62 h. ago Between ‘rollover UK’ and ‘retaliatory China’: will EU hardball secure trade deal with US?

Optimism is growing in Brussels, but high-risk strategy has only weeks to play out before pause in tariff threat endsIn Brussels’ corridors of power, quiet optimism is growing that the EU’s hardball strategy to secure a US trade deal is working. While Britain quickly moved to try to cushion the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs with a deal agreed last month – and US-Chinese relations are a tit-for-tat situation – the EU has taken a different stance. “We are positioning ourselves between ‘rollover UK’ and ‘retaliatory China’,” said a Brussels source.The stakes are not just the £706bn in transatlantic trade between the EU and US but the fallout from what diplomats and businesses say is a dangerous assault on the global rules-based system that governs western democracy. Continue reading...

Economics

4 d. ago Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ could add $2.4tn to national debt, nonpartisan analysis says – US politics live

Congressional Budget Office assessment comes as Musk is among prominent critics of the bill; Mexico says it will act over tariffs if no trade deal agreedThe Trump administration has reversed its decision to revoke the legal status of a four-year-old girl, receiving continuing life-saving treatment in the US, and her family after a national outcry.Deysi Vargas, her husband and their daughter – whom lawyers identified by the pseudonym Sofia – had come to the US in 2023 to seek medical care for their daughter who has a rare condition that requires specialized treatment. But in April, the federal government ended their humanitarian parole, a temporary status granted to people on urgent humanitarian grounds, and ordered them to “self-deport”. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Keir Starmer promises Donald Trump trade deal will be in force in 'very short time'

The PM insisted the government is "working on it" to bring steel tariffs down to zero - as he promised when the deal was announced last month

Politics

4 d. ago PMQs: Keir Starmer trumpets UK as 'only country in world' spared Donald Trump's 50% steel tariff

Gareth Stace, the director general of UK Steel, said that Donald Trump’s decision is a ‘welcome pause’

Politics

4 d. ago Starmer admits finalising his US trade deal could take WEEKS after Trump spares UK steel industry from latest 50% tariffs

Donald Trump is offering 'different treatment' to Britain after doubling tariffs on imports from other countries to 50 per cent.

Economics

4 d. ago Why Starmer has five weeks to prove his Trump trade deal is worth the paper it’s written on

The intense talks on Tuesday night may have been about stopping 50 per cent steel tariffs, but at the heart of it whether politicians can prove their credibility, says political editor David Maddox

Politics

5 d. ago Relief as Trump spares UK steel industry from latest 50% tariffs

Donald Trump is offering 'different treatment' to Britain after doubling tariffs on imports from other countries to 50 per cent.

Politics

5 d. ago Britain spared Trump's new 50% steel tariffs but industry remains gripped by uncertainty

Gareth Stace, the director general of UK Steel, said that Donald Trump’s decision is a ‘welcome pause’

Politics

5 d. ago Trump is ‘obsessed’ about having a call with China’s Xi this week to hammer out trade deal, insiders reveal

A person familiar with the matter reportedly said the administration is “under a lot of pressure” following China’s critical minerals blockade

Politics

5 d. ago Fears British steel exports could be hammered with Trump's latest 50% tariffs TOMORROW as No10 admits there is STILL no timetable for Starmer's 'trade deal' to be finalised

Keir Starmer and Donald Trump announced the broad terms of an agreement almost a month ago that would exempt the UK from some of the US president's punitive levies on steel and cars.

Economics

5 d. ago Fears British steel exports could be hammered with Trump's latest tariffs TOMORROW as No10 admits there is STILL no timetable for Starmer's 'trade deal' to be finalised

Keir Starmer and Donald Trump announced the broad terms of an agreement almost a month ago that would exempt the UK from some of the US president's punitive levies on steel and cars.

Economics

5 d. ago Do we have a US trade deal or not? Business Secretary meets Trump officials amid fears there is STILL no timetable for terms to be finalised

Sir Keir Starmer and Mr Trump announced the broad terms of an agreement almost a month ago that would excise the UK from some of the US president's punitive levies on steel and cars.

Politics

6 d. ago China vows ‘forceful measures’ after accusing US of violating tariffs truce

Beijing says it is ‘strictly implementing’ consensus reached in Geneva but US is taking steps that ‘seriously undermine’ it

Politics

1 week ago Trump fury over US court bid to block tariffs – as experts warn uncertainty could hit economy

A ruling by three US judges has been described as ‘good news’ for countries negotiating trade deals with Trump but brought warnings of uncertainty and confusion

Events

1 week ago Trump tariff ruling risks slowing down delivery of UK trade deal

Experts fear more ‘chaos and confusion’ surrounding implementation of pact

Economics

1 week ago Trump indicates ‘positive’ progress in US trade talks with EU

Wall Street up in early trading after US president commends bloc for calling to ‘quickly establish meeting dates’Donald Trump has indicated there has been progress in US trade talks with the EU, helping send share prices rising on Wall Street, after he commended the bloc for calling to “quickly establish meeting dates”.“This is a positive event, and I hope that they will,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, saying the EU would be “very happy and successful” if it agreed a deal. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Trump accuses EU of dragging its heels on a tariff deal with the US

Fears of trade war reignited as the American president makes veiled threat on his Truth Social platformDonald Trump said the EU had been dragging its heels “to put it mildly” on sealing a tariff deal with the US, repeating his assessment that his threat of a 50% tariff on imports from the bloc was an “extremely” satisfactory move.He commended the EU for calling to “quickly establish meeting dates” but reignited fears of a trade war with the region by adding criticism of the EU to his statement on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Economics

1 week ago IMF lifts UK growth forecast for 2025; markets welcome US delay to EU 50% tariffs – as it happened

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as IMF releases latest healthcheck on UK economyRachel Reeves should ease fiscal rules to prevent emergency spending cuts, IMF saysEU hopes for quick deal to resolve US trade war after Trump delays 50% tariffsToyota to move some GR Corolla production to UK from JapanOuch! Germany’s economy is on track for its worst performance in post-war history, a new report shows.The German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) predicted this morning that Europe’s largest economy will contract by 0.3% this year, Reuters reports. That would be the third annual contraction in a row, although not as bad as the 0.5% fall in GDP which the DIHK predicted back in February.“A mood of cautious relief is spreading after the long weekend, amid hopes for more fruitful trade negotiations between the United States and its global partners. There are no post bank holiday blues for the London market, with the Footsie in striking distance of the record ...

Economics

1 week ago IMF lifts UK growth forecast for 2025; markets welcome US delay to EU 50% tariffs – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as IMF releases latest healthcheck on UK economyRachel Reeves should ease fiscal rules to prevent emergency spending cuts, IMF saysEU hopes for quick deal to resolve US trade war after Trump delays 50% tariffsToyota to move some GR Corolla production to UK from JapanOuch! Germany’s economy is on track for its worst performance in post-war history, a new report shows.The German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) predicted this morning that Europe’s largest economy will contract by 0.3% this year, Reuters reports. That would be the third annual contraction in a row, although not as bad as the 0.5% fall in GDP which the DIHK predicted back in February.“A mood of cautious relief is spreading after the long weekend, amid hopes for more fruitful trade negotiations between the United States and its global partners. There are no post bank holiday blues for the London market, with the Footsie in striking distance of the record ...

Economics

1 week ago UK retail confidence plummets as sales fall; markets welcome US delay to EU 50% tariffs – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsEU hopes for quick deal to resolve US trade war after Trump delays 50% tariffsToyota to move some GR Corolla production to UK from JapanOuch! Germany’s economy is on track for its worst performance in post-war history, a new report shows.The German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) predicted this morning that Europe’s largest economy will contract by 0.3% this year, Reuters reports. That would be the third annual contraction in a row, although not as bad as the 0.5% fall in GDP which the DIHK predicted back in February.“A mood of cautious relief is spreading after the long weekend, amid hopes for more fruitful trade negotiations between the United States and its global partners. There are no post bank holiday blues for the London market, with the Footsie in striking distance of the record high reached in February. More positive vibes are pulsing about the outlook for the global economy, with hopes that more scores can b...

Economics