Donald Trump has labelled today “liberation day” and will reveal the extent of his promised tariffs later – meanwhile, the world waits uncertainly, with markets down. Earlier, a thinktank warned 25,000 UK jobs could be at risk. Listen to Trump 100 as you scroll.
Wednesday 2 April 2025 11:56, UK
China is feeling the force of the tariffs Donald Trump has already announced ahead of today.
Anything from China sold to America faces a tax of at least 20% as of 4 March, and the financial penalties are hitting the country’s already struggling economy.
Our Asia correspondent Helen-Ann Smith has visited manufacturers in Guangzhou who say they are angry the US is no longer a reliable trading partner.
Watch her report in the video below.
You’ll see us talking about “liberation day” in our updates, but how did it get its name?
It’s what Donald Trump has been calling today – when he’s set to unveil tariffs on countries deemed to be giving the US a bad deal on trade.
The extent of potential tariffs and countries affected remains unclear, with Trump at times sending mixed messages.
On 30 March, he said “all countries” could expect to be hit by tariffs.
Speaking from Air Force One, the US president rubbished a question from a reporter who asked whether it was true he was planning on targeting between 10 and 15 countries.
“Who told you 10-15 countries? You didn’t hear it from me,” he said.
When pressed on how many he was planning to hit, he said: “You’d start with all countries, let’s see what happens.”
Two days prior, he said he was open to carving out deals with countries seeking to avoid US tariffs, but that those agreements would be negotiated after 2 April.
He had previously said he “may give a lot of countries breaks, but it’s reciprocal”, adding: “We might be even nicer than that.”
While we still don’t know too much about what Donald Trump will be announcing later, the White House has reportedly been drawing up plans to introduce tariffs of around 20% on most US imports.
Sources have told the Washington Post that aides had floated the idea of a flat rate for imports from “virtually every country”.
It’s understood to be just one of several options being considered – as we know, Trump is prone to changing his mind on the specifics and timing of tariffs.
The White House has said any country that treated Americans unfairly should expect to be on the receiving end of tariffs, while Trump warned “all countries” could be hit by tariffs.
The Washington Post said the impact of 20% tariffs on most US imports would “send shock waves through the stock market and global economy”.
Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s, told the newspaper that, as a result, the US economy would “almost immediately tumble into a recession that would last for more than a year”, sending the unemployment rate to more than 7%.
He said that was a worst-case scenario based on the assumption that the tariffs would be imposed this quarter and trigger retaliatory levies from the US’s trading partners.
Ahead of Donald Trump unveiling his tariffs later today, analysts at Deutsche Bank have issued a stark warning over the potential fallout.
They say US GDP growth could fall by 100-120 basis points this year, with core inflation up by 90-120 basis points – that is in a worst-case scenario where reciprocal tariffs include the entirety of each country’s VAT.
“Obviously, the prospect of broad-based tariffs would represent a huge shock to the global trading system, and would have some pretty seismic ramifications for the world economy,” Deutsche Bank added.
By Neville Lazarus, India reporter
Donald Trump has branded India “tariff king” and a big abuser of trade ties.
He reiterated his commitment of imposing reciprocal tariff rates when Narendra Modi came calling to congratulate him in February.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said: “If you look at the unfair trade practices that we have, you have a 100% tariff from India on American agricultural products.
“This makes it virtually impossible for American products to be imported into these markets, and it puts a lot of Americans out of business and out of work over the past several decades.”
A panicked Indian government rushed a delegation led by its commerce and industry minister – open to cutting tariffs – to try to get a reprieve.
On Tuesday, Trump said: “I heard that India is going to be dropping its tariffs substantially.”
But the president refused to give commitments on any leeway.
America is India’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade of about $130bn in 2024, but there is an imbalance of about $46bn in favour of India.
The country’s tariffs on US products are among the highest in the world.
India’s exports to the US span 30 sectors and account for 2.3% of its GDP. The reciprocal tariffs could cost the country above $3bn annually.
The disruption would be limited to a few industries – mainly pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery, automobile parts, and agricultural products.
It’s the farming sector that is bracing for maximum impact – as imports into India from the US face a tariff of almost 37%, while Indian exports to America will pay a 5.3% duty.
The gap between the tariffs in meats and seafood is about 28%, auto components is 23%, textile and clothing is 13%, while it’s 9% in chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and 7.2% in electronics.
The concern for many will be generic medicines, which, according to the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), comprise 90% of all medical prescriptions in the country.
India is one of the largest exporters to the US and supplies nearly 47% of all generic pharmaceuticals to American patients. Tariffs on these will drive up costs which will most likely be passed on to consumers.
Indian pharma companies will refrain from setting up manufacturing in the US as they will still make a profit with higher tariffs, and it could take six to eight years to construct expensive facilities and get regulatory approvals.
The uncertainty and nervousness hit Indian stock markets and saw a fall in the Sensex in early trading on Wednesday.
Business analysts suggest this may be an opportunity for the Indian government to make structural reforms, reduce protectionist barriers and make domestic companies competitive in the world market.
The UK is in a “strong position” to get an economic deal with the US to mitigate the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs, a Cabinet minister has told Sky News.
Speaking to our presenter Wilfred Frost, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the government is still working to get a beneficial deal.
Watch: UK still negotiating with US on trade, Phillipson says
“We know that we’re entering a challenging period, and a trade war with the US would be in no one’s interests,” she said.
“The negotiations that have been taking place with a view to an economic deal are still continuing.
“Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, has been working very, very closely with US counterparts, and that work is still under way.”
By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter
It’s Donald Trump’s “liberation day”! But we’ll be waiting until about 9pm UK time to hear about the newfound freedoms the US is seeking by taxing imports.
In anticipation, UK markets are down. The benchmark FTSE 100 index of the most valuable London Stock Exchange companies is down 0.28%, while the larger FTSE 250 comprised of more UK-based businesses fell 0.19%.
The pound has dipped slightly to $1.29, having been at $1.30 on Thursday last week. Similarly, there’s been a drop against the euro since that point, with £1 equal to £1.1963.
Across European markets, there’s a singular dot of green as Spain’s IBEX 35 stock index is up 0.15%. Every other major European country’s benchmark stock index is down.
Gold continues to benefit – trading near a record high – as investors ditch shares in favour of investments perceived as safe havens.
By Mark Stone, US correspondent
“Liberation day” was due to be on 1 April. But Donald Trump decided to shift it by a day because he didn’t want anyone to think it was an April fool.
It is no joke for him and it is no joke for governments globally as they brace for his tariff announcements.
It is stunning how little we know about the plans to be announced in the Rose Garden of the White House later today.
It was telling that we didn’t see the president at all on Tuesday. He and all his advisers were huddled in the West Wing, away from the cameras, finalising the tariff plans.
After Donald Trump announced plans for 25% tariffs on all car imports to the US last week, car manufacturers were quick to give their reaction.
Carmakers spoke about the impact the tariffs could have, with an investment platform saying the industry has “struck Trump off their Christmas card list”.
Here’s what they had to say after Trump’s announcement last week…
BMW calls for transatlantic deal
Trade barriers created by Donald Trump’s tariffs should be discussed rather than creating more, BMW Group has said.
The manufacturer said the European Union and US were the world’s largest trading partners, and warned a trade conflict would not have any benefits.
“Both sides should therefore promptly find a transatlantic deal that creates growth and prevents a spiral of isolation and trade barriers,” it said.
BMW’s Spartanburg manufacturing plant in South Carolina is its biggest plant worldwide.
Tariffs bad for growth and prosperity – Volkswagen
Donald Trump’s latest tariffs will be bad for growth and prosperity, Volkswagen said, as it warned against any counter-tariffs.
The German car manufacturer described the US as an important market, having invested more than $14bn recently.
“We share the assessment of most experts that US tariffs and any counter-tariffs will have negative consequences for growth and prosperity in the US and other economic areas,” a spokesperson said.
“The entire automotive industry, global supply chains and companies as well as customers will have to bear the negative consequences.”
‘Car industry has struck Trump off their Christmas card list’
Donald Trump’s tariffs on cars and parts coming to the US from April is another reason for investors to be gloomy, investment platform AJ Bell said.
The automotive industry has “struck Trump off their Christmas card list” after his tariffs, its investment director Russ Mould added.
“It has caused shares in auto companies to go into reverse and weighed on financial markets, with Wall Street firmly in the red,” he said, after Trump’s first mention of the tariffs last week.
Mould explained Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Canada and Germany are the biggest suppliers of auto-related products to the US and stand to lose out if Trump doesn’t back down.
Tariffs are taxes on goods imported into a country.
It is the importers buying the goods who pay the tariffs – therefore, in the case of the US, American companies.
Ultimately, the intent is to protect US manufacturing and bolster jobs by making foreign-made products less attractive.
However, there is a knock-on effect: to compensate for tariffs, companies put up their prices, so customers end up paying more for goods.
Tariffs can also damage foreign countries as they make their products pricier and harder to sell.
In his second term, Trump has frequently used them – or the threat of them – as a trade weapon.
Watch: What can we expect from Trump’s tariffs?
They are a key part of Trump’s efforts to reshape global trade relations, and he plans to impose a swathe of what he calls “reciprocal” taxes that would match tariffs levied by other nations.
Tariffs were also part of his playbook in his first term, when he imposed taxes on most goods coming from China and used them as a bargaining chip to force Canada and Mexico to renegotiate a North American trade pact.
On his first day back in office, the US president promised 25% tariffs on all products coming into the US from its nearest neighbours Mexico and Canada – ostensibly to force the countries to tackle illegal migration and fentanyl crossing the border.
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