Trump tariffs live: EU warns China to tone it down amid fears of all-out trade war

Stock markets and oil prices bounced higher on Tuesday following a huge sell-off, but analysts warned of more turmoil as US President Donald Trump charges ahead in his escalating trade war.

After trillions of dollars were wiped from the combined value of global equity markets since last week, share prices across the globe clawed back some ground as investors assessed the possibility of Washington tempering some of the levies.

Wall Street’s three main indices gained more than three percent at the opening bell.

‘This is a relief trade tied up in the idea that the Trump administration is open to tariff negotiations,’ said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.

Europe’s main indices were up around three percent in afternoon trading.

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen warned against escalating a trade conflict during a phone call with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday.

Starting Wednesday, US imports of Chinese products will be hit with a 34-percent tariff while EU goods will be taxed 20 percent.

Beijing plans to retaliate with its own 34-percent tariff on Thursday while the EU will present its countermeasures as soon as next week.

Keir Starmer is taking questions from MPs on the Commons Liaison Committee.

Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the committee, asks him whether he might revisit his economic plans as a result of the President’s sweeping tariffs.

I think what’s happened over the last week or so is obviously very challenging. Very challenging for us, and very challenging around the world.

I’m very obviously very disappointed to see tariffs in place. I don’t think that they are good for our economy or for economies around the world. And my instinct is that we shouldn’t jump in with both feet to retaliate, so in that sense, I’m not changing my plans.

He then adds an economic deal with the US can help mitigate the tariffs.

The bell has sounded at the New York Stock Exchange which has opened higher in line with Asian and European markets.

• The S&P 500 index has opened up 3.4%
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average has risen 3.5%
• Nasdaq, the tech-dominated index, is 3.7% higher

The gains are set to bring some relief to investors after stock prices around the world plunged in value since US President Donald Trump’s tariffs announcement last Wednesday.

Gold price: This hit a new record of $3167.71 last week before tumbling back below the $3,000 mark (Source: BullionVault)

The gold price has recovered to around $3,000 (£2,349) after seeing wild swings since US president Donald Trump launched a trade war against the rest of the world.

The value of the precious metal hit an all-time high of $3,167.71 on 3 April as global markets were upended and investors initially rushed to buy traditional safe haven assets.

It then plunged in what finance experts explain is down to profit-taking, plus a sell-off to meet losses elsewhere.

The gold price started this year at around $2,600 and has hit a series of all-time highs in the past few months.

But the outlook for gold has tilted more cautious in the near term, even if demand for safety is going to be elevated amid the market turmoil, according to City Index market analyst Fawad Razaqzada.

He says investor confidence remains delicate amid the trade war rhetoric, with many reluctant to engage until the dust settles.

‘Despite its reputation as a safe haven, gold wasn’t immune to last week’s cross-asset liquidation, where even traditional hedges were sold off to meet margin calls,’ says Razaqzada.

A margin call is when brokers ask customers like hedge funds to deposit more cash or other assets in accounts as collateral against the amount they have borrowed to invest.

US bourbon will reportedly be spared tariffs to shield European spirits

The EU is planning tariffs of up to 25 percent on US goods in retaliation for levies on metals, but will spare bourbon to shield European wine and spirits from reprisals, according to a document seen by the AFP news agency.

The proposed tariffs – drawn up since President Donald Trump’s duties on steel and aluminium took effect last month – aim to show EU strength while Brussels seeks to negotiate over Washington’s broader tariffs onslaught.

Brussels scrapped bourbon from a preliminary list of targeted goods, after bowing to demands from major wine exporters France and Italy, which were spooked by Trump’s threat to hit European alcoholic beverages with a 200-percent tariff in retaliation.

The US-produced whiskey does not feature on the final list seen by AFP, which was sent to representatives of EU member states ahead of a vote on Wednesday.

The list proposes levies on goods including soybeans, poultry, rice, sweetcorn, fruit and nuts, wood, motorcycles, plastics, textiles, paintings, electrical equipment, make-up and other beauty products.

Brussels has so far refrained from hitting back at the 20-percent duties on the bloc’s imports ordered as part of Trump’s global tariff onslaught, with EU states rallying behind a push to avert an all-out trade war through negotiations.

But EU trade spokesman, Olof Gill, said on Tuesday that the European Commission could present its planned countermeasures to the new levies ‘as early as next week’.

Nigel Farage has signalled he would not eat chicken washed with chlorine if it was imported from the US into Britain as a result of a future trade deal.

Asked during a visit to County Durham, if he would eat chlorinated chicken, the Reform UK leader told reporters:

I have got a confession to make: I eat chlorinated salad – I bought a bag last week from a major leading supermarket. Every single bag of salad you buy in Britain is chlorine-treated.

Do I like the sound of chlorinated chicken? No, not very much, but do you know what the most important thing with all of this is? If we want to free the whole thing up, provided food is labelled properly, consumers can make their own decisions.

Frankly, we wouldn’t be buying much chlorinated chicken because the cost of it being produced in America and being shipped here means it wouldn’t be competitive anyway.

US tariffs on about 60 countries are due to come into effect on Wedneday, one week after Donald Trump’s Liberation Day declaration in the White House rose garden.

But before that happens expect some twists and turns this afternoon with several key moments coming up:

• 2:30pm: US stock market opens
• 3pm: US trade representative Jamieson Greer appears before the Senate for a committee hearing on Trump’s trade policy
• 4:30pm: European stock markets close
• 6pm: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a White House briefing
• 9pm: US markets close
• 11:45pm: Trump to make speech at a National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) dinner

UK firms are scrambling to respond to bombshell tariffs unleashed last week after Donald Trump’s White House upended global trade.

Britain looks to have gotten off relatively lightly with the 10 per cent baseline levy imposed on all countries, but key sectors face higher levies and analysts warn the tariffs will still weigh heavily on exporters – as well as economic growth.

The Institute of Directors has said the tariffs are a ‘blow to British business’, highlighting the automotive, pharmaceutical, chemicals and whiskey industries as particularly vulnerable.

Read how British businesses have responded so far:

The PM’s spokesman was also asked if Sir Keir would echo Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who earlier appeared to slap down calls for a ‘buy British’ campaign in the wake of the US tariffs.

Well, of course, we’re an open-trading nation. That is something the PM and the Chancellor have previously said, and we want to see fewer trade barriers around the world, such that we’re continuing to support our economy.

At the same time, we also continue to prioritise and support British manufacturers, British producers. So, we can take a two-pronged approach. We can be an open-trading nation whilst also supporting British producers and manufacturers.

Asked why the Government would not make this an official campaign, the spokesman replied:

Well, it’s up to people decide where they want to buy. We are not going to tell people where they buy their stuff, but the Government is always going to back British producers, British manufacturers.

Downing Street today defended Keir Starmer’s relationship with Donald Trump after the US President wreaked global havoc with his ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs.

The Prime Minister has not yet held a call with Mr Trump since his announcement of sweeping trade levies, which included 10 per cent tariffs on UK goods.

The US President has also whacked car and steel products with a 25 per cent charge.

But No10 insisted Mr Trump was listening to Sir Keir and pointed to how the pair had been in ‘frequent contact’ in previous weeks.

Sir Keir’s official spokesman told reporters:

We’ve had very good dialogue with the US ever since President Trump came to office. The PM obviously had a meeting in the White House where they kicked off the discussions on an economic deal.

Those discussions are at an advanced stage, but we’re also working the US on a wide range of issues. Not just on trade and investment, but security, defence, Russia, Ukraine, where we’ve had very good engagement and continue to do so.

Economists across the world are oicing alarm over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs blitz, which experts say could lead to a global recession.

The AFP News agency has put together some remarks from leading financial experts:

The influential Chinese economist said Trump’s tariffs mainly aimed to…