23 h. ago The Guardian view on Trump’s trade war: no one will win, but China is taking the long view | Editorial

Beijing is braced for turbulence due to swingeing tariffs. But it sees a bigger, more promising story of US hegemonic declineNo one, least of all consumers and workers, will win the ferocious trade war that Donald Trump has unleashed. This is “a game of who can bear more pain”, in the words of one analyst. And because trade is at the heart of US ties with its biggest tariff target, China, the rest of the bilateral relationship is likely to deteriorate. That too is concerning.Yet China, despite the economic struggles of recent years, may see a longer-term opportunity in the current crisis. Beijing’s response to the initial US tariff announcements was measured. Now it vows to “fight to the end” and has imposed an additional 50% tariff on US goods – taking the total to 84% – in retaliation for tariffs that Mr Trump now says will hit 125%.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 p...

Politics

50 h. ago Tariffs driving India to strike trade deals, finance minister says ahead of UK talks

Nirmala Sitharam says turmoil forcing countries to seek accords beyond old ideological and political tiesIndia is seeking to strike more trade deals with other countries at a time of “global uncertainty”, its finance minister, Nirmala Sitharam, said before talks with the UK chancellor, Rachel Reeves.Sitharam, who serves as finance and corporate affairs minister in Narendra Modi’s government, said she was hopeful the UK and India would finalise a free trade deal “sooner rather than later”. Continue reading...

Economics

6 d. ago Leaders in the Bay of Bengal region agree to improve trade ties and disasters relief efforts

Leaders of nations in the Bay of Bengal region have pledged to improve trade and transport cooperation as they concluded a summit in Bangkok

Politics

6 d. ago EU leaders hold their first summit with Central Asian states

The leaders of the European Union and five countries of Central Asia are holding their first summit to discuss ways to boost trade and other ties

Politics

6 d. ago Britain can retaliate or negotiate with Trump – but there is no way we can win at this game | Gaby Hinsliff

Starmer will try to calm the situation and focus on May’s local elections, but one thing is clear: our ties with Europe are more crucial than everNobody wins a trade war. You can lose it by greater or lesser degrees: you may be one of the luckier casualties. But that’s about as good as it gets. So, while there will have been initial relief in Downing Street on Wednesday night, a feeling even that Keir Starmer’s placating of Donald Trump looks vindicated, what followed was no victory lap.How could it be, after that grotesquely swaggering show trial the president staged in the White House garden, all the better to jazz up an economic assault on what were once his country’s allies? Come on down, Britain, escaping with just the minimum 10% tariff on its exports to the US and no drive-by insults! Better than Taiwan (32% plus a lecture about how the US used to build all the semiconductors once), Vietnam (“They like me, I like them” but still a brutal 46%), the EU (“very very tough traders...

Politics

1 week ago What to know about Myanmar's natural disasters and civil war complicating relief efforts

The Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar has been plagued by wars and natural disasters since it became independent from Britain in 1948, when it was still called Burma

Events

2 w. ago Globalisation may have run its course in current form, says HSBC chair

Trade tensions in era of Trump tariffs create serious potential risk to global growth, warns Sir Mark TuckerGlobalisation “may have now run its course” in its current form, according to the chair of HSBC, as geopolitical tensions and US tariffs threaten to upend existing global trade.Speaking at the bank’s global investment summit in Hong Kong on Tuesday, Sir Mark Tucker warned that trade tensions created uncertainty that posed a “serious potential risk to global growth”, in remarks reported by the Financial Times. He predicted stronger economic ties would develop between regional groups and trade blocs. Continue reading...

Society

2 w. ago ‘Stock up, stay indoors’: Japan unveils contingency planning for what happens if Mount Fuji erupts

First detailed guidelines for residents will be shared with ministries and prefectures for disaster relief

Politics

2 w. ago In defiance of Donald Trump, is a European ‘security council’ emerging? | Paul Taylor

With the US threatening unilateral withdrawal, even from the top Nato military post, five European nations must fill the vacuumIn the face of Vladimir Putin’s aggression against Ukraine and Donald Trump’s destabilisation of the Atlantic alliance, an embryonic European security council is taking shape on the hoof. Whether it will prove strong enough to protect Europe’s liberal democracies and deter Russia without US military support may be tested all too soon.Nato was created under US leadership to keep the Soviet Union at bay while suppressing centuries-old rivalries among European powers. The alliance stayed united through the cold war and attracted new central European members after communist rule collapsed. But the spectre of US disengagement now threatens to leave Europe without its nuclear-armed protector.Paul Taylor is a senior visiting fellow at the European Policy Centre Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago India and New Zealand look to bolster ties after reviving free trade talks

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon have held wide-ranging discussions seeking to deepen their defense and economic ties

Politics