Unemployment fears hit worst levels since Covid as tariffs fuel inflation outlook, Fed survey shows
Consumer worries grew over inflation, unemployment and the stock market as the global trade war heated up in March.
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US stock markets rise on Trump tariff rollback
The US president exempts some Chinese goods such as smartphones from levies but says it is temporary.
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UN calls on Trump to exempt poorest countries from ‘reciprocal’ tariffs
Unctad points out that many countries targeted with high tariff rates are unlikely to be a threat to US
The UN’s trade and development arm, Unctad, is calling on Donald Trump to exempt the world’s poorest and smallest countries from “reciprocal” tariffs, or risk “serious economic harm”.
In a report published on Monday, Unctad identifies 28 nations the US president singled out for a higher tariff rate than the 10% baseline – despite each accounting for less than 0.1% of the US trade deficit.
Sky-high US-China tariffs are a mutual trade embargo that will hurt both sides
Effects could tip US into recession and undermine China’s already fragile economy but prospects for rapprochement are not hopeless
- Trump says exemptions on smartphones, electronics will be short-lived
- Business live – latest updates
Sky-high tariffs that now hang heavily over US-China trade mean, effectively, that they have declared a trade embargo on each other, normally an act of war. The economic consequences for both will hurt.
America’s $150bn (£113bn) or so of exports to China will fall away quickly, while China’s $440bn worth of exports to the US may drop by up to 75% over the next 18 months, unless some sort of negotiation happens. No one will be spared the effects.
Trump threatens new tariffs on smartphones days after exempting them
President Trump says Chinese-made electronics are simply moving to a different levy “bucket”.