Image source, Reuters

With one day to go until US President Donald Trump announces his new slate of tariffs, let's have a look at how other countries are responding to the impending taxes:

• China has introduced a 10-15% tax on some US agricultural goods. It has also targeted US aviation, defence and tech firms

• Canada has imposed a 25% tariff on US steel, aluminium and other goods worth about C$60bn ($42bn; £32bn)
• Mexico has delayed introducing its own retaliatory tariffs while negotiations continue
• EU tariffs targeting US goods worth €26bn (£22bn) will start on 13 April. They will cover items ranging "from boats to bourbon to motorbikes", as well as steel and aluminium products

• The UK has not yet announced any retaliatory measures, but Foreign Secretary David Lammy says the UK is preparing "for the worst" and "all options remain on the table"

India engaged in hectic negotiations with US counterpartspublished at 15:21 British Summer Time 1 April

15:21 BST 1 April

Nikhil Inamdar
India business correspondent

Image source, Reuters

India has come directly in Trump’s line of fire, with labels like “tariff king” and “tariff abuser”.

As the 2 April deadline looms, the mood in Delhi is one of cautious anticipation. The nervousness is particularly palpable in the stock market volatility.

Trump told reporters on Tuesday that Delhi was going to be dropping its tariffs “substantially”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government here has been tight lipped about its plans, but has no doubt sprung into action.

Usually notoriously slow on trade talks, Indian interlocutors have been engaged in hectic negotiations with their US counterparts for a bilateral deal that could allow Indian companies to stave off these import taxes.

The talks are likely to be concluded only in fall however, and it is unclear whether reciprocal tariffs would apply to India in the interim. The uncertainty is keeping businesses on tenterhooks.

India has already reduced tariffs on some goods - high-end motorbikes and bourbon whiskey for example. More reductions are reportedly on the cards, although concessions in sectors like agriculture are unlikely given domestic political sensitivities.

Before President Donald Trump sparked this trade war, the US was subject to existing UK tariffs.

For example, the digital services tax, introduced in 2020, imposes a 2% levy on tech firms, including big US firms such as Amazon, bringing in about £800m in tax per year.

The UK also imposes a 10% tariff on imported vehicles - as does the EU - which applies to the US.

The EU has already announced retaliatory tariffs on the US. it had initially said its tariffs would unfold in two phases, with a first set of duties coming into force on 1 April and a second round on 13 April.

However, EU Spokesperson Olof Gill announced on Thursday it was delaying the first round of US tariffs until 13 April.

The UK has not yet announced reciprocal measures, but Prime Minister Keir Starmer has told his cabinet that they must be “cool and calm” in their response, meaning the UK is not likely to reach for retaliatory tariffs immediately.

Tariffs are a central part of US President Donald Trump's economic vision. He says "tariff" is his favourite word.

He argues the taxes will encourage US consumers to buy more American-made goods, boosting the country's economy and increasing the amount of tax raised.

Trump wants to reduce the gap between the value of goods the US imports and those it exports to other countries.

For example, the US had a goods trade deficit of $213bn (£165bn) with the European Union (EU) in 2024, something Trump has called "an atrocity". By contrast, the EU had a services trade deficit of €109bn (£91bn) with the US.

The US president has also said tariffs were intended to force China, Mexico and Canada - the countries first targeted - to do more to stop migrants and drugs reaching the US.

He has refused to rule out the possibility of a recession as a result of his trade policies. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said tariffs were "worth it" even if they led to an economic downturn.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, Bernd Debusmann Jr/BBC

Good morning from the White House, where we're having an unexpectedly cold but sunny day so far this morning.

As things stand so far, we're unlikely to hear from the President directly today.

At 12:30 EST (17:30 BST), Trump is scheduled to have lunch with Vice President JD Vance behind closed doors in a private dining area of the White House.

At 15:30 EST (20:30 BST), he'll sign executive orders - although we don't know what they are yet. This is, for now, closed to the press. Similar signing events, however, often open up to the White House's press pool for the day.

At noon, we'll also have a briefing from Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who yesterday defended the tariffs during brief remarks to reporters outside the West Wing.

Stay with us for more details.

The opening bell has just rung at the New York Stock Exchange, setting off what could be an uncertain day of trading as investors wait for any news on Trump's incoming tariffs.

Here's where things stand at the start of trading:

S&P 500: -0.33%

Dow: -0.38%

Nasdaq: -0.14%

Stick with us, we'll be keeping on eye any movements.

Image source, EPA

The head of the European Commission is warning that it's ready to retaliate against the US if Donald Trump imposes import tariffs on its products.

Trump is expected to announce a wide range of new tariffs tomorrow, with cars and pharmaceutical products among the sectors that could be hit.

The EU's Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc was still open to negotiations, but that it would hit back if the Trump administration went ahead with its plans.

"Our objective is a negotiated solution. But of course, if need be, we will protect our interests, our people, and our companies," von der Leyen said in a speech in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

"Europe has not started this confrontation. We do not necessarily want to retaliate. But if it is necessary, we have a strong plan to retaliate and we will use it."

UK must be 'cool and calm' in response to tariffs - Starmerpublished at 14:10 British Summer Time 1 April

14:10 BST 1 April

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Image source, Reuters

The UK government has been preparing for tariffs by trying to avoid them.

Over the past 36 hours or so, though, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his team have conceded a defeat of sorts, acknowledging that it now appears vanishingly unlikely that a broader US-UK deal - focused on technology co-operation but dismantling tariffs in the process - will be secured in time.

The prime minister has told his cabinet that the UK must be “cool and calm” in response to whatever taxes are unleashed by the US.

In other words, the UK is not likely to reach for retaliatory tariffs immediately. That will partly be in the hope of concluding the deal with the US as fast as possible after Wednesday.

Yet there is significant anxiety at the top of government about the impact tariffs could have even if in force for a short period of time.

And even if the UK receives specific exemptions or mitigations, a massive global trade war would be damaging for the economy here in any case.

Before long, therefore, this global story is likely to also become a domestic story in the UK about this government’s approach to growth, taxes, public spending and plenty else besides.

Barbara Tasch
Live reporter

Welcome back to our live coverage, with one day to go until what the US president has dubbed America's "Liberation Day", and a critical 24 hours for the world economy.

Donald Trump is preparing to unveil a massive slate of import taxes tomorrow, which he says could hit all countries, not just those that have the biggest goods trade imbalances with the US.

We don't know yet what sort of tariffs will be announced, but we know it will be on top of tariffs already imposed by the White House on aluminium, steel and vehicles.

In response, the head of the European Commission says it is open to negotiations with the US on trade but it has a "strong" plan for retaliation if necessary.

The UK on the other hand has had a more muted response, with the UK prime minister telling his cabinet to remain "calm" in response to whatever may be in tomorrow's announcements.

In Asia, China, Japan and South Korea met over the weekend to agree to strengthen free trade between themselves, ahead of Trump's announcement.

Stick with as us we bring you the latest developments and analysis.

Trump administration wants to change the geography of the world economypublished at 19:19 British Summer Time 31 March

19:19 BST 31 March

Faisal Islam
Economics editor

Image source, Getty Images

The smoke signals we've seen so far indicate that President Trump wants to go big on the tariffs front. Bigger than expected.

Much now hinges on the reports from his trade advisers on the policies of every country in the world, which arrive on his desk tomorrow.

Until the weekend, it had been assumed that a select group of the biggest economies would face US tariffs based on the perceived unfairness of their policies.

Now, the talk in Washington is again of something much bigger: a flat tariff on all imports as high as 20%.

His senior trade adviser Pete Navarro talked of raising $6 trillion of revenue over a decade. For context, total goods imports - in just one year - are $3.3 trillion.

These sums seem wildly optimistic - the tariffs will significantly divert trade and patterns of supply and demand - but they do indicate the historic scale of the administration's plans.

Such moves are designed to help restore manufacturing and related jobs, for example for cars, back to the US.

But there will be wide scale counter-retaliatory tariffs that will cost US exports too. Separately, as is already evident in Canada and Europe, consumers may start to demand boycotts for some high profile US products.

What is clear however is that the US administration wants to change the geography of the world economy.

The world economy enters a critical 24 hours of profound uncertainty, with other negotiators clear that the ultimate decisions here are really down to one man: President Donald Trump himself.

• We're pausing our live coverage of US tariffs for now. You can stay updated on the latest here: Global shares slide as Trump tariffs loom

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, Bernd Debusmann Jr/BBC

Just a few moments ago, we heard from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who addressed reporters outside the West Wing.

In brief question-and-answer session with US and foreign reporters, Leavitt was asked whether there is anything countries can do to stave off the impending tariffs.

"Unfortunately, these countries have been ripping our country off for far too long," she said. "They've made, I think, their disdain for these the American worker quite clear."

She gave several examples, including a 50% EU tariff on American dairy, a 700% Japanese tariff on American rice and a 100% tariff in India on American agriculture products.

"This makes it virtually impossible for American products to be imported into these markets, and it has put a lot of Americans out of business," Leavitt said.

She added that there are "no exemptions at this time".

Leavitt declined to get into specifics of the impending announcement - which will take place on Wednesday in the Rose Garden of the White House - and repeatedly said she did not want to get ahead of President Donald Trump on the matter.

Additionally, Leavitt downplayed concerns about the stock market, which has seen some downward movement on Monday, saying that Wall Street will be "just fine".

A few minutes before she came to speak to a group of us reporters, Leavitt appeared on Fox News.

She was asked about automakers' concerns over Trump's impending tariffs.

Leavitt says the president is pushing forward, because Trump "doesn't want American industries to survive, he wants them to thrive".

"(The tariffs) will implement trillions and trillions of dollars back to the United States of America, and we've already seen these investments pouring in," Leavitt said, referring to an announcement from South Koeran car-maker Hyundai, which said it will build a new steel plant in Louisiana.

"More investments means more jobs, more prosperity," she said.

We'll hear from Trump at an executive order signing later today at 1730 EST (2130 GMT).

Image source, Reuters

US President Donald Trump yesterday seemed to introduce some caveats to Wednesday's expected tariff announcement while talking to journalists onboard Air Force One.

The tariffs will be "far more generous than those countries were to us", Trump said, "meaning they will be kinder than other countries were to the United States of America over the decades".

Trump has previously said that introducing these tariffs would boost manufacturing in the US, along with encouraging US consumers to buy more American-made goods.

Yesterday, he once again touted that, saying US auto manufacturers were "going to make money in the likes of which they've never seen before".

"But beyond that, we have the computer companies, the chip companies, the pharmaceutical companies. We have lumber. We have everything, steel. They're all going to do really well as long as they do their products [here]."

South Korea, China and Japan came together for their first economic dialogue in five years on Sunday, ahead of Trump's proposed tariffs taking effect on Wednesday.

The three Asian countries plan to promote "regional and global trade" and "closely cooperate for a comprehensive and high-level" talks on a free trade agreement between the countries, according to a statement released after their meeting.

The three countries are major US trading partners, but they have been at odds in the past themselves over issues including territorial disputes. But last year, the nations pledged to accelerate talks for a regional free trade agreement.

Natalie Sherman
New York business reporter

Trump is a believer in tariffs.

In his first term, those impulses faced checks from his advisers, free-traders within the Republican Party and even the courts, where some companies brought challenges to his measures.

But this time around, he is crafting policy largely without those obstacles.

“He’s much more powerful than he was the first time,” former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told me in an interview last week.

Ross noted that Trump has talked about many of the actions he has taken for decades - including on the campaign trail last year.

“It shouldn’t surprise people too much what he’s doing but people are slow at accepting things that maybe they would rather not hear.”

Donald Trump 's business background has been integral to his politics, but as our economics editor Faisal Islam assesses, the US president may no longer be swayed by the stock markets.

In this clip, you can see how Trump has commented on the stock markets in campaign rallies and presidential speeches - before appearing to dismiss its importance in a recent chat with reporters.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, Bernd Debusmann Jr/BBC

As the US heads towards a massive introduction of import taxes later this week - which Donald Trump has dubbed "Liberation Day" - many will be waiting to hear from the US president.

His schedule today, however, is relatively light by the standards of this administration, which has kept up a frenetic pace since returning to the White House on 20 January.

At 13:00 EST (18:00 BST), Trump is due to sign executive orders behind closed doors. These closed-door sessions are occasionally opened to the press at the last minute, although we so far have no indication that will happen today.

A second executive order signing event will take place at 17:30 EST (22:30 BST). That one will be open to the White House press "pool" - meaning that we'll hear from the president on the economy, Ukraine and other matters that are on the minds of journalists today.

Stay with us for more updates.

Most US share indices are trading down ahead of US President Trump's plans to announce more tariffs this Wednesday. Here is the latest:

• The US president's latest raft of tariffs are two days away from being implemented, but uncertainty and volatility have already stepped in as markets react to the upcoming change

• Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed down more than 4%, while in London, the FTSE 100 lost around 1% in early trading
• The US market slid on opening, as the S&P 500 share index fell more than 1% in early trade

• Shares in tech giants Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet, and Meta all dropped in early trading also, while Elon Musk's electric car firm Tesla saw its shares fall 6.8%
• Trump argues the tariffs, which are targeting goods from other countries, will help US manufacturers and protect jobs
• But prices could go up for consumers and Trump has suggested new tariffs will hit all countries, not just those that have the biggest trade imbalances with the US

Republicans are publicly expressing some sense of optimism over Trump's tariff plan, expressing hope that the long-term impacts will outweigh the impacts to markets and price increases to consumers.

"I'm optimistic," US Senator Jon Husted, a Republican representing Ohio, said on CNBC. He spoke to a manufacturer in Cincinnati who said they were hoping the new plan would "level the playing field" between companies.

Peter Navarro, a senior trade advisor to the Trump administration, told Fox News Sunday that, "Tariffs are tax cuts. Tariffs are jobs. Tariffs are national security. Tariffs will make America great again".

He said Trump's tariff plan would raise $6 trillion (£4.6 trillion) in federal revenue over a decade.

But Democrats disagreed. Sen Mark Warner, who appeared on Fox News Sunday, said Navarro's assertion that the tariffs are cuts, and would lead to trillions in revenue, was an attempt to dupe the American public.

"That is a tax. That money doesn't come falling out of the sky," he said. "That money comes because these products will go up, Americans will pay more."

Image source, Reuters

We've spent the day grappling with the impact of Trump's expected tariffs on the intangible world of stocks and shares, but here's a look at which physical products could become more expensive after they take effect.

Cars

Trump announced that a 25% tax would hit the import of cars and car parts from 2 April and May respectively, saying that he wants the tax to encourage more car manufacturing in the US.

But this is unlikely to happen overnight, as many US car companies also have operations in Canada and Mexico, with parts typically crossing borders multiple times before a vehicle is finished.

Alcoholic drinks

Popular Mexican beers like Modelo and Corona could also get more expensive for US customers if the American companies importing them pass on the cost of new taxes.

Spirits have been largely free of tariffs since 1990. But, given that brands are often recognised by their location (think Canadian whisky), supplies might be impacted, leading to price rises for spirits.

Houses

Trump suggests the US has plenty of lumber for housebuilding, but the US still imports a third of its softwood lumber from Canada each year.

This has led the National Association of Home Builders to urge the US president to exempt building materials from tariffs, because of concerns about the effect on housing affordability.

The US's neighbours, Canada and Mexico, are some of the top importers into the country, followed by China.

Trump has threatened tariffs on an array of goods from all three countries multiple times. He has implemented a 10% tax on China, while granting Canada and Mexico some temporary reprieves from tariff threats.

Economists expect tariffs to increase prices for US consumers across many imported goods, as firms pass on some or all of their increased costs.

The products affected could include everything from beer, whisky and tequila to maple syrup, fuel and avocados.