‘No justification’: World leaders react to Trump’s tariff announcement

Published

5 months ago

April 3, 2025

admin

World leaders and governments have begun reacting to Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

The president imposed a 10% baseline tariff on all imports – but many of America’s biggest trading partners have been hit by a far higher rate.

Speaking at an event he called “Make America Wealthy Again”, Mr Trump criticised foreign “cheaters” and held a chart detailing who would be paying what.

Here is some of the latest reaction.

China, facing a 34% tax, said it would “resolutely” hit back and “take countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests”.

“China urges the United States to immediately cancel its unilateral tariff measures and properly resolve differences with its trading partners through equal dialogue,” said the commerce ministry.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the tariffs would have “dire consequences” for millions of people around the world.

“We [the EU] are already finalising the first package of countermeasures in response to tariffs on steel,” said Von der Leyen.

“We’re now preparing for further countermeasures to protect our interests and our businesses if negotiations fail.”

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin added: “We see no justification for this.

“More than €4.2bn worth of goods and services are traded between the EU and the US daily… Tariffs drive inflation, hurt people on both sides of the Atlantic, and put jobs at risk”.

Japan‘s trade minister, Yoji Muto, called the tariffs “extremely regrettable” and said all options were open.

Asked if Japan would retaliate to the 24% tariff imposed, he added: “We need to decide what is best for Japan, and most effective, in a careful but bold and speedy manner.”

What to expect from the EU

There will be a response from the European Union – the question is how soon, and how tough.

A symbolic reprisal is one choice – putting tariffs on classic American products such as Harley-Davidson motorbikes or bottles of bourbon.

That won’t damage the European economy, but it won’t make much of a difference, either.

There’s a reluctance to slap wide-ranging, indiscriminate tariffs simply because that would increase costs for many European manufacturers.

So something more targeted may look appealing and that could mean going after the tech giants – Facebook, Apple, Google, Amazon, for example.

Companies who have already had rows with EU regulators and are seen as being, to varying extents, close to the White House.

If Europe could specifically target Tesla, it probably would.

There are also those suggesting the EU should hold fire for the moment, confident that Trump’s tariffs will backfire and keen that the effects are visible.

One fear is that some of the cheap goods that were destined for US markets will now be diverted to Europe, flooding its market.

Another fear is how the Windsor Framework will be affected, now that there are different US tariffs on either side of the Irish border.

And finally there is that insult from the President, who called the European Union “pathetic”. A few minutes later, a senior EU diplomat sent me a message saying “the US is Brexiting the world, but you can’t stop the march of folly”.

Transatlantic relations are getting even icier.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his country would fight back with countermeasures.

“It’s essential to act with purpose and with force, and that’s what we will do,” he told reporters.

Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said she wouldn’t pursue a “tit-for-tat” strategy but that a “comprehensive programme” would be announced later today.

She added: “It’s not a question of if you impose tariffs on me, I’m going to impose tariffs on you. Our interest is in strengthening the Mexican economy.”

No new tariffs were announced for Mexico or Canada, after Mr Trump previously set a 25% rate on all goods entering from both countries, before announcing some exemptions and delays.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the 10% tariff on his country – the lowest level – was not reciprocal – and “not the act of a friend”.

“It is the American people who will pay the biggest price for these unjustified tariffs,” he said.

“This is why our government will not be seeking to impose reciprocal tariffs. We will not join a race to the bottom that leads to higher prices and slower growth.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, seen as close ally of the US president, called the tariffs “wrong” and said they would not benefit the US.

“We will do everything we can to work towards an agreement with the United States, with the goal of avoiding a trade war that would inevitably weaken the West in favour of other global players,” she said.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez vowed to protect the country’s companies and workers and to “continue to be committed to an open world.”

His Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, said: “We don’t want growing trade barriers. We don’t want a trade war.

“We want to find our way back to a path of trade and cooperation together with the US, so that people in our countries can enjoy a better life.”

New Zealand trade minister Todd McClay said: “We won’t be looking to retaliate – that would put up prices on New Zealand consumers and it would be inflationary.”

He denied his country had a 20% tariff on US imports – as claimed on Mr Trump’s chart – and said it was actually below 10%.

Business

How the US trade war is now targeting you from today

Published

6 mins ago

August 29, 2025

admin

How the US trade war is now targeting you from today

Donald Trump has cancelled a loophole from today that had allowed consumers and businesses to be spared duties for sending low-value goods to the United States.

The so-called de minimis exemption had applied across the world before Trump 2.0 but the president has taken action – and the UK may soon follow suit – as part of his trade war.

The relief had allowed goods worth less than $800 (£595) to enter the US duty-free since 2016.

But now, low-cost packages face the same tariff rate as other, more expensive, goods.

The reasons for the latest bout of protectionism are numerous and the ramifications are country and purpose specific.

What is changing?

It was no accident that China was the first destination to be slapped with this rule change.

The duty exemption on low-value Chinese goods was ended in May as US retailers, in fact those across the Western world, complained bitterly that they were being undercut by cheap clothing, accessories and household goods shipped by the likes of Shein and Temu.

From today, Mr Trump is expanding the end of the de minimis rule to the rest of the world.

Why is Trump doing this?

The president is not acting purely to protect US businesses.

More duties mean more money for his tariff treasure chest, bolstering the goodies already pouring in from his base and reciprocal tariffs imposed on trading partners globally this year.

The Trump administration has also called out “deceptive shipping practices, illegal material and duty circumvention”.

It also believes many parcels claiming to contain low-value goods have been used to fuel the country’s supplies of fentanyl, with the importation of the illegal drug being used by the president as a reason for his wider trade war against allies including Canada.

How will it apply?

Under the new rules, only letters and personal gifts worth less than $100 (£74) will still be free of import duties.

Charges will depend on the tariff regime facing the country from where the goods are sent.

Fox example, a parcel containing products worth $600 would raise $180 in extra duties when sent from a country facing a 30% tariff rate.

It has sparked chaos in many countries, with postal services in places including Japan, Germany and Australia refusing to accept many items for delivery to the US until the practicalities of the new regime become clearer.

What about the UK?

All goods not meeting the £74 exemption criteria now face a 10% charge because that is the baseline tariff the US has slapped on imports from the UK.

We were spared, if you remember, higher reciprocal tariffs under the so-called “trade deal”.

How will the process work?

All shipping and delivery companies will be wading through the changes, with the big international operators such as DHL, FedEx and the like all promising to navigate the challenge.

Royal Mail said on Thursday that it would be the first international postal service to have a dedicated operation.

It said consumers could use its new postal delivery duties paid (PDDP) services both online and at Post Offices.

But it explained that business customers faced different restrictions to individuals.

Businesses would be charged a handling fee per parcel to cover additional costs and duties would be calculated based on where items were originally manufactured.

While business account customers could be handed an invoice for the duties, it explained that consumers would have to pay at the point of buying postage.

No customs declaration would be required, it concluded, for personal correspondence.

Is the US alone in doing this?

The answer is no, but it remains a fairly widespread relief globally.

The European Union, for example, removed de minimis breaks back in 2021, making all e-commerce imports to the bloc subject to VAT.

It is also now planning to introduce a fee of €2 on goods worth €150 or less to cover the costs of customs processing.

Should the UK do the same?

The UK has been under pressure for many years to follow suit and drop its own £135 duty-free threshold as retailers battle the cheap e-commerce competition from China we mentioned earlier.

A review was announced by the chancellor in April.

Sky News revealed in July how the total declared trade value of de minimis imports into the UK in the 2024-25 financial year was £5.9bn – a 53% increase on the previous 12-month period.

Any rise in revenue would be welcomed, not only by UK retailers, but by Rachel Reeves too as she looks to fill a renewed black hole in the public finances.

Business

Steel tycoon Gupta’s troubles deepen amid Australian probe

Published

19 hours ago

August 28, 2025

admin

Steel tycoon Gupta's troubles deepen amid Australian probe

Sanjeev Gupta, the metals tycoon whose main British business was forced into compulsory liquidation last week, is facing a deepening probe by Australian regulators into his operations in the country.

Sky News has learnt that officials from the Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC) last week served Mr Gupta’s Liberty Steel group with a new demand for information about its activities.

Sources said the regulator had also taken possession of a mobile phone belonging to Mr Gupta as part of the probe.

Money latest: Airline makes plus-sized travellers buy two seats

One insider said that other senior executives at the company may also have had electronic devices confiscated, although the accuracy of this claim could not be verified on Thursday morning.

Both ASIC and a spokesman for Mr Gupta’s GFG conglomerate refused to comment on the suggestion that a search warrant had been produced by the watchdog.

ASIC’s deepening investigation comes a month after it said that three of GFG Alliance’s companies had been ordered by the Supreme Court of New South Wales to lodge outstanding annual reports with it.

It is the latest headache to hit Mr Gupta, whose companies remain under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office in the UK.

Last week, the Official Receiver took control of Speciality Steels UK following a winding-up petition from creditors led by Greensill Capital, the collapsed finance firm.

Mr Gupta remains intent on buying SSUK back, and has assembled financing from BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, Sky News revealed last week.

SSUK employs nearly 1,500 people at steel plants in South Yorkshire, and makes highly engineered steel products for use in sectors such as aerospace, automotive and oil and gas.

“[Gupta Family Group] will now continue to advance its bid for the business in collaboration with prospective debt and equity partners and will present its plan to the official receiver,” Jeffrey Kabel, chief transformation officer, at Liberty Steel, said after SSUK’s collapse.

“GFG continues to believe it has the ideas, management expertise and commitment to lead SSUK into the future and attract major investment.”

“The plan that GFG presented to the court would have secured new investment in the UK steel industry, protecting jobs and establishing a sustainable operational platform under a new governance structure with independent oversight,” Mr Kabel added.

“Instead, liquidation will now impose prolonged uncertainty and significant costs on UK taxpayers for settlements and related expenses, despite the availability of a commercial solution.”

Mr Gupta wants to hand control of SSUK to his family in a bid to alleviate concerns about his influence.

One source close to the situation claimed that the ownership structure devised by Mr Gupta would be independent, ring-fenced from him and have “robust standards of governance”.

Behind Tata Steel and British Steel, SSUK is the third-largest steel producer in the country.

Other parts of Mr Gupta’s empire have been showing signs of financial stress for years.

Mr Gupta is said to have explored whether he could persuade the government to step in and support SSUK using the legislation enacted to take control of British Steel’s operations.

His overtures were dismissed by Whitehall officials.

He had previously sought government aid during the pandemic but that plea was also rejected by ministers.

Business

Nvidia beats revenue expectations in boost to AI investment and US stock markets

Published

1 day ago

August 28, 2025

admin

Nvidia beats revenue expectations in boost to AI investment and US stock markets

The world’s most valuable company, and first to be valued at $4trn (£2.9trn), beat market expectations in keenly anticipated financial results.

Microchip maker Nvidia recorded revenues of $46.7bn (£34.6bn) in just three months up to July, latest financial data from the company showed, slightly better than Wall Street observers had expected.

The company’s performance is seen as a bellwether for artificial intelligence (AI) demand, with investors paying close attention to see whether the hype is overblown or if significant investment will pay off.

Originally a creator of gaming graphics hardware, Nvidia’s chips help power AI capability – and the UK’s most powerful supercomputer.

Nvidia’s graphics processors underpin products such as ChatGPT from OpenAI and Gemini from Google.

Other tech giants – Microsoft, Meta and Amazon – make up Nvidia’s biggest customers and are paying large sums to embed AI into their products.

Why does it matter?

Nvidia has been central to the boom in AI development and the surge in tech stock valuations, which has seen stock markets reach record highs.

It represents about 8% of the value of the US S&P 500 stock market index of companies relied on to be stable and profitable.

Strong results will continue to fuel record highs in the market. Conversely, results that fail to live up to the hype could trigger a market tumble.

Nvidia itself saw its share price rise more than 40% over the past year. Its value impacts anyone with cash in the US stock market, such as pension funds.

The S&P 500 rose 14% over the past year, and the tech-company-heavy NASDAQ gained 21%, largely thanks to Nvidia.

As such, its earnings can move markets as much as major economic or monetary policy announcements, like an interest rate decision.

What next?

Revenue rises are forecast to continue to rise as Nvidia said it expected a rise to roughly $54bn (£40bn) in the next three months, more than the $53.14bn (£39.3bn) anticipated by analysts.

This excludes any potential shipments to China as export of Nvidia’s H20 chip, designed with the Biden administration’s export crackdown on advanced AI powering chips in mind, had been banned under US national security grounds.

But in recent weeks, Nvidia and another chipmaker, AMD, reached an unprecedented agreement to pay the Trump administration a 15% portion of China sales in return for export licences to send chips to China.

There were no H20 sales at all to China in the second quarter of the year, the period for which results were released on Wednesday evening.

Previously, 13% of Nvidia’s revenue came from China, with nearly 50% coming from the US.

Market reaction

Despite the expectation-beating results, Nvidia shares were down in after-hours trading, as the massive revenue rises previously booked by the company were not repeated in the latest quarter.

Compared to a year ago, revenues rose 56% and 6% compared to the three months up to April.

The absence of Chinese sales in forecasts appeared to disappoint.