US president says tariffs on imported goods will come down from 145% rate but insists ‘we’re doing fine with China’

Donald Trump said during a White House news conference that high tariffs on goods from China will “come down substantially, but it won’t be zero”.

Trump’s remarks were in response to earlier comments on Tuesday by treasury secretary Scott Bessent, who said that the high tariffs were unsustainable and that he expects a “de-escalation” in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

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UK officials say text is agreed on deal to cut president’s tariffs on British steel, aluminium and cars

Rachel Reeves was due in Washington on Tuesday evening for what could be a pivotal week for a proposed US-UK trade deal.

Officials say an agreement is ready to sign but may have to be ripped up at the last minute should the US president impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals.

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The US president’s economic agenda collides with fragile financial systems, triggering market fears, investor flight and developing nation chaos

Wake up! When the most sober of global institutions, the International Monetary Fund, abandons its usual technocratic calm to sound the alarm on the political roots of global financial instability, it’s time to pay attention. The IMF is warning of a non-negligible risk of a $1tn hit to global output, as Donald Trump’s erratic “America first” agenda – part oligarchic enrichment scheme, part mobster shakedown – collides with a perfect storm of global financial vulnerabilities.

Such a shock would be equivalent to a third of that experienced in the 2008 crisis. But it would be felt in a much more fragile and politically charged environment. This time, the crisis stems not just from markets but from the politics at the heart of the dollar system. The IMF’s latest Global Financial Stability Report sees the danger in Mr Trump’s trade policies, especially his “liberation day” announcements, which have pushed up America’s effective tariff rate to the highest in over 100 years.

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