Liberation Day: what to expect
At the end of 2024 the effective US tariff rate stood at about 2.4 per cent, a historic low that supported decades of largely free trade.
Politics
Carmakers face 25% tariffs
Washington has imposed 25 per cent tariffs on imported cars and on key car parts and sub-assemblies, the outcome carmakers had dreaded most.
Tariffs on Canada and Mexico go live
After weeks of stays and diplomatic manoeuvring, the 25 per cent tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico have taken full legal effect, along with a duty on Chinese goods that has been raised to 20 per cent.
Why Trump counts VAT as a tariff
The administration now formally classes foreign Value-Added Taxes (VAT) as discriminatory non-tariff barriers, and that classification underpins much of its new trade doctrine.
Steel tariffs squeeze American manufacturers
The White House has put a 25 per cent tariff on imported steel and aluminium and scrapped the exemptions that long covered friendly suppliers.
Why the dollar isn't rising on tariffs
The US Dollar Index has stalled near 108, down from cyclical highs above 110, even as the administration's trade threats turn into actual decrees.
Tariffs on, tariffs off
A threatened 25 per cent levy on all Canadian and Mexican imports was called off at the last moment after talks on border enforcement, while a 10 per cent baseline tariff on Chinese goods went ahead on schedule.
Trump's first day: no tariffs, yet
Donald Trump was inaugurated without the sweeping tariff orders that markets had spent weeks bracing for.
Biden blocks the US Steel deal
The White House has formally blocked Nippon Steel’s proposed $14.9 billion takeover of United States Steel, putting domestic industrial politics ahead of cross-border capital.
Special Report
New Year: 2025 comes down to one word — tariffs
For most American finance chiefs, planning for 2025 comes down to one number they cannot hedge: the tariff rate.
The debt ceiling is back
The suspension of the US debt ceiling agreed in May 2023 ends on 1 January 2025.
How much inflation could tariffs add?
Wall Street economists finishing their 2025 outlooks are spending most of their time on tariffs.
Special Report
Black Friday: Shoppers race to beat the tariffs
Trump threatens Mexico and Canada
Donald Trump threatened on 25 November to put a twenty-five per cent tariff on all imports from Mexico and Canada on his first day in office, tying it to border enforcement and drug trafficking.
Companies are stockpiling before the tariffs hit
American companies are stockpiling. Purchasing managers expect heavy import tariffs soon after the inauguration in January, and corporate treasurers are trying to get ahead of them by bringing forward orders from Asia and Europe.
Can a stronger dollar cancel out tariffs?
The US Dollar Index (DXY) has climbed back towards 107 since the election, and trade economists are asking an old textbook question.
A 60% tariff is a tax on Americans
Donald Trump has formally restated his plan for a sixty per cent tariff on all imports from China, a shock without modern parallel for US trade.
Election night for the bond market
The ten-year Treasury yield jumped sixteen basis points to 4.44 per cent overnight as returns confirmed Donald Trump's clear victory and a Republican sweep of Congress.
Trump vs Harris: the bill for each
Donald Trump’s agenda would add an estimated $7.5 trillion to the national debt over ten years, and Kamala Harris’s about $3.5 trillion.
Election jitters push up long-term rates
Ten-year Treasury yields have climbed above 4.20 per cent as the US presidential election nears, and almost all of the rise comes from the term premium.
Who really paid for Trump's first tariffs
With big new tariffs at the centre of the political debate, research on the 2018–2019 trade war gives a clear answer on who pays for import duties.
Biden steps aside: what it means for the deficit
Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race on 21 July and endorsed Kamala Harris, adding fresh uncertainty to America's fiscal outlook.
Why tariffs won't fix the trade deficit
Protectionists argue that taxing imports will close the trade deficit and bring American industry back to its former strength.
Explainer
Who actually pays a 10% tariff?
Donald Trump has proposed a universal baseline tariff of ten per cent on all imports and a sixty per cent levy on Chinese goods, and corporate finance departments are arguing over what it would cost them.
Explainer
How a presidential debate moves the bond market
Joe Biden's performance in the 27 June presidential debate against Donald Trump moved markets as well as voters.
China's cheap EVs meet Europe's tariffs
The European Commission has imposed provisional countervailing duties of up to 38.1 per cent on battery electric vehicles (EVs) imported from China.
Special Report
Tax Day: What April's tax cheques say about the debt ceiling
Millions of Americans filed their federal income tax returns by 18 April, and money market desks on Wall Street spent the day doing sums of their own.
