the US will put tariffs on goods from around the world, including a 10% charge on UK imports, has signalled the start of a global trade war.Although the UK faces a lower tariff than many other countries, for UK consumers there could still be some fallout. How it all plays out remains unclear. Continue reading...
Chinese commerce ministry says there is no way out for protectionism' as tariffs rise from 20% to 54%China has condemned the unilateral bullying" practices of the US, as it urged Washington to immediately drop the enormous tariffs that have been placed on Chinese goods.Late on Wednesday night, the White House unveiled sweeping new tariffs on all imports to the US. Chinese goods, which were already subject to a 20% levy, received an additional 34% tariff, taking the total tariff to 54%. The additional levy, part of Donald Trump's suite of so-called reciprocal tariffs" targeted at specific countries, takes effect on 9 April. Continue reading...
Jonathan Reynolds has urged MPs to keep calm as the government gauges its response to Donald Trump's announcement of tariffs on countries around the world, including the UK. Reynolds said the UK had launched consultations with businesses and would be open to a trade deal with the US on favourable terms
by Richard Partington Economics correspondent on (#6WBG2)
Donald Trump's threats to impose widescale import levies have spooked governments, investors and analysts alike. Here's why ...Donald Trump has said tariffs" is the most beautiful word in the dictionary.The US president is expected to announce his latest round of these border taxes on Wednesday at 4pm ET (9pm BST). In what he is calling liberation day", Trump has argued the step is needed to raise money and to encourage domestic manufacturing. But it is also rattling the global economy. Continue reading...
What is expected from Donald Trump's tariffs on US imports and how will EU and UK leaders react?The EU and the UK are bracing for a damaging trade war with the US, as Donald Trump is expected to implement his threat to impose tariffs on imports from Europe.For weeks, he has named 2 April liberation day", with the unveiling of a tariff plan to reverse what he called unfair practices that have been ripping off our country for decades". Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: The administration's sweeping tariffs have left markets bracing for volatility - but what impact will they have on an unsteady global economy?Good morning. According to Donald Trump, it's liberation day": the advent of a new trade order in which Americans reap the benefit of massive tariffs on imports, and the rest of the world picks up the tab.Unsurprisingly, the United States' trading partners tend to take a very different view. And they are doing everything they can to avoid being passive targets for the White House's carnivorous vision of American exceptionalism.Israel-Gaza war | Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced a major expansion of the military operation in Gaza on Wednesday, saying large areas of the enclave would be seized and added to the security zones of Israel. Follow the latest here.Israel-Gaza war | Some of the bodies of 15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers, killed by Israeli forces and buried in a mass grave in Gaza, were found with their hands or legs tied and had gunshot wounds to the head and chest, according to two eyewitnesses. The accounts add to evidence pointing to a potentially serious war crime on 23 March.UK news | More than 20 women have contacted police to say they fear they may have been attacked by the serial rapist Zhenhao Zou, with detectives fearing there may be even more victims to come. Zou, 28, was convicted last month of raping three women in London and seven in China between 2019 and 2024.US politics | Cory Booker, the Democratic US senator from New Jersey, has broken the record for longest speech ever by a lone senator by spending 25 hours and five minutes inveighing against Donald Trump in the chamber. Booker's speech was intended to highlight the grave and urgent" danger that Trump poses to democracy.Cinema | Val Kilmer, the actor best known for his roles in Top Gun, Batman Forever and The Doors, has died at the age of 65. His daughter Mercedes told the New York Times that the cause of death was pneumonia. Continue reading...
by Pippa Crerar, Heather Stewart and Richard Partingt on (#6WAZX)
Exclusive: UK willing to placate Trump with lower digital services tax rate also encompassing non-US companiesBig US technology companies have been offered a significant tax cut by Keir Starmer in return for lower tariffs from Donald Trump's administration as the UK braces itself for a global trade war.The Guardian understands the UK government is willing to reduce the headline rate of its digital services tax (DST) in an attempt to placate the US president, while at the same time applying the levy to companies from other countries. Continue reading...
The US president wields tariffs not as a policy tool but as an instrument of pressure, rewarding loyalty and punishing defiance - even among alliesDonald Trump has probably not read much MichelFoucault. But he appears to embody the French philosopher's claim that politics is the continuation of war by other means". Nowhere is this more apparent than in his fondness for tariffs. He presents taxing foreign imports as a way to rebuild the American economy in favour of blue-collar workers left behind by free trade and globalisation. Yet he plainly thinks that politics is not about truth or justice. It is about leverage and supremacy.Britain is learning first-hand that Mr Trump, with his us-versus-them framing and taste for spectacle, is an accidental Foucauldian - using tariffs as tools of loyaltyand dominance, even against allies. If MrTrump follows through on his threat to impose a 20% tariff on all imports, UK growth will suffer. The effect depends on the response. No British retaliation would mean GDP 0.4% lower this year and 0.6% next. A global trade war would push that to 0.6% and 1%. Either outcome would wipe out the government's fiscal headroom. But while British policymakers fret over the shrinking margins of fiscal rules, Mr Trump sees no need to cloak power in objectivity.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
Survey shows between 56% and 79% across seven countries in favour if Trump introduces Liberation Day' leviesA large majority of western Europeans support retaliatory tariffs against the US, a survey has suggested, if Donald Trump introduces sweeping import duties for major trading partners as expected this week.The US president appears likely to unleash a range of tariffs, varying from country to country, on Wednesday, which he has called Liberation Day. He also said last week that a 25% levy on cars shipped to the US would come into force the next day. Continue reading...
President promises he will be very kind' but critics warn his strategy risks triggering chain reaction and global trade warAs Donald Trump prepared to unveil a swathe of reciprocal tariffs, global markets braced and some Republican senators voiced their opposition to a strategy that critics warn risks a global trade war, provoking retaliation by major trading partners such as China, Canada and the European Union.The US president said on Monday he would be very kind" to trading partners when he unveils further tariffs this week, potentially as early as Tuesday night. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#6WA16)
Sir Richard Branson's airline returns to profitability but says consumer uncertainty is hitting bookingsVirgin Atlantic has warned of a slowdown in demand for transatlantic travel, prompting a further fall in the share price of rival British Airways' owner, IAG.Both UK long-haul carriers lean heavily on lucrative routes between London and North America to boost their profits, and analysts have warned that economic uncertainty and growing tension between the US and Europe could start to harm their business. Continue reading...
Shares slide after President Donald Trump says new reciprocal tariffs expected this week will include all nations, and Goldman Sachs warn US recession more likely
Welsh mining | Bridget Christie | Ancient Greek | Nuuk ambitions | April foolYour report on the revival of goldmining in north Wales (Going for gold: coin marks hope of bringing Welsh mine back from the dead, 26 March)( made me recall a summer I spent camping in the area in the 1970s, when, in the village pub, Ienjoyedthe stories of locals who had worked in the mine. One theme was how the proceeds of illicitly siphoned gold had funded new houses in the locality. If true, this is perhaps one of the few examples of trickle-down economics in practice.
by Pippa Crerar and Richard Partington on (#6W9WJ)
Downing Street says it reserves right' to respond to protect national interest when US levies are announced this weekDowning Street says it expects the UK to be hit by more tariffs when Donald Trump announces his latest round of trade barriers on Wednesday and said it reserves the right" to respond to protect the national interest.Ministers are now expecting the UK to be hit by a tariff that will apply to all countries as part of the US president's liberation day", despite hoping to have secured a carve-out. Continue reading...
by Graeme Wearden and Kalyeena Makortoff on (#6W9R3)
Threat of deepening trade war on eve of Trump's Liberation Day' spooks investors across US, Asia-Pacific and EuropeStock markets across the world fell heavily on Monday after Donald Trump suggested that new tariffs he is expected to announce this week would hit all countries".Shares fell across Asia-Pacific markets, in Europe and in the US after the US president crushed hopes that reciprocal tariffs" expected on Wednesday would target only countries that have the largest trade imbalances with the US. Continue reading...
After myriad false starts and much fluctuation, the lingering question is not how far Trump can take his trade wars, but how far he willDonald Trump won back the White House with a promise to transform the US economy. Millions of Americans, struggling with higher prices and bigger bills, elected a president who pledged to revive his country's industrial heartlands - and leave the rest of the world to pick up the bill.On Wednesday - a day dubbed Liberation Day by the president and his aides - Trump has vowed to pull the trigger and impose an historic barrage of tariffs on goods from overseas he claims will fund an extraordinary revival. Continue reading...
by Kiran StaceyPolitical correspondent on (#6W9KD)
Government fears hit from new US trade barriers but remains hopeful of progress in ongoing negotiationsMinisters believe Britain will be hit by more tariffs when Donald Trump unveils his latest round of trade barriers on Wednesday as part of what the US president is calling liberation day".On Sunday night, Keir Starmer spoke with Trump in what Downing Street described as part of productive negotiations" towards a deal. A No 10 spokesperson said both men had agreed talks between the two sides would continue at pace this week", adding: They agreed to stay in touch in the coming days." Continue reading...
Lincoln blockaded southern cotton, McKinley hit Britain with tariffs and Nixon abandoned the gold standard: a quick history of transatlantic economic meddlingAfter the American civil war began in 1861, President Abraham Lincoln tried to hamstring the economy of the southern states by blockading cotton exports. Yet that cotton was mostly sent to northwest England, and when supplies dried up in 1862, around 60% of cotton mills of Lancashire stopped production, causing huge hardship, job losses and hunger - and a riot in Stalybridge. Continue reading...
OBR's verdict of a long-term 0.4% boost to GDP from fewer building restrictions will have real political impact but there are gaps in fundingOne of the few bright spots in Rachel Reeves's bleak spring statement was the economic boost the forecasters expect to result from the government's planning changes.Reeves was so delighted to be able to announce some upbeat news, she pinched a phrase from Gordon Brown, calling the resulting extra 3.4bn for public services the proceeds of growth". Continue reading...
The chancellor's careful calculations for her spring statement are likely to be blown out of the water by a looming US trade war From more tax to rewriting budget rules: six alternative ways Reeves could raise moneyAs Rachel Reeves powered through her spring statement on Wednesday, telling the country she was restoring stability to the public finances" few in the House of Commons chamber seemed to know what to make of it all.Reeves's message did not seem to resonate with the underlying mood of uncertainty and anxiety at home and abroad. Many Labour MP nodded loyally along with her, trying to impress the whips. Others on the government benches looked grave. Growth forecasts for this year had been halved. Money would have to be raised to meet the chancellor's own fiscal rules, and the poorest would be the ones bearing thebrunt. Continue reading...
With the economy stagnating, this is the very worst time to depress demand in order to be seen to balance the books'Alas! Were it not for the fact that he was cremated, the great economist John Maynard Keynes would have been turning in his grave at the way the economics of last week's spring budget - sorry, spring statement - were greeted by most of the media.Of course, the principal culprit was the chancellor of the exchequer, Rachel Reeves. By tying herself to the mast of self-imposed fiscal rules, she managed to ensure that much of the commentary was about how she might have to raise taxes later this year, when the constraints of the fiscal straitjacket might force her to. Continue reading...
Here was a successful economic strategy in the making, marred by its abdication of responsibility to some of society's weakestSteering the British economy out of the mess Labour inherited is a slow and painful process, beset by economic and political hazards. Four Labour governments since the Second World War were derailed by financial crises - in 1949, 1967, 1976 and 2008 - and two Tory governments by crises in 1992 and 2022. Yet, in 2025, Britain is arguably economically more vulnerable than in any of those years. The task for the chancellor is to climb out of this deep pit with as much determination as possible while not risking a sterling or bond sell-off that would derail the government, party and country at least as severely as any of those earlier crises.Thus the much-criticised fiscal rules. These are not a self-imposed straitjacket to be abandoned at will but an attempted firewall to sustain financial market confidence while allowing scope to maintain and increase public investment. The promise to balance day-to-day public spending five years hence with day-to-day tax receipts is a minimum guarantor of fiscal credibility. But meeting this permits a second rule: to allow the state to borrow to maintain and increase capital spending, so protecting public investment from being raided as the soft option when the public budget comes under pressure - as every chancellor has done for more than 50 years, with results we live with daily. Continue reading...