Reeves flies to US to push Trump to sign trade agreement
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.
The Guardian view on the IMF’s warning: Donald Trump could cost the world a trillion dollars | Editorial
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.
US markets rally as Treasury secretary says China trade war is ‘unsustainable’
Scott Bessent tells investors he expects two countries to reach a deal that would end restrictions on flow of goods
UK manufacturers to cut jobs ‘within weeks unless ministers can strike trade deal’
Bosses from automative, manufacturing and energy warned MPs about effect of Trump tariffs
Britain’s manufacturers will start cutting jobs “within weeks” unless the government can strike a deal to safeguard the UK economy from Donald Trump’s trade war, industry leaders have told MPs.
Senior executives from the UK’s automotive, manufacturing and energy sectors warned a committee of MPs to expect job losses this summer if the US moves ahead with a swathe of global trade tariffs set out by Trump earlier this month.