Markus Andrews

After days of panic on financial markets, Donald Trump abruptly backed down on much of his tariff plan on Wednesday by announcing a 90-day pause for dozens of countries – but he escalated his tit-for-tat trade war with China by imposing additional duties of 125%.The president said he pulled back on tariffs for more than 75 nations because people “were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid.”It came barely 48 hours after a White House spokesman dismissed reports of a 90-day pause as “fake news” and followed intense political pressure from fellow Republicans and some of the president’s own billionaire backers. And it came only 12 hours after Mr Trump boasted at a fundraising dinner: “These countries are calling us up, kissing my a**” to negotiate deals.”The US Treasury said a blanket 10% levy on all imports to the US will remain in place, meaning Britain’s position is effectively unchanged – although the hiatus does give Sir Keir Starmer’s government more breathing space to negotiate a trade deal with Washington.Downing Street said on Wednesday night that Britain will continue talks: “We don’t want any tariffs at all, so for jobs and livelihoods across the UK, we will coolly and calmly continue to negotiate in Britain’s interests.” Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday after announcing a 90-day pause on tariffs for ‘more than 75’ nations More

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey took a novel approach to highlighting the state of roads and “failure” to tackle potholes as he skidded down a steep slope in a rubber ring.Joined by fellow Lib Dem MPs, councillors, and candidates, the stunt at the Gloucester Ski Centre aimed to draw attention to what he called years of neglect by the Conservative party at Gloucestershire County Council.“We’re having a bit of fun, we’re campaigning, but there is a serious message, always a serious message, and that is about having services that are smooth, that people can go over,” Sir Ed Davey said. “The parallel analogy is with our roads.“Around the county, the roads are a real mess, a lot of potholes, and the Conservatives have been running Gloucestershire for a long time now, often, mostly with the Conservative Government, have failed to fix the potholes.“That’s what people are asking us on the doorstep when we’re knocking on doors and chatting to people, they’re saying, ‘Please fix the potholes in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire’.”The Lib Dems underscored their point with government data, claiming that one in four main roads in the South West are deteriorating and require maintenance. Sir Ed called out the years of neglect of roads and highways during a local election visit to Gloucestershire More

Brexit is to blame for the exodus of millionaires plaguing London, the culture secretary has claimed, vowing to get “a far better deal with the European Union that makes sure that we can continue to support British business”. It comes after a report found that London is no longer one of the top five wealthiest cities in the world after losing a higher proportion of millionaires than anywhere other than Moscow.The study, conducted by New World Wealth for advisory firm Henley and Partners, said the UK’s capital has lost 11,300 dollar millionaires over the past year, including 18 centimillionaires – someone who has more than $100m – and two billionaires. Critics have blamed Labour’s overhauling of the non-dom tax regime, that allowed international millionaires to live in the country while paying lower taxes. Asked about the findings, Lisa Nandy primarily blamed Brexit for the issues and said the Labour government is “taking the right approach” and “striking the right balance” when it comes to taxing wealth and supporting business. The culture secretary told Sky News: “The report points to a variety of factors that have led to that, most specifically Brexit, and one of the things that we’re committed to doing as a government is making sure that we get a far better deal with the European Union that make sure that we can continue to support British business. Moscow is the only capital to have lost a higher proportion of millionaires than London in the last year More

India hopes to sign a free trade agreement with the UK “sooner rather than later” as the two nations intensify negotiations amid growing global economic instability sparked by Donald Trump’s imposition of near-worldwide tariffs.Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s finance minister, said on a visit to London that New Delhi was actively pursuing bilateral trade pacts in response to a shifting and fragmenting global order. Speaking ahead of talks with UK chancellor Rachel Reeves, Ms Sitharaman said the changing geopolitical environment had underscored the need for nations to prioritise direct trade relationships.While denying the US levies were the reason for the urgency in trade talks with the UK, she admitted they were part of the global economic headwinds prompting India to seek new trade ties.Mr Trump announced a new set of import duties on foreign goods on 2 April,affecting both British and Indian exports. The tariffs went into effect on Wednesday.“We hope that with the new government showing a great deal of commitment and enthusiasm to have this agreement signed, we will be in a position to sign it sooner rather than later,” Ms Sitharaman said during an event at the Indian high commission in London. “India is also looking at many bilateral arrangements. In the recent past, we’ve signed agreements with Australia, the UAE, with Oman, and we’re looking forward to concluding the bilateral trade agreement with the UK, negotiating also with the EU.”Chancellor Rachel Reeves speaks to workers during her visit to a Jaguar Land Rover car factory in Birmingham More

Half of British adults say they are now less likely to buy American products in the wake of Donald Trump’s tariffs on the UK, a new poll has revealed, sparking calls for the government to back a ‘Buy British’ campaign. It comes just hours after both Downing Street and the chancellor rejected such a proposition, with Rachel Reeves warning against the UK becoming “inward looking”. Meanwhile, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said Sir Keir cannot sympathise with the British public’s support for a ‘Buy British’ campaign, warning such a move would “go against our agenda as an open trading nation”. Polling conducted by Savanta on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, found that six in 10 (59 per cent) adults would support a campaign to buy more British-made goods following sweeping tariffs imposed by the US president. Those of pension age were the most likely to support a ‘Buy British’ campaign with a staggering 81 per cent of those over the age of 65 saying they backed such a movement. Just 13 per cent of the public said they would oppose a campaign of this nature.President Donald Trump has ignited a global trade war More