Trump tariffs live news: U.S. dollar soars as global stock markets tumble after new levies – UK Times

India and the U.S. are engaged in trade talks after Donald Trump slapped a 25 percent tariff on the Asian nation, an Indian government source told Reuters this morning.

A delegation from the U.S. is expected to visit New Delhi this month, the source added.

The U.S. dollar has hit its highest level in two months, with the dollar index rising by 0.1 percent on Friday morning.

Traders could be speculating that Trump’s sweeping tariff rollout could be inflationary, pushing up consumer prices and making it more difficult for the U.S. Federal Reserve to cut interest rates.

Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar has slumped to a 10-week low against its U.S. counterpart after Trump announced a 35 percent levy for Canada.

The tariff announcement increases the risk of more interest-rate cuts by the Bank of Canada, ING’s Francesco Pesole told the Wall Street Journal.

Just hours after rolling out his sweeping tariff plan, President Donald Trump continued Friday to attack Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

In an early morning Truth Social tirade, Trump called the head of the central bank a “stubborn MORON” for opting again not to lower interest rates on Wednesday.

“Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell, a stubborn MORON, must substantially lower interest rates, NOW. IF HE CONTINUES TO REFUSE, THE BOARD SHOULD ASSUME CONTROL, AND DO WHAT EVERYONE KNOWS HAS TO BE DONE!,” he wrote.

In a late-night Facebook post on Thursday, Cambodian Prime Minister hun Manet rejoiced in its 19 percent levy, hailing Donald Trump’s tariff as “good news.”

Trump had originally threatened to impose a 49 percent tariff on Cambodia as part of his “Liberation Day” before cutting it to 36 percent last month.

“The United States has decided to reduce the tax on goods imported from Cambodia to the United States by 19% (down 30% compared to the initial tax rate of 49%),” Manet wrote in a translation of the post.

“This is good news for Khmer people and Cambodia’s economy to continue developing the country.”

The tariff announcement came days after Trump intervened to help broker a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia in a move to end clashes that killed more than 40 people.

Donald Trump has written to multiple pharmaceutical companies to demand lower prices for the U.S, which can be covered by raising prices in other “freeloading” countries.

Trump reportedly wrote to 17 pharmaceutical companies, demanding they treat the U.S. as the “most favoured nation” and lower prices of drugs for the U.S. Medicaid scheme.

A letter obtained byThe Telegraph to the likes of pharma giants GSK and AstraZeneca said they should be seeking to “negotiate harder with foreign freeloading nations” before then using that excess cash to cover cheaper sales Stateside.

“Increased revenues abroad must be repatriated to lower drug prices for American patients and taxpayers,” read the letter.

The president has reportedly given companies 60 days to “step up” and agree to a binding deal.

Looked at as a version of a real estate deal, Donald Trump has done very well with his tariffs policy, writes Sean O’Grady.

In many cases, the deals he has struck, or the regime he has imposed unilaterally, have seen foreign markets open up for U.S. goods with more zero-tariff rates and claimed reductions in non-tariff barriers.

By contrast, pretty much every trading partner sees higher tariffs imposed on their exports to the United States.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed “concern” after the nation was hit with a 30 percent tariff on goods being exported to the U.S.

Ramaphosa said South Africa will continue negotiations with the Trump administration toward a trade deal and said his government is finalizing a package to support companies, producers and workers impacted by the levies.

As of this morning, South Africa’s JSE FTSE All Share index fell 1.34 percent.

The South African rand also dipped to a two-month low of 18.24 against the U.S. dollar.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has urged Canada not to “roll over” after expressing concern over Trump’s bruising new levies.

Ford said that the government needs to do “everything in our power to protect workers, businesses and communities from the impact of tariffs” and floated a reciprocal 50 percent tariff on U.S. steel and aluminum.

World shares slumped after President Donald Trump reignited his trade war with a sweeping new tariff plan, leaving 92 countries facing higher rates.

With just hours to go before Trump’s self-imposed August 1 trade deadline, the president signed executive orders to impose tariffs between 15 and 41 percent on goods from dozens of countries.

Markets reacted quickly, with stocks sliding across Europe as trading opened on Friday morning, seeing London’s FTSE 100 index opening in the red and dropping more than 0.7 percent, Frankfurt’s DAX index plunging by 1.1 percent and Paris’s CAC falling by almost 1 percent.

Asian stock markets broadly fell, with South Korea’s Kospi experiencing the steepest drop, tumbling 3.9 percent.

In the U.S., futures for the S&P 500, the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down on Friday morning.

Just days after Trump said that India is a “friend” of the U.S., President Trump’s 25 percent tariff on the nation went into effect early this morning.

On Wednesday, Trump announced plans to penalize India for buying Russian arms and oil as part of a revived “Liberation Day” tariff package that is due to kick in on Friday, along with doubling down on his threat to impose sweeping 25 percent levies on Indian imports.

Later Wednesday, Trump sharpened his tone and said the U.S. “has done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World,” he added.

However, an official who spoke to CNN under the condition of anonymity expressed optimism that a new deal could be struck soon.