Emily Atkinson
Live editor

Good evening from our London newsroom.

Since Donald Trump's return to the White House, new taxes - called tariffs - have come into effect on goods coming into the United States from other countries.

The US proposals caused a lot of surprise, anger and, ultimately, the imposition of retaliatory tariffs on its own products.

But what does it all mean?

Our correspondents around the world have been answering your questions. Here are some of the highlights:

• In New York, Natalie Sherman looks at how much the US could make from tariffs
• So, who pays the price? One for Dharshini David, who joins us in London

• Simon Jack, also in London, gets into the possible benefits to the UK

• With the rulebook ripped up, Nick Beake in Brussels ponders Canada's chances of joining the EU
• What about my Shein and Temu orders? Will they cost more? Laura Bicker takes this on from Beijing
• Last but not least, Nikhil Inamdar in Mumbai looks at whether tariffs have hit the Indian stock market

For those of you that have sent in questions - thank you. We've had hundreds of compelling submissions, so we're sorry if we didn't get round to answering yours.

Could Congress stop Trump's tariffs?published at 17:32 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March

17:32 GMT 5 March

Natalie Sherman
Business reporter, in New York

Maureen Vevers asks: President Trump seems to be able to act without referring anything to Congress. Are there any limits to his power other than the courts? Is Congress sitting?We don’t seem to hear anything from them apart from approving Trump’s nominees.

Great question. Yes, Congress is in session. And yes, in theory, Congress has control over trade and trade duties.

But since the 1930s, it has increasingly delegated that authority to the president. Though there have been some mutterings in Congress about reclaiming its power, Republicans control the House and the Senate and the party remains deferential to Trump.

It’s not clear what other forces might check the president, who has used national security to justify many of his actions - an area where courts have often been fairly deferential.

For the recent tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada and China, for example, he is deploying powers granted to respond to national emergencies – which he has identified as drugs trafficking.

It’s an unprecedented use of that power, which has more typically been used to impose economic sanctions on countries such as Iran. But as of now, we’ve not seen a clear legal challenge.

And while some have speculated that markets and economic conditions might curb Trump’s actions, the next few months could prove a big test of that theory.

Will Chinese solar panels be affected?published at 17:12 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March

17:12 GMT 5 March

Laura Bicker
China correspondent, in Beijing

Image source, Getty Images

Nat Guerriera asks: What will the tariffs be, if any, on solar panels imported from China?

If you are buying Chinese solar panels in the US, they are already affected by tariffs.

The Biden administration doubled tariffs on solar cells from China from 25% to 50%. Both Biden's and Trump's administrations have supported tariffs on solar goods from China, in part as a way to boost US solar manufacturing.

The US and Europe tried to revive their renewable energy production, but China has stayed far ahead.

In fact, China has installed more solar panels in its own country in the last year than the US has in its history.

Will US producers inflate their own prices?published at 16:58 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March

16:58 GMT 5 March

Natalie Sherman
Business reporter, in New York

Stuart Mortimore asks: Is there any evidence that domestic US producers will now inflate their prices within the US because imported goods will become more expensive?

Yes. This is one of the effects that tariffs can have – and we saw it in the case of steel and aluminium tariffs that Trump imposed in 2018.

Between 2018 and 2021, the average price of the metals in the US increased by 2.4% for steel and 1.6% for aluminium, according to a report from the US International Trade Commission.

A lot of that was due to higher prices of imports. But prices of the US-made metals increased too – by 0.7% for steel and 0.9% for aluminium, as increased demand for the products allowed firms to raise prices.

Trump’s latest actions hit a far wider swathe of goods, including many that are not made in the US at all.

But Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, said this week that tariffs meant families "now have to worry about giant corporations using [Trump’s] haphazard tariff announcements as an excuse to raise prices".

Will there be opportunities for emerging markets?published at 16:40 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March

16:40 GMT 5 March

Dharshini David
Chief economics correspondent

Andrew Sosa in the Dominican Republic asks: How will tariffs hit emerging markets, and what kind of opportunities, if any, will open up to such markets?

It’s too early to say what opportunities might lie in store for countries outside of Trump’s firing line – and indeed where he might train his spotlight next.

But what we do know is that previous trade rows have provided opportunities for other countries.

The likes of Vietnam and Malaysia, for example, were able to grow manufacturing and their market share in the US during President Trump’s first term, when he was imposing tariffs on China.

And then there’s the chance that countries such as China train their focus on new markets – possibly meaning cheaper imports, but also greater competition for domestic producers in those countries.

What do Republicans make of the tariffs?published at 16:25 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March

16:25 GMT 5 March

Natalie Sherman
Business reporter, in New York

Image source, Getty Images

We've just had this question from Alex: What do typical American Republicans make of the tariffs? Are they supportive of it, or are they worried about price rises?

Republicans seem like they’re behind Trump on this issue.

More than 80% of conservatives surveyed by CBS last month, external said they supported tariffs on goods from China, about three-quarters backed tariffs on goods from Mexico, while 66% supported tariffs on goods from Europe, and 65% approved of tariffs on goods from Canada.

That’s despite a majority of conservatives saying they believed tariffs would lead to higher prices.

Other surveys have indicated more scepticism about the policies. For example, less than half of Republicans surveyed by the Marquette Law School poll said they thought tariffs would help the economy., external

But that was still a much stronger vote of confidence for the president than from Democrats (4% thought tariffs would help) or Independents (12% thought tariffs would help) on this question.

Will companies leave China to side-step tariffs when selling to the US?published at 16:09 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March

16:09 GMT 5 March

Laura Bicker
China correspondent, in Beijing

Image source, Getty Images

Grant in Miami asks: With some companies already pulling out of China and moving to countries such as Vietnam, is Trump just stubborn, or ignorant to the fact that tariffs can not force economic growth within the US?

A number of both foreign and Chinese firms have been moving production outside the country in the last decade – even before Donald Trump became the president in 2016 and started imposing tariffs.

Shoe manufacturers, for instance, wanted to avoid higher labour costs in China and moved to Vietnam. But the drift to south-east Asia and beyond accelerated after the Trump administration started imposing tariffs on Chinese goods in 2018.

In Cambodia, around 90% of clothing factories are now Chinese-run or Chinese-owned, according to a report by insight and analysis group Research and Markets.

I saw this for myself in Phnom Penh. The garment firms still source most of their materials in China – so you are right, Grant: Trump’s tariffs have not stopped Chinese firms from setting up shop elsewhere.

Remember - Trump is angry because China sells four times more than it buys from the US.

Back in 2020, after a two-year bitter tit-for-tat trade war, the two sides agreed to a "Phase One" trade deal where China pledged to buy an extra $200 billion dollars of US goods. His administration argued that this deal would put money back into the US economy.

Unfortunately, not long after that it was agreed, the pandemic struck, relations between Washington and Beijing soured and the deal fell apart.

But this is the kind of deal Trump likely hopes to do once again. Will his tactics work?

China has pledged to fight to the bitter end of any trade war. It will also feel in a better position that during Trump’s first term.

Beijing has spent the last five years making new economic partners – especially throughout the Global South. China is now the lead trade partner for more than 120 countries. This means it is less reliant on trade with the United States, but it's also facing its own economic challenges - and may not want to drag this fight out.

How will these tariffs affect the global economy?published at 15:55 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March

15:55 GMT 5 March

Dharshini David
Chief economics correspondent

Wei Wang in Buckinghamshire asks: What is the estimate of impact on global economy? Is there a quantifiable estimate on the impact on global GDP, global inflation, etc?

Unfortunately, the short answer is no – forecasts are always uncertain at the best of times. And much will depend on how long these tariffs last, which other countries they spread to, what retaliatory actions are taken and how businesses and consumers react.

How much of the tariffs will businesses pass on to consumers, for example?

Will consumers change their buying patterns? There is much uncertainty – in an environment President Trump has engineered to be uncertain.

But what we do know is this: history tells us that trade wars push up prices and squeeze prosperity.

So at present, economists expect this escalating trade war to dull growth on average globally as targeted countries suffer.

At present, do not expect a global recession - but it’s a very fluid picture.

Is Trump to blame for India's stock market slump?published at 15:46 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March

15:46 GMT 5 March

Nikhil Inamdar
India business correspondent, in Mumbai

Nanda Kumar from Bangalore, India, asks: Indian stock markets are down in a bad way, affecting thousands of middle class Indian people. Are Trump's tariffs responsible for this? When will we recover?

Trump’s tariffs are indeed partially responsible for this market tantrum, but the correction began much earlier.

There are deeper reasons for this crash. Valuations for one had run up as millions of mom-and-pop investors began buying mutual funds and stocks during the pandemic. The markets had clearly become expensive!

That apart, corporate earnings have been poor, and a lot of foreign money has pulled out of India and gone into Chinese equities recently - all of which has led to this correction.

India’s benchmark equity indices have lost about 15% since hitting their peak about six months ago - wiping out nearly a trillion dollars. The volatility is expected to continue till there’s clarity on how badly tariffs hit India.

But some experts I spoke to recently said we could now be close to the bottom, and things could improve in a few months. Predicting this though, is a fool’s errand!

When will Americans feel the impact - for better or worse?published at 15:36 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March

15:36 GMT 5 March

Natalie Sherman
Business reporter, in New York

Image source, Getty Images

Dmitry asks: How long will it be before Americans feel that the tariffs affect them negatively or positively?

Businesses in the US are already talking about raising prices in response to the new taxes at the border.

The big retailer Target, for example, said on Tuesday that higher prices for some items, such as avocados, could kick in within a week.

For other items, especially those with longer manufacturing lead times, the price increases may take longer to materialise. Some toymakers, for example, told me they did not see an opportunity to adjust their prices until later this year.

Why hesitate? Higher prices could put off buyers. That’s why a business like fast food chain Chipotle has said it will try to absorb the higher costs without raising prices – at least for now – in hopes that the measures prove temporary.

Could the UK benefit from tariffs on the EU and others?published at 15:26 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March

15:26 GMT 5 March

Simon Jack
Business editor

We've just had this question from Barny in the UK. He asks: Will tariffs on Mexico, Canada, China and the EU make the UK a more appealing place for all markets to trade with?

Hi Barny - great question! And one that is central to Prime Minister Keir Starmer's strategy on international trade.

The PM is trying to pull off a very delicate balancing act - avoiding US tariffs on stuff imported from the UK, while not getting so close to the US that it annoys the EU.

If he pulls that off, then that is a good outcome. It could also mean that companies and countries might conceivably base some production in the UK if they thought that UK-produced stuff could get tariff-free access to the US.

However, the highly erratic nature of the US approach means it would be a brave company to base a major multi-year investment decision on trying to predict where this ends.

Could Canada join the EU?published at 14:54 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March

14:54 GMT 5 March

Nick Beake
Europe correspondent, in Brussels

Image source, Getty Images

Mark Bretherton in Cochrane, Alberta, Canada asks: What potential is there for Canada to join the EU as a result of actual and threatened US hostility?

On paper, in normal times, there’s zero potential for Canada to join the EU. But these aren’t normal times and President Trump has ripped up the rule book.

While we see Australia performing in Eurovision, and Kazakhstan attempting to qualify for European football tournaments, the geographical rules for EU membership are much tighter.

In short, you have to be a "European" country.

So while that definition has been applied to the likes of Ukraine, Turkey and Moldova and other prospective members, arguing Canada is on Europe’s periphery is a stretch.

However, Europe’s leaders are now talking in the starkest language about the need for like-minded allies to take radical action. Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has appeared at meetings of key Europe’s leaders in recent weeks, including the London summit.

If for a moment we look beyond Canada’s indisputable North American location, the country does indeed tick box after box under the so-called Copenhagen Criteria for new EU members.

This requires potential members to have rule of law, stable democratic institutions, human rights, a functioning market economy, and to agree to follow EU laws.

For what it’s worth, Canada is neighbours with Denmark (in the form of Greenland) and its citizens speak French and English – the two principle working languages of the EU.

Crucially though, the EU’s membership rules would have to be totally overhauled to let the Canadians in, if they so desired.

So while your question Mark may have got a quick "no" answer a month ago, it probably doesn’t seem quite as far-fetched in today’s new reality.

But of course, Trump says the EU itself is in line for tariffs - so even if Canada were to magically join tomorrow, it may not escape them.

Is the UK affected by Trump's tariffs?published at 14:42 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March

14:42 GMT 5 March

Simon Jack
Business editor

Image source, Reuters

Ollie has a simple question: Regarding the tariffs that have just begun, what will this mean for the UK?

Hi Ollie. At the moment, President Trump thinks tariffs paid by importers of UK goods might "not be necessary", as the UK and US buy pretty much the same amount of stuff from each other.

That's unlike China, for example, where the US buys much more from China than vice versa.

However, the US will impose tariffs on ALL steel imported into the US from abroad from next week - which could include the small amount of UK steel the US buys.

The UK government is trying to argue that it's a small amount for very specific and sensitive industries and so should be exempt - but we don't know the outcome of that yet.

More broadly, tariffs tend to push up prices and reduce economic growth so even if the UK is not directly targeted, the prospects for the world economy are worse if other countries retaliate.

Will tariffs affect US GDP - if so, when?published at 14:30 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March

14:30 GMT 5 March

Natalie Sherman
Business reporter, in New York

Ms Patel asks: How long will it take to see how much impact the US tariffs have on the US GDP?

We’ll get our first official reading of GDP – which is the widest measure of economic activity – for the January to March period from the US government in April.

But already, there are plenty of warnings – and some data – suggesting that the figure will reflect pain caused by tariff uncertainty.

The issue has popped up in surveys of businesses and consumers, for example, contributing to declines in confidence. This week, a measure of manufacturing showed activity slipping in February and its gauge of new orders dropping sharply. At big US chains, such as Target, Walmart and McDonald’s, foot traffic has also fallen meaningfully in recent weeks, according to tracking firm Placer.ai.

Another indicator that reflects recent economic data, the Atlanta Federal Reserve's GDPNow model, even points to a sharp 2.8% economic contraction for the January to March period – though how much of that will be due to tariffs will remain up for debate.

Trump has said the measures may cause short-term pain but will lead to long-term gain. But economists are likely to be studying this moment - and the months and years ahead - for a long time, as they try to reach a consensus about the impact of Trump’s trade actions.

Image source, Getty Images

Will my parcels from Shein and Temu be affected?published at 14:10 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March

14:10 GMT 5 March

Laura Bicker
China correspondent, in Beijing

Image source, Getty Images

Here's a question we haven't received directly - but we know is a huge topic when people search online: How will US tariffs affect orders from companies like Shein and Temu? Will ordinary people have to pay import taxes when ordering products from China?

The answer is maybe. In the past all goods under $800 were allowed to head into the US duty-free. This included parcels from Shein and Temu. This rule is called “de minimis”.

But Donald Trump’s executive order suspended this loophole and these shipments from China should now be subject to existing duties.

However, it’s not clear how it will work or how much ordinary people might have to pay.

Not long after the loophole was closed, the US Postal Service announced that it would stop accepting parcels sent from China and Hong Kong until further notice.

However, it quickly reversed course. It seems there are concerns that this rapid change would overwhelm customs.

An option for these companies would be to stop shipping their parcels directly from China, or they could ship in bulk to warehouses in the US.

They could also move production to other countries. Shein has started producing goods in Brazil and Turkey, or they could re-route shipments through other parts of Asia.

All of these options would incur extra costs. It would be up to the company to decide whether or not to absorb that or pass it on to their customers.

How much will the US make from tariffs?published at 14:07 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March

14:07 GMT 5 March

Natalie Sherman
Business reporter, in New York

Sam Hewitt in the UK asks: What is the estimated income for the US government from this fresh wave of tariffs? What do you think the Trump administration will try to achieve with this income?

Trump’s recent tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada will hit trade from countries that supplied more than 40% of the nearly $3.3tn worth of imports into the US last year.

The move could, in theory, raise more than $141bn in 2025 and more than $1.4tn over 10 years, according to estimates by the Tax Foundation.

But that doesn’t mean the US will actually collect that much new revenue.

The forecast doesn’t, for example, include the cost of retaliation, which could reduce tax collections from businesses or workers that are hurt.

As for what Trump might do with the money?

He has promised to extend tax cuts from his first term – and make further cuts. He has even floated the idea of replacing America’s income tax with tariffs.

But the US is set to spend $7tn in 2025 and is already facing a budget gap of $1.9tn, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office. Tariff revenue represents a tiny drop in that bucket.

Image source, Getty Images

Will the consumer pay the price?published at 14:00 Greenwich Mean Time 5 March

14:00 GMT 5 March

Dharshini David
Chief economics correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Luka Dubois in Belgium asks: Isn’t the end consumer the one paying the additional taxes because companies will now just sell their stuff at a higher price to compensate? And will the tariffs affect Europe, mainly Belgium?

With tariffs, it is indeed consumers who tend to pay the price - although some may be absorbed by wholesalers and others along the supply chain - and it’s American ones at present who are most likely to be affected.

Economists reckon that a typical US household may shell out an extra $2,000 this year, if these tariffs last.

The main concern for European businesses is President Trump's promised tariffs on EU goods.

And consumers, including those in Belgium, will also be worried about any retaliatory tariffs that are imposed on American made goods by the EU.

The likes of Florida orange juice and Harley Davidson motorbikes have been targets in previous trade rows.

On the flipside, however, countries like Belgium could benefit from trade diversion – the likes of China looking to sell goods in markets outside of America, possibly at advantageous prices.

Our correspondents around the world are about to answer your questions - and remember, it's not too late to send your own.

First up, our chief economics correspondent deals with a question from Belgium...

Trump says tariffs will boost US manufacturing and protect jobs, as well as raising revenue.

He also says tariffs will pressure other countries to take action on drugs crossing into the US, as well as illegal immigration.

When he first announced plans for new tariffs, the White House said, external the president was "taking bold action to hold [Canada, Mexico, and China] accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country".

The Trump administration says the chemicals come from China, while Mexican gangs supply it illegally and run fentanyl labs in Canada.

China

A 10% charge on all goods imported from China to the US started on 4 February. Trump later said shipments worth less than $800 (£645) would be exempt.

On 10 February, China responded with its own tariffs, including a 10-15% tax on some US agricultural goods.

The US 10% levy doubled to 20% on 4 March.

Canada

Trump's 25% tariff on goods from Canada were due to begin on 4 February but finally started on 4 March.

Meanwhile, Canadian energy imports face a 10% tariff.

This month, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country would immediately target C$30bn worth of products entering from the US,, external and goods worth a further C$125bn in 21 days.

Canada may also restrict US access to its energy. It is the top oil supplier to the US and also provides some electricity to 30% of the states.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would implement his own 25% surcharge on Canadian electricity exports to three US states: Michigan, New York and Minnesota.

Mexico

As with Canada, a 25% tariff on Mexican goods was due to start on 4 February but kicked-in on 4 March.

President Claudia Sheinbaum says Mexico will impose "tariff and non-tariff measures" in response, with further details on 9 March.

Steel and aluminium

Trump has also imposed a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports from 12 March, with no exceptions.

The US is the world's largest importer of steel - with Canada, Brazil and Mexico its top three suppliers.