Trump tariffs live updates: Vance says good chance of UK trade deal and praises ‘cultural affinity’ with Britain

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Vance said America had a real “cultural affinity” with Britain which helped put it in an advantageous position over negotiating lower tariffs, as more countries work during the 90-day pause on aggressive tariffs to get those duties delayed further or reduced.

The UK’s Business and Trade Minister Sarah Jones welcomed Vance’s comments, saying there was “a deal there to be done”.

Xi has been in Vietnam where he met Vietnam’s top leader, To Lam, in Hanoi urged the country to stand up against “unilateralism and bullying” and called for stronger trade ties

Reacting to their meeting, Trump said: “That’s a lovely meeting. Meeting like, trying to figure out, ‘how do we screw the United States of America?’"

Obama condemns Trump's 'ham-handed' Harvard funding freeze

Former president Barack Obama has condemned the Trump administration’s freezing $2.3 billion in funding to Harvard University as “unlawful” and “ham-handed”.

Earlier, the White House froze more than $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts for Harvard University after the school refused to comply with a lengthy list of demands including sweeping leadership and admissions reforms.

Obama said on social media that other schools should follow Harvard’s lead.

“Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions – rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Let’s hope other institutions follow suit,” he wrote on X.

Rachel Clun15 April 2025 12:08

French PM said tariff hikes have caused 'a tsunami of destabilization'

The French prime minister said Donald Trump’s tariffs have caused a global storm and hit trust across the world.

Francois Bayrou warned it was a moment of truth for France as it attempts to fix its public finances, adding that in his view, Trump had created “a tsunami of destabilization”.

"The fact that this power has gone over to the side of the aggressors is a dramatic turn of events, a warning shot that ruins our fundamental vision of the world," Bayrou said.

The French PM said Trump has created ‘a tsunami of destabilization’

Rachel Clun15 April 2025 11:54

FTSE surges amid 'good chance' of U.S-U.K tariff deal

The U.K’s FTSE 100 index has surged this morning following comments from vice president J.D. Vance that there was a “good chance” of a tariff deal with the U.K.

Ahead of lunchtime in U.K trading the stock was up 1 percent, building on Monday’s strong gains to take it to 8,215 points and up 3.8 percent from five days ago.

Earlier, Vance said the Trump administration was “working very hard” with the British government to find a deal.

“The president really loves the United Kingdom. He loved the Queen. He admires and loves the King. It is a very important relationship. And he’s a businessman and has a number of important business relationships in [Britain]. But I think it’s much deeper than that,” he told UnHerd website.

“There’s a real cultural affinity. And, of course, fundamentally, America is an Anglo country. I think there’s a good chance that, yes, we’ll come to a great agreement that’s in the best interest of both countries.”

Rachel Clun15 April 2025 11:34

Indonesia proposes to spend billions more on U.S oil and gas

Indonesia, facing the prospect of 32 percent tariffs on its exports to America, plans to buy billions of dollars more oil and gas to help reduce its trade surplus.

The country’s energy minister Bahlil Lahadalia told local media on Tuesday that Indonesia will propose increasing its crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas imports from the U.S. by about $10 billion in tariff negotiations.

Indonesian officials are preparing to leave for Washington later on Tuesday for trade talks. In all, the country plans to by U.S goods worth up to $19 billion to cover the trade surplus with the U.S.

Indonesia’s government has previously said it would also reduce import duties on U.S. steel, mining products and health equipment.

UN trade body urges U.S to exclude vulnerable countries from steep tariffs

The United Nations’ trade body has urged the U.S to exclude vulnerable and small economies from its aggressive tariff increases.

In a new report, UN Trade and Development found that in many instances the reciprocal tariffs risked devastating developing and the least developed economies that trade with America, while doing little to reduce the U.S. trade deficits.

Last week Donald Trump paused reciprocal tariffs that were higher than 10 per cent for dozens of trading partners for 90 days. Those additional tariffs ranged from 11 per cent for Cameroon to 50 per cent for Lesotho.

In all 57 countries are affected. Eleven of them are among the least developed in the world, the UN trade body said, and 28 of those 57 nations account for less than 0.1 per cent of America’s deficits.

The report noted that several of the countries produce agricultural goods that are not produced in the U.S, or which have few subsitutes such as vanilla from Madagascar.

Rachel Clun15 April 2025 11:07

Watch: Trump tears into journalist over deportation questions

Donald Trump and his cabinet hit out at a CNN journalist during a tense Oval Office showdown after she asked about a man mistakenly deported to El Salvador

Rachel Clun15 April 2025 10:50

What's at stake for U.K in trade talks with U.S?

Vice president J.D Vance said there was a “good chance” of a trade deal between the U.S and the U.K, which is good news for Britain given the significance of its trade relationship with America.

The U.S is the U.K’s largest export partner, according to the Office for National Statistics.

In 2023, the U.K exported £60.4 billion ($80 billion) worth of goods to America, making up 15.3 percent of all the U.K’s goods exports that year.

Machinery and transport equipment were the main exports, and the U.S. is the U.K’s largest export partner for cars, taking £6.4 billion in cars in 2023.

The U.K also exports chemicals, including medicines and pharmaceutical products.

Rachel Clun15 April 2025 10:36

The timeline of Trump's changing tariffs

Since his inauguration less than three months ago, Donald Trump has made many changes to tariff plans.

Here’s a timeline of the key moments so far:

Donald Trump’s tariff plans have changed regularly

January 20 - Announced additional 25 percent tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico.
February 1 - Adds 10 per cent tariffs on China.
February 10 - Introduces 25 percent tariff on all steel and aluminum exports to the U.S.
March 4 - Canada, China and Mexico tariffs come into effect.
March 26 - Announces 25 percent tariff on all cars and car parts shipped to the U.S.
April 2 - Reveals 10 percent tariff on any country exporting goods to U.S, unless tariffs already exist. Announces even higher reciprocal tariffs for dozens of countries.
April 9 - Higher tariffs take effect, but within hours Trump announces a 90-day pause – except the general 10 percent increase. China tariffs are lifted to 145 percent.
April 11 - Trump administration exempts electronic goods.
April 12-13 - Trump says new tariffs on semiconductors and chips will be introduced, administration says tech exemption will be temporary.

Rachel Clun15 April 2025 10:21

Obama lauds Harvard's stance against Trump administration demands

Former president Barack Obama says other universities should follow Harvard’s example, after the prestigious school refused to take on the Trump administration’s demands.

Earlier, the administration froze more than $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts for Harvard University after the school refused to comply with the White House’s list of demands which included broad leadership, governance and admissions reforms.

Harvard said: “The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.”

Obama said on social media that other schools should follow Harvard’s lead.

Harvard University has refused to make any of the changes demanded by the White House.

Chinese airlines to halt Boeing deliveries

Chinese airlines have been ordered not to take any more deliveries of Boeing aircraft in response to the U.S. decision to lift tariffs on Chinese goods to 145 percent, Bloomberg News reports.

Sources familiar with the matter told the news services that Beijing has also asked airlines to stop purchasing any aircraft-related equipment and parts from U.S. companies.

Airlines that lease Boeing jets and are now facing higher costs could also receive assistance from the Chinese government, the sources told Bloomberg.