6 h. ago US trade war with China is 'single stupidest thing you’ll ever see’ says expert

Political expert Ian Dunt has issued a scathing attack on Donald Trump after the US President announced a sweeping range of import tariffs on territories around the world

Events

8 h. ago ‘Only job I know’: tiny Lesotho’s garment workers reel from Trump’s tariffs

Impoverished African country is hit with highest tariff rate at 50%, overturning decades of global trade policyThe day after Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs, Lesotho’s garment workers feared for their jobs.Last year, Lesotho sent about 20% of its $1.1bn (£845m) of exports to the US, most of it clothing, as well as diamonds, under a continent-wide trade agreement meant to help African countries’ development via tariff-free exports. Continue reading...

Politics

8 h. ago ‘Only job I know’: tiny Lesotho’s garment workers reel from Trump’s 50% tariffs

Impoverished African country is hit with highest tariff rate, overturning decades of global trade policyThe day after Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs, Lesotho’s garment workers feared for their jobs.Last year, Lesotho sent about 20% of its $1.1bn (£845m) of exports to the US, most of it clothing under a continent-wide trade agreement meant to help African countries’ development via tariff-free exports, as well as diamonds. Continue reading...

Politics

12 h. ago FTSE 100 hits lowest level since January as IMF warns Trump tariffs ‘a significant risk’ to global economy – business live

Kristolina Georgieva warns against retaliation to US levies while US president insists ‘markets will boom’ after sweeping tariff announcementGlobal markets in turmoil as Trump tariffs wipe $2.5tn off Wall StreetAnalysis: Trump’s ‘idiotic’ and flawed tariff calculations stun economistsNew Civil Liberties Alliance, a conservative legal group, has filed what it says is the first lawsuit seeking to block Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports, saying the US president overstepped his authority. Reuters reports:The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Florida, alleges that Trump lacked the legal authority to impose the sweeping tariffs unveiled on Wednesday as well as duties authorized on February 1 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.“By invoking emergency power to impose an across-the-board tariff on imports from China that the statute does not authorize, President Trump has misused that power, usurped Congress’s right to control tariffs, and upset the Constitution’s ...

Events

16 h. ago The far right has seemed unstoppable in Europe. Here’s how Trump’s tariffs could change that | Nathalie Tocci

With populist leaders on the back foot and EU support at its highest in years, the US trade war could be an opportunity for the unionDonald Trump has unleashed a trade war on the world, and Europe, considered by Washington to be among the “worst offenders”, is a major target. After hitting European steel, aluminium and cars, this week Trump announced sweeping 20% tariffs on almost all EU imports. Europeans have seen this coming for a long time. Well before his re-election, officials in Brussels were drawing up plans on how the EU might respond to Trump 2.0 and a possible transatlantic trade war.What might the political fallout in Europe be? The good news is that Trump’s trade war puts Trump-friendly far-right forces in Europe in a terribly uncomfortable position. It’s one thing for the European far right to support Trump in principle, or to support the administration’s tyranny over peoples it doesn’t care about, be it Ukrainians, Canadians, Mexicans or Palestinians. It’s quite anoth...

Politics

17 h. ago Asian markets drop further as IMF warns Trump tariffs ‘a significant risk’ to global economy – business live

Kristolina Georgieva warns against retaliation to US levies while US president insists ‘markets will boom’ after sweeping tariff announcementFull report: Global markets in turmoil as Trump tariffs wipe $2.5tn off Wall StreetAnalysis: Trump’s ‘idiotic’ and flawed tariff calculations stun economistsSenior senators introduced new bipartisan legislation on Thursday seeking to claw back some of Congress’s power over tariffs after Donald Trump unveiled sweeping new import taxes and rattled the global economy with sweeping new import taxes.The Trade Review Act of 2025, co-sponsored by Senator Chuck Grassley, a top Republican lawmaker from Iowa, a state heavily reliant on farm exports, and Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington, whose state shares a border with Canada, would require the president to notify Congress of new tariffs, and provide a justification for the action and an analysis on the potential impact on US businesses and consumers. Continue reading...

Events

23 h. ago They are home only to penguins and seals... but they haven't escaped Donald Trump's tariffs

It was among the strange inclusions on the list of countries and territories affected by the US president's controversial new trade policy

Politics

24 h. ago US stock markets see worst day since Covid pandemic after investors shaken by Trump tariffs

All three major US index funds close down as Apple and Nvidia, two of US’s largest companies, lose combined $470bnUS stock markets tumbled on Thursday as investors parsed the sweeping change in global trading following Donald Trump’s announcement of a barrage of tariffs on the country’s trading partners.All three major US stock markets closed down in their worst day since June 2020, during the Covid pandemic. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 6%, while the S&P 500 and the Dow dropped 4.8% and 3.9%, respectively. Apple and Nvidia, two of the US’s largest companies by market value, had lost a combined $470bn in value by midday. Continue reading...

Economics

28 h. ago US stock markets tumble as investors shaken by Trump tariffs

Dollar hits six-month low after president announces sweeping tariffs on US’s largest trade partnersTrump condemned as global markets tumble – live updatesUS stock markets tumbled on Thursday as investors parsed the sweeping change in global trading following Donald Trump’s announcement of a barrage of tariffs on the country’s trading partners.All three major US index funds were down as trading started on Thursday morning. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fund was down 4.5%, while S&P 500 and the Dow dropped 3.4% and 2.7% at opening, respectively. Continue reading...

Economics

29 h. ago Stocks tumble on Wall Street as Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs send shockwaves through global markets – business live

Ursula von der Leyen says tariffs a ‘major blow’ to world economy, as US dollar falls to six month low after US President Trump’s ‘liberation day’Full report: Trump announces sweeping new tariffsAnalysis: Trump’s tariffs likely to raise prices and cause chaosWhat are tariffs and why do they matter?The new US tariffs “will only create losers” with US consumers particularly hard hit, the German Automotive Industry Association (VDA), has said in a statement, calling on the EU “to act together and with the necessary force, while continuing to signal its willingness to negotiate.”The body, which represents the powerful German auto industry, said the tariffs markedthe United States’ departure from the rules-based global trade order – and thus a departure from the foundation for global value creation and corresponding growth and prosperity in many regions of the world.This is not America first; this is America alone. Continue reading...

Economics

34 h. ago US dollar ‘at risk of confidence crisis’ as Trump tariffs rattle global markets – business live

Ursula von der Leyen says tariffs a ‘major blow’ to world economy, as US dollar falls to six month low after US President Trump’s ‘liberation day’Full report: Trump announces sweeping new tariffsAnalysis: Trump’s tariffs likely to raise prices and cause chaosWhat are tariffs and why do they matter?The new US tariffs “will only create losers” with US consumers particularly hard hit, the German Automotive Industry Association (VDA), has said in a statement, calling on the EU “to act together and with the necessary force, while continuing to signal its willingness to negotiate.”The body, which represents the powerful German auto industry, said the tariffs markedthe United States’ departure from the rules-based global trade order – and thus a departure from the foundation for global value creation and corresponding growth and prosperity in many regions of the world.This is not America first; this is America alone. Continue reading...

Economics

35 h. ago Asian countries riven by war and disaster face some of steepest Trump tariffs

Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos hit with rates over 40% as experts say the real target is ChinaBusiness live – latest updatesDeveloping nations in south-east Asia, including war-torn and earthquake-hit Myanmar, and several African nations are among the trading partners facing the highest tariffs set by Donald Trump.Upending decades of US trade policy and threatening to unleash a global trade war, the US president announced a raft of tariffs on Wednesday that he said were designed to stop the US economy from being “cheated”. Continue reading...

Events

35 h. ago Trump’s tariffs will ‘clearly have economic impact’ in UK – Starmer

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer gathered business chiefs in No 10 for talks after Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs.

Economics

35 h. ago Donald Trump tariff list: What is a reciprocal tariff? What countries were on Trump's US tariff board?

Donald Trump has announced sweeping tariffs on all of the US’s trading partners, with 10 per cent set as a minimum

Politics

38 h. ago Donald Trump's 'dire' tariffs set to hit 'the most vulnerable people' the hardest

Shockwaves have been sent through the global economy after US President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs against countries across the globe in a move that has stunned economists

Politics

40 h. ago EU threatens countermeasures and Asian markets plunge after Trump tariff announcement – business live

Ursula von der Leyen says tariffs a ‘major blow’ to world economy after US President Trump targets allies on what he dubbed ‘liberation day’Full report: Trump announces sweeping new tariffs, upending decades of US trade policyAnalysis: Trump’s wall of tariffs is likely to raise prices and cause chaos for businessThe new US tariffs “will only create losers” with US consumers particularly hard hit, the German Automotive Industry Association (VDA), has said in a statement, calling on the EU “to act together and with the necessary force, while continuing to signal its willingness to negotiate.”The body, which represents the powerful German auto industry, said the tariffs markedthe United States’ departure from the rules-based global trade order – and thus a departure from the foundation for global value creation and corresponding growth and prosperity in many regions of the world.This is not America first; this is America alone. Continue reading...

Economics

41 h. ago Trump news at a glance: sweeping tariffs announced; Musk could be nearing end of role

Trump announces ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on largest US trading partners; Elon Musk may leave government role at end of 130-day cap. Here’s your roundup of key US politics stories from 2 April 2025Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on some of its largest trading partners on Wednesday, upending decades of US trade policy and threatening to unleash a global trade war on what he has dubbed “liberation day”.Trump said he will impose a 10% universal tariff on all imported foreign goods in addition to “reciprocal tariffs” on a few dozen countries, charging additional duties onto countries that Trump claims have “cheated” America. Continue reading...

Politics

43 h. ago Republicans join Democrats in Senate vote to rescind Trump Canada tariffs

Resolution that would block tariffs passes 51-48 in Senate, in vote that shows Republican unease over president’s plansSeveral Republican senators joined Democrats to pass a resolution that would block Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, a rare rebuke of the president’s trade policy just hours after he announced plans for sweeping import taxes on some of the country’s largest trading partners.In a 51-48 vote, four Republicans – Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and both Kentucky senators, the former majority leader Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul – defied Trump’s pressure campaign and supported the measure. Democrats used a procedural maneuver to force a vote on the resolution, which would terminate the national emergency on fentanyl Trump is using to justify tariffs on Canada. Continue reading...

Politics

43 h. ago Asian markets plunge as world reels from Trump tariff announcement – business live

US president has announced aggressive tariffs targeting US allies on what he has dubbed ‘liberation day’Full report: Trump announces sweeping new tariffs, upending decades of US trade policyAnalysis: Trump’s wall of tariffs is likely to raise prices and cause chaos for businessUS futures have fallen sharply, with the Dow Jones dropping 2.4% at around 2345 GMT, the Nasdaq index plunging 4.2%, and the broader futures index for the S&P 500 falling 3.5%. AFP reports:Wall Street has largely suffered from Trump’s various trade announcements in recent weeks.“The silver lining for investors could be that this is only a starting point for negotiations with other countries and ultimately tariff rates will come down across the board,” Northlight Asset Management’s Chris Zaccarelli wrote in a note to clients. Continue reading...

Economics

43 h. ago Why three major countries were conspicuously left OFF Trump's massive tariffs list

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday his decision to level sweeping economic tariffs on foreign countries across the globe, but three significant countries were not on the list.

Politics