Latest news with #TradeDeficit
Reuters
12-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
British exports to US suffer record hit from Trump tariffs
LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) - British goods exports to the United States suffered a record fall in April after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed new tariffs, official figures showed on Thursday, pushing Britain's goods trade deficit to its widest in more than three years. Britain exported 4.1 billion pounds ($5.6 billion) of goods to the United States in April, down from 6.1 billion pounds in March, Britain's Office for National Statistics said, the lowest amount since February 2022 and the sharpest decline since monthly records began in 1997. The 2 billion pound fall - a 33% drop in percentage terms - contributed to a bigger-than-expected drop in British gross domestic product in April. Last week Germany said its exports to the United States fell by 10.5% in April although that figure, unlike Britain's, is seasonally adjusted. The British Chambers of Commerce said the scale of the fall partly reflected manufacturers shipping extra goods in March to avoid an expected increase in tariffs. Even so, April's goods exports were 15% lower than a year earlier. "The economic effects of the U.S. tariffs are now a reality. Thousands of UK exporters are dealing with lower orders and higher supply chain and customer costs," the BCC's head of trade policy, William Bain, said. The United States is Britain's largest single goods export destination and is especially important for car makers, although total British exports to countries in the European Union are higher. Britain exported 59.3 billion pounds of goods to the United States last year and imported 57.1 billion pounds. The United States imposed 25% tariffs on British steel and aluminium on March 12 and in early April increased tariffs on imports of cars to 27.5% as well as a blanket tariff of 10% on other goods. Last month Britain agreed the outline of a deal to remove the extra tariffs on steel, aluminium and cars - the only country to do so - but it has yet to be implemented and the 10% tariff remains in place for other goods. Before the deal, the Bank of England estimated the impact of the tariffs on Britain would be relatively modest, reducing economic output by 0.3% in three years' time. Thursday's data also showed that the fall in exports to the United States pushed Britain's global goods trade deficit to 23.2 billion pounds in April from 19.9 billion pounds in March, its widest since January 2022 and nearly 3 billion pounds more than had been expected by economists polled by Reuters. Excluding trade in precious metals, which the ONS says adds volatility to the data, the goods trade deficit was the widest since May 2023 at 21.6 billion pounds. Britain's total trade deficit narrowed to 5.4 billion pounds in April - also the widest since May 2023 - once the country's surplus in services exports is taken into account. ($1 = 0.7364 pounds)
Bloomberg
05-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Canada Trade Deficit Hits Record as US Tariffs Crush Exports
By Updated on Save Canadian exports plunged by the most in nearly 17 years outside of the pandemic, widening the country's merchandise trade deficit to the largest on record. With demand from the US cratering due to the Trump administration's tariffs, Canada's trade deficit reached C$7.1 billion ($5.2 billion) in April, from C$2.3 billion, according to Statistics Canada data Thursday. The deficit far exceeded even the most pessimistic projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
Russia Today
26-05-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
Trump agrees to delay EU tariffs
The US will delay the introduction of a 50% tariff on goods from the EU by more than a month, moving the deadline from June 1 to July 9, President Donald Trump announced on Sunday. He added that the decision came after a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he received a call from von der Leyen requesting a delay to the June 1 deadline. 'I agreed to the extension – July 9, 2025 – it was my privilege to do so,' he wrote. Trump earlier called the US trade deficit with the EU 'totally unacceptable' and described the bloc as 'very difficult to deal with' on trade matters. Von der Leyen said in a post on X on Sunday that she had a 'good' phone call with Trump, adding that Brussels is 'ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively' to reach a deal. In April, the Trump administration imposed a 20% tariff on all EU goods, along with 25% on car and metal imports. Later, the 20% tariff was suspended for 90 days, retaining only a 10% baseline. The measure is set to resume on July 9, with tariffs rising to 50% unless a deal with the bloc is reached. Since then, the only new trade agreement announced has been with the UK. The EU, however, criticized the deal, which maintains a 10% baseline tariff on British exports while easing higher tariffs on steel and cars. Earlier this month, EU trade ministers warned that the bloc would consider retaliatory measures against the US unless more favorable terms are secured. Trump has long accused the EU of engaging in unfair trading practices, claiming that the bloc's extensive regulatory framework contributes to the transatlantic trade imbalance. Last week, the US president criticized the EU again, saying the trade deficit is driven by 'trade barriers, VAT taxes, ridiculous corporate penalties, non-monetary trade barriers, monetary manipulations, [and] unfair and unjustified lawsuits against American companies.'
Telegraph
23-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Live Trump announces 50pc tariffs on EU
US President Donald Trump has said he wants to impose a 50pc tariff on the European Union, starting from June 1. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, which has dramatically and immediately escalated a trade war between two of the world's largest economies, he said: 'The European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on TRADE, has been very difficult to deal with. 'Their powerful Trade Barriers, Vat Taxes, ridiculous Corporate Penalties, Non-Monetary Trade Barriers, Monetary Manipulations, unfair and unjustified lawsuits against Americans Companies, and more, have led to a Trade Deficit with the U.S. of more than $250,000,000 a year, a number which is totally unacceptable. 'Our discussions with them are going nowhere! Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025. There is no Tariff if the product is built or manufactured in the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter!'
New York Times
13-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Tariff Flip-Flops
President Trump made big promises with his China tariffs: China needs us more than we need it. America can outlast China in a trade war. Those advantages will let the administration get big concessions and rebalance global commerce. Trump's actions, however, suggest the talk was bluster. Yesterday, his administration cut its China tariffs from 145 percent to 30 percent for at least a few months. China will reciprocate by lowering its retaliatory levies from 125 percent to 10 percent. Both sides will keep talking. But China made no concessions. By now, most of us are familiar with this pattern: Trump makes big claims about what his tariffs can get, only for him to later back down without the other country giving up anything meaningful. It happened with Mexico, Canada and most of Trump's 'Liberation Day' levies. Despite his claims, America seems to need other countries' trade as much as they need ours, diminishing Trump's negotiating position. Today's newsletter explains. Price hikes and shortages Here's the problem: Trade is mutually beneficial. The buyer gets a good, and the seller makes a profit. The United States runs a trade deficit with China — it buys more than it sells — because Americans have the cash and want what China is selling. Trump's tariffs on China were so high that they were effectively an embargo that threatened to end all of those mutually beneficial transactions. That would cover a lot of goods — more than 70 percent of smartphones, laptops and toys — as well as manufacturing materials, particularly rare earth metals used in modern electronics. Retailers warned that prices would rise and shelves would go empty. Markets tumbled. The hits to the economy weakened Trump's negotiating position, and China knew it. Americans spent the last few years fuming about inflation and supply mishaps, and they would be furious if those problems continued. And unlike previous bouts of inflation that leaders could pin on the pandemic or the Ukraine war, this time it would clearly be Trump's fault. So China took a patient approach. Let prices rise and markets fall, and eventually Trump would have to give in. That strategy worked, at least for now. What remains Trump still has time to get some concessions out of China, which does not want to lose its biggest global customer. The concessions could be small. In the past, countries have given Trump minor compromises in response to tariffs — enough for him to save face, essentially — as when Canada vaguely promised to step up border enforcement earlier this year. In the meantime, tariffs remain much higher than they were before Trump's second term. When Trump ran for president, many economists warned that his promise of 10 percent tariffs on every other country would hurt the economy. Even after all of Trump's backpedaling, a 10 percent universal tariff is still in place. Duties on specific goods, such as cars, are even higher. Prices on clothes, appliances, video game consoles and everything else made in other countries will likely rise as a result. For more The most-clicked link in the newsletter yesterday was the remarkable inside story of how cardinals picked the new pope. It's always a feat to get skittish officials to confide in reporters. Yet Times journalists persuaded many Vatican leaders (sworn to secrecy on pain of excommunication!) to share how they narrowed three front-runners down to a single obvious choice. I asked Jason Horowitz, our Rome bureau chief, how they reported it out. — Adam B. Kushner I thought deliberations inside the Sistine Chapel were sacrosanct! Nobody said, 'I voted for X.' Nobody told us, 'The tally was within 10 votes and then Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost crept up.' Nobody gave a level of granular detail that could get them in trouble. But we used a lot of shoe-leather reporting — tracking cardinals down, finding them on the phone, leaning on relationships built over years. Each gave us a small kernel of detail. The combination revealed a picture of what happened. We learned how Prevost avoided politicking at dinner on the conclave's first night, how he held his head as the final votes were counted. What does the vow of secrecy cover, exactly? I think it's like how Justice Potter Stewart described obscenity — you know it when you see it. I didn't advise sources to cross an ethical line. One cardinal said it happened on the fourth vote, and maybe that stretches the rules. But it's just that we spoke to so many people that we could piece it together. It was more the collective work than one revelatory interview. Trump in the Middle East Government Overhaul More on the Trump Administration International Other Big Stories Young men are struggling, and we wanted to figure out just how badly and why. Boys enter kindergarten lagging behind girls in both academic readiness and behavior. A majority of teenagers agree that boys are more disruptive. Large shares say girls get better grades, have more leadership roles and speak up more in class. In interviews, young men say that school never felt like a good fit for them, or that they got the sense that teachers didn't like boys, and that this left them feeling discouraged or undervalued. By high school, girls are more likely to graduate on time — and more likely to go to college. Young men are struggling in their mental health and transitions to adulthood, too. What's going on here? I'm reporting a series on boys, the first installment of which published today. I'd love to hear your experiences and insights about what's going on with boys, and what might be driving it. Tell The Times what you think here. — Claire Cain Miller Trump's attempt to defund a lecture on freedom in Denmark by Joseph Stiglitz, a Columbia professor, shows that no program is safe, the professor writes. Here's a column by Michelle Goldberg on Trump's second nominee for surgeon general. Rivers, wildfires, lightning: A NASA astronaut recently spent 220 days at the International Space Station, where he captured the wonders visible from space. See his photos. TikTok stars: Oliver Widger quit his job, cashed in his 401(k) and bought a boat. Now he and his cat, Phoenix, are sailing around the world. Trending online yesterday: The rapper Tory Lanez was stabbed 14 times in a California prison. Lanez is serving a 10-year sentence for shooting Megan Thee Stallion. Lives Lived: Robert Shapiro was a law professor who became a brash corporate executive. He performed a marketing miracle by branding aspartame as the sugar substitute NutraSweet. Shapiro died at 86. N.B.A. Draft: The Mavericks won the league lottery and could draft Cooper Flagg. N.B.A.: The Knicks and Timberwolves are up 3-1 after wins over the Celtics and Warriors. N.H.L.: Edmonton and Carolina are both one win away from the conference finals. Electronic dance music is back. Festival lineups are filled with D.J.s, while the biggest names in pop — including Beyoncé and Charli XCX — have made albums inspired by dance. No one style of the genre has surged in popularity over the others: hard techno, drum and bass, Afro house and U.K. garage are all finding audiences. Read more about the renaissance — and the forces fueling it. Related: Want to get in on the scene? See where to club, which artists to follow and what songs to hear. More on culture Make Ina Garten's perfect roast chicken. She calls it 'the world's easiest dinner.' Experience more joy. Here are three tips. Clean your suede jacket. Here is today's Spelling Bee. Yesterday's pangram was unboxing. And here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections, Sports Connections and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@
