Trump warns of ‘disturbance’ from tariffs

Today’s agenda: German defence spending; Zelenskyy’s conciliatory note; alternative Gaza plan; China’s growth target; and Ghanaian farmers ditch cocoa for gold

Good morning. We start in Washington where Donald Trump has warned that tariffs on the US’s biggest trading partners will cause “a little disturbance”, as he vowed to push ahead with his sharply divisive domestic agenda in a combative speech to Congress.

Tariffs: In the first major policy speech of his second term, Trump doubled down on his decision this week to impose 25 per cent duties on Canada and Mexico and an additional 10 per cent levy on China. He also insisted so-called reciprocal tariffs on goods from a wide range of countries would be imposed on April 2.

“Tariffs are about making America rich again, and making America great again,” he said. “It’s happening, and it will happen rather quickly.”

What’s at stake: Trump’s address comes amid mounting evidence that businesses and consumers are concerned about the effect of tariffs, which are likely to disrupt supply chains and send the costs of some goods higher. US farmers have also reacted with fury to the president’s tariffs, saying a trade war will threaten their markets.

Here are more key announcements from the US president’s speech.

• Instant Insight: The president’s fabulist address to Congress was pure personalism, not ideology, writes Ed Luce.

Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:

• Central banks: Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey appears before the parliamentary Treasury committee in London.

• Economic data: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the US have services purchasing managers’ indices. The Federal Reserve releases its Beige Book of US economic indicators.

• Results: Adidas, AIB Group, Atos, Bayer, Breedon, Campbell’s, Dowlais, Foxtons, Ibstock, Marvell, Nexxen International, Quilter and Ricardo report.

On Thursday, join consumer editor Claer Barrett for a webinar on tackling debt to mark International Women’s Day. Register for free.

Five more top stories

1. Chancellor-to-be Friedrich Merz has agreed a deal with his likely coalition partner to inject hundreds of billions in extra funding into Germany’s military and infrastructure, in a “fiscal sea-change” designed to revive and re-arm Europe’s largest economy. Read more on his spending plans and moves to relax the country’s strict borrowing rules.

2. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was “ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible” and called last week’s dramatic clash with Trump in the Oval Office “regrettable”. The show of contrition came after the US president on Monday suspended military aid to Kyiv. Read more from Zelenskyy’s conciliatory statement.

3. Arab states have adopted a plan for the postwar administration and reconstruction of Gaza in a bid to provide an alternative to Trump’s proposal for the war-shattered enclave to be emptied of Palestinians and taken over by the US. The plan envisages transitional rule by Palestinian technocrats and calls for UN peacekeepers in Gaza and the West Bank.

4. China has announced an ambitious GDP growth target of “around 5 per cent” for 2025 despite a slowdown in the domestic economy and trade tensions with the US. The figure, unveiled at the opening session of the country’s rubber-stamp parliament, matches Beijing’s targets in the previous two years, but budget stimulus plans fell short of market expectations.

5. Exclusive: Deloitte has told staff in its US tax practice that it will now consider office attendance figures as part of their performance reviews, which are used by the Big Four firm to help determine bonuses. The move comes as companies become more prescriptive about office attendance and executives turn away from flexible working.

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Graphic of the day

Ghanaian cocoa farmers are abandoning beans for bullion in an illegal gold mining boom that has ravaged the country’s cocoa production and helped drive global chocolate prices to historic highs.

Take a break from the news . . . 

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