We've been covering a lot about the US economy today, and been following President Trump closely at his two public appearances.

But bubbling away in the background was the prospect of an economic deal between the US and Ukraine over rare earth minerals.

The two countries have now agreed to an economic partnership, deal the BBC understands.

A press release from the Treasury Department says the two countries have agreed to form a "Reconstruction Investment Fund", that will see them collaborate to ensure that "mutual assets, talents, and capabilities" can accelerate Kyiv's recovery.

We have been running separate live coverage on that, and we will closing this page to move over there to continue that coverage.

Do join us.

Earlier in his commends at the White House, President Donald Trump claimed that gasoline prices are down since he took office.

BBC Verify recently looked into this claim.

They found that the average price for "regular" gas - or petrol - is currently $3.16, external, external, according to data by the American Automobile Association (AAA). That’s actually slightly up from $3.125, external, external on the day Trump entered office.

Trump has also said that gas prices "just hit $1.98 in a lot of states" - a claim he has made several times recently. We cannot find any evidence of these prices.

No state has an average gas price lower than $2.67, according to AAA.

The BBC has asked the White House for more information about these claims.

President Trump once again spoke about the price of eggs today at the White House, claiming they are down since he took office.

BBC Verify recently took a look at this, and wasn't able to any evidence for it.

According to their research, the average national price for consumers of a dozen large Grade A eggs when Trump entered office in January was about $4.95 (£3.70).

But rather than falling, the price of eggs hit a record high of around $6.23, external, external per dozen in March - the latest available figures.

The White House has pointed to wholesale egg prices as evidence of improvement.

Wholesale prices have gone down, external, external since Trump took office - by about 52% - from $6.55 (£4.89) for a dozen large white eggs in January to $3.15 (£2.34) in the past week, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

The BBC has asked the White House for more information about what egg prices Trump is referring to.

Trump has been hitting on many of his favourite topics in today's remarks.

He boasted about financial investments doing well, and said the cost of eggs is lower, among other things.

We then heard from Howard Lutnick, US commerce secretary, who praised the president's work.

It seemed as if Trump was going to take questions from reporters after that but instead he invited business leaders from the audience to the Oval Office.

He left the podium without taking questions from the press.

During his speech, Trump said his economy need "a little bit of time" to turn the economy around from what he called the "wreckage" left by the previous administration.

It was announced the economy shrunk for the first time in three years, during the first quarter of 2025.

But Trump seemed positive. He said they have had a lot of things happen that have helped the economy, and cited tax cut plans and promised investments.

It's similar to lines we saw from the president earlier in the day, via a post on Truth Social.

There, he wrote that the country "will boom", but it will "take a while" to get rid of things left by the previous administration.

Trump has now started introducing investors taking part in the event.

They include Hyundai CEO Jose Munoz, CEO of Toyota Ted Ogawa, and the Chairman and CEO of Johnson and Johnson Joaquin Duato.

He details how much each of these businesses are planning to invest in the US, which is met by applause from the audience.

Image source, Getty Images

US President Donald Trump is speaking at an "Investing in America" event, appearing an hour later than scheduled.

He opens the event by welcoming the "greatest business leaders in the world" to the White House.

This speech comes hours after new figures showed the US economy shrunk in the first three months of the year as government spending fell and imports surged due to firms racing to get goods into the country ahead of tariffs.

Trump blames the Biden administration for the results, saying he inherited "the wreckage of four years of economic disaster".

He then turns to tariffs, which he says there has "never been anything" like in the world.

Tax cuts, ending diversity schemes, and curbing illegal border crossings are other issues touched on by the president.

He urged Congress to pass his tax bill, which he calls the “one big, beautiful bill". The bill includes trillions of dollars in tax and spending cuts, but faces opposition from Democrats and some Republicans.

The president then introduces the various business executives in attendance.

Image source, Reuters

Trump is speaking at the White House now, as CEOs from some of the US's biggest companies watch on.

He's talking about American investments, at a time when global markets continue to reel from his tariffs.

You can follow our recaps here or view the event by clicking "Watch Live" on our stream above.

Image source, Getty Images

We're still waiting for Trump's "Invest in America" speech to start, and we can see some major players gathering at the White House.

So far, we've seen the CEO of Nvidia Jensen Huang, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of the Interior Doug Bergum, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

The guests are mingling and chatting as they prepare to take their seats in front of the presidential podium, waiting for Trump to appear.

The Ukraine minerals deal proposed by the US could still be signed as early as today, a source familiar with the issue tells the BBC, as long as the country lives up to the already-agreed terms.

The source adds that the Ukraine side is trying to reopen terms that have already been agreed upon, and the US is ready and waiting to sign.

Over the weekend, final technical documents were agreed but sticking points that Ukraine is examining include over governance of the fund, transparency and ensuring funds are traceable.

US and Ukrainian teams stayed up until the wee hours Tuesday night finalising the documents, the source adds.

For more on the war in Ukraine, and a potential deal between Ukraine and the US, you can read our separate live blog.

Later today, Trump is due to host top executives from companies such as Nvidia, Johnson & Johnson and GE Aerospace at the "Invest in America" event at the White House.

Bloomberg reports that companies from the defence, tech, and healthcare industries have been invited to attend, and that the event is meant to highlight current investments and attract more to the US.

Earlier on Wednesday, Nvidia CEO said he wanted the Trump administration to change the regulations around exporting artificial intelligence technology so that businesses could better capitalise on future opportunities.

Image source, Getty Images

While Trump has tried to allay concerns about empty shelves and high prices, Democratic leaders are slamming his handling of the economy.

We're currently hearing from Democrats from the US Senate and House of Representatives, who are speaking on the steps of the Capitol condemning Trump's first 100 days.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, flanked by dozens of fellow Democrats, slammed Trump's tenure so far as an "abject failure" and a "disaster".

"It is a failed economy, and the American people know it," Jeffries said.

Schumer said that costs for the average American are "up and up and up".

On tariffs, Schumer said Trump's policies are alienating allies and driving countries into China's arms

"Donald trump is trying to ruin our democracy," he said. "He is a would be dictator, he wants to be a king."

Also on the list of attack points were Signal gate, DOGE slashing federal funding and mass deportations.

"This is the worst first 100 days that this country has seen in a very very long time," said Senator Raphael Warnock.

As reports emerge of businesses loading up on goods fearing an imminent price rise, Trump did accept during his cabinet meeting that his tariffs and the ensuing trade war with China may in fact lead to supply chain snarls and higher costs.

Addressing fears that soon there will be empty shelves in stores, Trump said: “Well, maybe the children will have to have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, you know? And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.”

Oliver Smith
BBC News

Kristin Roehmer’s toy store in Scottsdale, Arizona was packed to the rafters with all the latest toys from all over the world when we visited last week, but only 10% of them are made in America.

Most are imported and, overwhelmingly, from China.

She’s well stocked and not panicking yet, but says notifications on price increases were being emailed to her constantly, with one arriving in her inbox whilst we were there.

“All of our manufacturers are coming to us now saying that they are increasing prices, anywhere from seven to 30%, so it will take a toll on our business”.

Kristin says they have filled up their warehouse with some items they know will go up in price, and says others are doing the same.

“I know homebuilders that have loaded up on lumber and are storing it on empty lots, steel manufacturers loading up on steel to avoid being hit, because they can’t take the price increases”.

Image source, Getty Images

As the president's cabinet members showered praise on their boss for his accomplishments in the first 100 days, his chief of staff Susie Wiles whom Trump has nicknamed "Ice Maiden", awarded his administration "A+" for its productivity.

In an interview with the New York Post, Wiles said the administration had done a lot in very little time, citing Trump's 142 executive orders - more than Joe Biden in his entire four-year term.

On trade and tariffs, Wiles said: "(Trump) has been extremely hands on. He’s taken a call with virtually every leader of every country… there’s sort of 15 countries that really matter in all of this." Wiles added that the US was "very close" to making deals with "a couple of countries".

On Russia, Wiles said: "The president has devoted 100 days and his very top people to Russia and Ukraine, and if peace is not achieved, it will be because it can’t be achieved. It just cannot."

Trump will likely keep all of his cabinet secretaries through the first year, Wiles said, adding: "They’re all spectacular performers, spectacular professionals."

She did not specifically mention Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary who has seen bipartisan calls for him to resign after he was exposed for communicating sensitive military operations in a private group chat.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Here at the White House, we've just wrapped up the open-door portion of the cabinet meeting, which lasted exactly two hours and three minutes including remarks by each cabinet member and a brief question-and-answer period.

It was, as one might expect, largely self-congratulatory, with each cabinet member delivering remarks on their accomplishments within their department over the first 100 days of this administration. This event was for progress statements.

Very little new information came out of the cabinet meeting. Some of these officials are here at the White House quite frequently, and the talking points were largely ones I felt I had heard many times before during news briefings or "gaggles" outside the Oval Office.

It was also notable to me that the question-and-answer period was much shorter than usual. I was in the room for the last cabinet meeting, which although shorter in total length, was more focused on Trump's answers.

The topics that received emphasis from the president today, however, were quite telling in terms of the administration's priorities.

Immigration, in particular, is an issue in which they believe they are delivering on their campaign promises.

On the economy, the administration continues to shrug off any criticism and has sought to reassure Americans that ultimately, tariffs will be a benefit for them.

Notably, blaming the Biden administration for challenges facing the United States has become a talking point across many of the cabinet departments, for everything from the economy and foreign policy to veterans affairs.

Imogen James
Live reporter

If you missed the Q&A session with President Trump after his nearly two-hours long cabinet meeting, here's a recap of how that went:

Question: is there an update on Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the 29-year-old from El Salvador who was deported from the US mistakenly in March?

Answer: he has not spoken with El Salvador's president about the return of Abrego Garcia.

Question: why is he blaming Biden for bad stock markets, when he takes credit for the good ones?

Answer: he inherited a mess from Biden, and he is not taking "credit or discredit".

Question: will he try and mend the relationship with Canada?

Answer: he spoke with Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday, and he will visit the US within a week.

Question: will he speak to the Chinese President Xi Jinping?

Answer: it will happen, but China has been ripping off the US over trade for a long time.

Image source, Getty Images

Joe Biden's spokesman Andrew Bates has responded to Trump's repeated accusations against the former president.

Bates says Biden handed Trump the "best-performing economy in the world" that is now "plummeting toward a Trumpcession", according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.

Trump is the "only president to have sent a strengthening economy into a nosedive in 100 days, and the only president to have bankrupted a casino", he continues, adding that he would "probably be broke himself" if he wasn't "milking wealthy supporters for exemptions from his tariffs".

The White House has put out an official statement, external in response to Wednesday's report from the Commerce Department that economic growth has slowed this quarter.

The statement included a quote from press secretary Karoline Leavitt who, like Trump recently, has sought to blame the poor gross domestic product (GDP) results on former president Joe Biden.

"GDP is a backward-looking indicator," the statement said.

"Today’s headline figure reflects the end of the Biden economic disaster, not the beginning of the economic boom that President Trump is delivering."

Gross domestic investments are up, as are US exports, the statement said.

"Private employment gains, consumer spending, capital investment, and aggregate hours worked have all accelerated since January, while inflation has decelerated."

The marathon cabinet meeting followed by a Q&A session has now ended with Trump congratulating everyone at the table.

He ends by saying: 'I like my life, I'm working hard".