Closing post
Time to wrap up
Investors around the globe are gripped by Donald Trump’s trade war, as the deadline for the US to agree deals with trading partners moves closer.
The EU has revealed that European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen had a “good exchange” with Donald Trump on Sunday, raising hopes of a deal by Wednesday.
Olof Gill, the EU trade spokesperson, said:
“We’re fully geared up to get an agreement in principle by Wednesday, and we’re firing on all cylinders to that effect.”
The 90-day pause to the tariffs annouced by Trump in early April expires on 9 July, leaving little time for agreements to be reached.
Trump posted online that he plans to start announcing deals, and letters announcing new tariffs on countries without a deal, from noon Washington time, or 5pm UK time.
Those new tariffs will kick in on 1 August, US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick indicated.
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent has hinted that announcements are close,
He told CNBC:
“We’ve had a lot of people change their tune in terms of negotiations. So my mailbox was full last night with a lot of new offers, a lot of new proposals.
So it’s going to be a busy couple of days.”
British steelmakers face a nervous wait to discover if they will be hit by US tariffs, after the UK government said it was trying to complete a deal to protect the industry from Donald Trump’s trade war.
Stocks have dropped on Wall Street on nervousness over the trade war, while in London the FTSE 100 index has slipped by eight points (-0.1%).
Our US Politics blog is tracking the latest trade war developments:
Updated
UK says ‘discussions continue’ over US steel tariffs
British steelmakers are facing a nervous wait to discover if they will be hit by US tariffs, after the UK government said it was trying to complete a deal to protect the industry from Donald Trump’s trade war.
The US has set a 50% tariff on foreign steel and aluminium imports. While the UK has brokered a reduced rate of 25% and is trying to bring it down to zero, a deal has not yet been completed.
On Monday, Downing Street refused to confirm it was confident it could eliminate US tariffs on UK steel before Trump’s deadline on 9 July.
A spokesperson for No 10 said:
“Our work with the US continues to get this deal implemented as soon as possible.
“That will remove the 25% tariff on UK steel and aluminium, making us the only country in the world to have tariffs removed on these products.
“The US agreed to remove tariffs on these products as part of our agreement on 8 May. It reiterated that again at the G7 last month. The discussions continue, and will continue to do so.”
