UK toymaker Character Group – which is behind popular toys from brands like Peppa Pig, Teletubbies and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – is pulling its annual forecasts amid uncertainty over the impact of the Trump administration’s now-145% tariff on imports from China. US sales accounted for around 20% of the company’s turnover last year. In a market announcement this morning, Character Group said: The recent unilateral imposition by the USA of trade tariffs on imports, particularly from China, and the escalating retaliatory measures being adopted have greatly impacted global economic stability in a very short space of time. Character Group said its ability to forecast “financial implications” for the group had been “considerably obscured by these events.” Consequently, the effect of the imposition of the trade tariffs will be felt in the second half by the group and, as a result, the company is withdrawing the market guidance for the year ending 31 August 2025. Despite this, the board remains confident that the group will be profitable for the current financial year as a whole. It’s chalking up to be a sea of green across European markets. The pan-European Stoxx 600 is up 0.7%, and there are strong moves in France and Germany with the Cac 40 up 1.04% and the Xetra Dax rising 1.1%. Mining companies are dominating the top of the FTSE 100 this morning. Fresnillo is up 4.9%, Endeavor Mining is up 3.7% and Rio Tinto is up 1.9%. Glencore is also among the biggest risers, up 1.6%, while Antofagasta is up 1.5%. European markets are open and are – so far – in positive territory. The UK’s blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose more than 0.7%, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 was up 0.4%. Italy’s FTSE MIB rose 0.9%. We’re still waiting for opening prints for Germany’s Xetra Dax and France’s Cac 40….stay tuned. UK chancellor Rachel Reeves welcomed the February growth figures but recognised that the “world had changed”: These growth figures are an encouraging sign, but we are not complacent. We must keep going further and faster on our plan for change. The world has changed, and we have witnessed that change in recent weeks. I know this is an anxious time for families who are worried about the cost of living and British businesses who are worried about what this change means for them. This government will remain pragmatic and cool-headed as we seek to secure the best deal with the United States that is in our national interest. At the same time we will be relentless in our work to kickstart economic growth, provide security for working people and renewal for Britain. On that surprise UK GDP figure, the Office for National Statistics recorded growth across all main sectors in February, marking an improvement on January when there was no growth. Services output increased by 0.3%, and was the largest contributor to the monthly growth in GDP, while production output rose by 1.5%, and construction output increased by 0.4%. Marcus Brookes, chief investment officer at Quilter Investors said that while the figures are a “welcome relief” for the Labour government, US tariffs have left the UK in a precarious position: President Trump may have ‘paused’ the reciprocal tariffs on other countries, but the new regime remains unchanged for the UK. If anything, the UK has lost a competitive edge, having previously got off lightly in Trump’s announcement last week. This global economic uncertainty is going to do very little for consumer or business confidence in the UK and as such growth will continue to be lacklustre. The UK is in somewhat of a precarious position right now, caught in the crossfire of the constantly changing economic policy of the US. The government will need to think creatively and find some quick wins in order to sustain this positive reading and negate the economic impact tariffs will bring. Breaking news: data this morning shows the UK economy unexpectedly expanded by 0.5% in February, in a boost for Rachel Reeves before an expected downturn triggered by Donald Trump’s tariff war. Reversing a modest fall in January, the increase in gross domestic product in February could mark the last period of expansion before the threat of a global trade war dampens business investment and consumer spending. A poll of City economists had expected the economy to grow by 0.1% in February. This month, consumers face inflation-busting utility bill and council tax increases while employers must cope with £25bn of tax rises. More details soon … In case you’re just joining us, here’s a recap of the latest top lines amid the continuing turmoil in global markets from Donald Trump’s tariffs. Global stocks fell and the US dollar sank further on Friday while an intense bond selloff took hold in a turbulent end to the week of the global tariffs that have fed fears of a deep recession and shaken investor confidence in US assets. The dollar sank to its lowest in 10 years against the Swiss franc and a six-month low against the yen, while the euro surged 1.7% to $1.13855, a level last seen in February 2022. The S&P 500 index ended 3.5% lower on Thursday after getting a brief reprieve when the US president paused duties on dozens of countries for 90 days. Asian markets followed Wall Street on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei down 4.3%, South Korea falling nearly 1% and Hong Kong stocks heading towards the biggest weekly decline since 2008. Some rose, however, with Taiwan’s main index reversing earlier losses to trade nearly 2% higher and major sectors across India’s Nifty 50 rising in early trading. Gold prices reached a record high amid safe-haven flows. It was last up 1.1% at $3,210 an ounce. Trump’s tariff pause excluded China, with the president dialling up US tariffs on Chinese imports effectively to 145% over Beijing’s move to match his earlier duties. Trump’s escalation of the trade war with China has fuelled fears of recession and further retaliation. Chinese officials have been canvassing other trading partners over the levies, most recently talking to counterparts in Spain, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. Trump expressed hope of a deal with Beijing. China rejected what it called threats and blackmail from Washington and pledged to follow through to the end if the US persists, the commerce ministry said. China’s door was open to dialogue but this must be based on mutual respect, it said. Beijing also restricted imports of Hollywood films, targeting one of the most high-profile American exports. US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent shrugged off the renewed market sell-off and tried to calm nerves by telling a cabinet meeting that more than 75 countries wanted to start trade negotiations. The European Union suspended its retaliatory 25% tariffs on US goods for 90 days after Trump’s turnaround. “We want to give negotiations a chance,” European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on X, while also warning that counter-tariffs could be reinstated if negotiations “are not satisfactory”. The EU is still assessing how to respond to US car tariffs and the broader 10% levies that remain in place. The manic US Treasury selloff this week, evoking the Covid-era “dash for cash”, reignited fears of fragility in the world’s biggest bond market. Thirty-year bond yields rose to 4.90%, on course for their biggest weekly jump since at least 1982, LSEG data showed. The US and Vietnam agreed to begin formal trade talks, the White House said, while Japan’s prime minister has set up a task force for the negotiations which hopes to visit Washington next week, according to local media. – With news agencies French president Emmanuel Macron has said Donald Trump’s decision this week to suspend tariffs he had imposed on countries gave room for only a “fragile pause”. “The partial suspension of American tariffs for 90 days sends out a signal and leaves the door open for talks. But this pause is a fragile one,” Macron wrote on X on Friday. “Fragile, because the 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles and the 10% tariffs on all other products are still in place,” he added. They represent 52 billion euros ($58.8 billion) for the European Union! Fragile, because this 90-day pause means 90 days of uncertainty for all our businesses, on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond. Reuters also reports that Macron reaffirmed that France and the European Union would present a united front in terms of negotiations aimed at reaching a deal and getting the US tariffs removed. More on the Indian stock market’s lift today: all 13 major sectors rose in early trading on the day, with financials and commodity stocks leading the rally. Heavyweight financials rose 1.8%, aided by an over 2% gains in HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reuters reports. Metal stocks rose 3.6% on weaker dollar and recovered some of its earlier losses following a pause on reciprocal tariffs beyond 10%. The index is still down 2.7% for the week. Tata Steel, JSW Steel and Hindalco Industries jumped 3.9% to 4.2%, and were among the top four Nifty 50 gainers. Among individual stocks, Tata Consultancy Services was flat and underperforming both the benchmark and information technology indexes due to its weaker-than-expected fourth quarter earnings. “With Nifty trading at its more reasonable valuations in nearly three years, there is a compelling case for medium-term upside,” said Manish Goel, founder and managing director of Equentis. However, volatility will remain elevated at Trump’s tariffs reshape global trade dynamics. The Indian rupee jumped higher on Friday, tracking gains in Asian peers as the US dollar slumped to a nearly two-year low, with traders expecting volatility to persist. The rupee rose 0.8% to 86 against the dollar as of 10.15am IST, up from its close at 86.6875 on Wednesday. (Indian financial markets were shut on Thursday for a local holiday.) The rupee is currently in “the middle of its recent trading range and it could consolidate between 85.70 and 86.70 in the near term”, Reuters quoted a trader at a state-run bank as saying. Meanwhile, dollar-rupee forward premiums fell, with the 1-year implied yield down 6 basis points at 2.27%, pressured by a decline in the dollar-rupee spot rate and higher US bond yields. On Thursday morning in Shanghai, as shoppers filled the luxury malls and delivery drivers whizzed around the winding streets at breakneck speed, financiers breathed a cautious sigh of relief. Overnight, US president Donald Trump had reversed course, announcing a 90-day pause on his so-called “reciprocal tariffs” of up to 50% for dozens of countries. Although China got no such reprieve – instead, the levy on Chinese goods was increased to 145% – the temporary return of normal trade channels showed Chinese businesspeople that all was not lost. Trump’s announcement of punitive tariffs on countries across south-east Asia had risked closing off the routes that Chinese companies have been using since his first term in office to circumvent his levies. Since 2017, thanks to tariffs on Chinese goods, the share of China’s exports bound for the US has dropped from about 20% to less than 15%. But much of that trade has simply been re-routed through third countries, as Chinese firms set up shop in places with cheaper labour costs and easier access to the US market. To read more on how Chinese companies are relieved Trump’s wider tariffs have been paused but on social media the posts are full of defiance, see here: The European Union will not rip up its tech rules in an attempt to reach a trade deal with Donald Trump, the bloc’s most senior official on digital policy has said. Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission vice-president responsible for tech sovereignty, indicated the EU was not going to compromise on its digital rulebook to reach an agreement on trade with the US – a key demand of Trump administration officials. “We are very committed to our rules when it comes to the digital world,” Virkkunen said in an interview with European newspapers including the Guardian. We want to make sure that our digital environment in the European Union … that it is fair and it’s safe and it’s also democratic. She gently pushed back at suggestions that EU digital regulations could be considered trade barriers, saying the same rules applied to all companies whether European, American or Chinese. In recent days, Trump’s senior trade adviser, Peter Navarro, has claimed the EU was using “lawfare” against the US’s largest tech firms, in a Financial Times article featuring a litany of complaints against supposed “non-tariff weapons”. You can read our full story here: Why did Donald Trump backflip on his latest tariffs for most countries except China, despite his insistence for days that his policies wouldn’t change? In this podcast, Jonathan Freedland speaks to James Bennet of the Economist about who might have forced the US president’s hand, and what could happen next. India’s benchmark indexes opened higher on Friday, as a US tariff reprieve lifted sentiment, even as global trade uncertainty continues to linger. The Nifty 50 rose 1.67% to 22,775.2 while the BSE Sensex gained 1.61% to 75,019.41, respectively, as of 09.23am IST, Reuters reports. Indian markets were closed on Thursday for a local holiday. The yuan rebounded from 2007 lows against a broadly weaker US dollar on Friday but slipped to a 19-month low against currencies of its major trading partners. However, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) will not allow sharp yuan declines and has instructed major state-owned lenders to reduce dollar purchases, Reuters reports, citing people with knowledge of the matter. A weaker yuan would make Chinese exports cheaper and alleviate tariff impact on the economy. But a sharp decline could also increase unwanted capital outflows and risk financial stability, analysts and economists said. To reflect the broad dollar weakness in global markets, the PBOC lifted its official yuan midpoint guidance fix for the first time in seven days on Friday. Prior to the market open, the PBOC set the rate – around which the yuan is allowed to trade in a 2% band – at 7.2087 per dollar. That was 5 pips firmer than the previous fix and 1,017 pips firmer than a Reuters’ estimate of 7.3104. The PBOC has slightly loosened its grip on the currency this week by allowing official guidance to weaken past the key threshold of 7.2 to the dollar. But it came in much stronger than market projections, in what traders and analysts interpreted as an official attempt to keep the yuan steady as the trade row between the world’s two largest economies showed few signs of abating. Back to Asian markets: across the region they are again deep in negative territory at the end of a highly volatile week. Tokyo sank more than 4% – a day after surging more than 9% - while Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Wellington, Jakarta and Manila were also in the red, Agence France-Presse reports. Ho Chi Minh City stocks rallied, however, after Vietnam said it would hold talks with Donald Trump. Hong Kong also dropped but Shanghai fluctuated as traders focused on possible Chinese stimulus measures instead of the fact that the country was now facing US duties of up to 145%. Beijing said on Friday it would implement a moderately loose monetary policy in a bid to reassure investors. The losses followed a similar story on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 lost 3.5%, the Dow 2.5% and the Nasdaq 4.3%. That ate into the previous day’s gains of 9.5%, 7.9% and 12.2%. More now on the announcement of Xi Jinping’s first offical foreign trip this year, with the Chinese leader set to visit Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia from this Monday to Friday. Xi’s visit to Vietnam comes on the invitation of President Luong Cuong, Beijing said. He last visited the country in December 2023. Vietnam has long pursued a “bamboo diplomacy” approach, striving to stay on good terms with both China and the US, Agence France-Presse reports. Hanoi shares US concerns about Beijing’s increasing assertiveness in the contested South China Sea but it also has close economic ties with China. Xi’s visit to Malaysia will take place from 15-17 April, the country’s government said this week. The communications minister, Fahmi Fadzil, said Xi’s visit was “part of the government’s efforts ... to see better trade relations with various countries including China”. Xi will travel on Thursday to Cambodia, one of China’s staunchest allies in south-east Asia and where Beijing has extended its influence in recent years, before wrapping up the trip on Friday. Under former leader Hun Sen – prime minister Hun Manet’s father – China poured billions of dollars into infrastructure investments, while Washington’s relationship with Phnom Penh deteriorated. Cambodia described it as a “milestone visit which will further cement the traditional relations of friendship built by successive leaders of both countries”. Xi’s visit to the region comes as Beijing squares off with the US in an escalating trade war triggered by President Donald Trump, with many Chinese exports now facing 145% tariffs on arrival in the US. The Australian and New Zealand dollars were looking to end a wild week with sizeable gains on a crumbling US dollar as the damage done to investor confidence by the chaos over tariffs sparked an exodus from US assets. The gains for the Aussie were all the more startling as it is usually the market’s whipping boy during times of volatility and stress, Reuters reports. Yet this time it was the US dollar being dumped. President Donald Trump eased back on tariffs for most countries except China on Wednesday in part to stem a sell-off in Treasuries, yet bond yields were rising again on Friday. Yields on US 30-year bonds were heading for their largest weekly increase since 1982. Indeed, US 10-year yields started the week 19 basis points below those in Australia, but have now swung to paying 10 basis points more, and still the US dollar fell. The Aussie was last at $0.6219, having rallied from a five-year trough of $0.5910 early in the week. That left it with a gain of 3.1% for the week, the largest since late 2022. The kiwi dollar was up at $0.5775, which if held would give it a weekly rise of 3.2%. That was a marked turnaround from a five-year low of $0.5483 hit early in the week, and came despite a cut in local interest rates. Neither currency fared as well against the major safe havens, however, losing ground to the yen, euro and Swiss franc, in part reflecting the darkening outlook for global growth and resource demand. Xi Jinping will visit Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia beginning on Monday, state-run media is reporting. The Chinese president’s trip would run from 14-18 April, Xinhua news agency said on Friday. While American consumers and markets wonder and worry about Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs, there’s one group cheering him as they hope he’ll prop up their sinking business: Gulf coast shrimpers. The Associated Press reports that American shrimpers have been hammered in recent years by cheap imports flooding the US market and restaurants, driving down prices to the point that profits are razor thin or shrimpers are losing money and struggling to stay afloat. Tariffs, they hope, could level the playing field and help their businesses not just survive but thrive. “It’s been tough the last several years that we’ve tried to fight through this,” said Reed Bowers, owner of Bowers Shrimp Farm in Palacios, Texas. Tough times meant difficult choices for many. Cutting people off, laying people off, or reduce hours or reduce wages ... whatever we can do to survive. Since 2021, the price of imported shrimp has dropped by more than $1.5bn, according to the Southern Shrimpers Alliance trade association, causing the US shrimp industry to lose nearly 50% of its market value. More than 90% of the shrimp consumed in the US is imported, it says. The US dollar slumped on Friday as waning confidence in the US economy prompted investors to ditch US assets to the benefit of safe havens like the Swiss franc, yen and euro, as well as gold. The yellow metal recorded a new all-time peak in early Asia trade, and the franc notched a fresh decade high, Reuters reports. Investors dumped Wall Street stocks overnight, as the powerful rally on Wednesday – when Donald Trump abruptly paused higher tariff rates on dozens of trading partners – reversed course in a 24-hour frenetic period for markets. Longer-dated US Treasuries are also selling off, putting 10-year yields on course for their biggest weekly jump since 2001. The Chinese yuan had tumbled to an all-time low in offshore trading on Tuesday, but erased all those losses a day later, surging again on Thursday, and was strengthening in early trading. Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, said: There has been a pronounced ‘sell US’ vibe flowing through broad markets and into the classic safe-haven assets, with the USD losing the safe-haven bid. Trump’s 90-day tariff respite – which came despite his insistence for days that his policies would never change – didn’t include China. Instead, he ratcheted up duties on Chinese imports to an effective rate of 145%, further escalating the high-stakes confrontation between the world’s two largest economies. Japan’s Nikkei has now tumbled more than 5% while gold hit another record high as continuing tariff jitters hit Asian stocks in early trade on Friday. The Nikkei 225 benchmark index was off 5.4%, having jumped 9.1% on Thursday after Donald Trump’s 90-day tariff reprieve. Other markets also reversed many of the previous day’s gains, with South Korea’s Kospi in Seoul off 1.64% and, as just posted, Australia down more than 2%. Oil and the dollar also slid on fears of a global slowdown in economic activity, while gold hit a new record. The yen – another safe-haven asset – also gained 0.9% against the US dollar on Friday. In Australia today’s share market decline has continued, with stocks now tanking more than 2% as investors who drove a relief rally in the previous session worried about the US tariffs fallout. The S&P/ASX 200 index dropped as much as 2.4% to 7,524.50 points by 0016 GMT, after the benchmark surged 4.5% on Thursday following Donald Trump’s tariff reprieve. The benchmark was looking to lose nearly 2% for the week, if losses hold, Reuters reports. Trump temporarily paused many of his new tariffs but further ramped up pressure on China, a major trading partner for Australia, with levies for a total of 145%. Investors worry that China may again respond in kind with higher tariffs. Any potential slowdown in the world’s second largest economy from tariffs would be detrimental to local resources-focused stocks, which have high exposure to China, a major consumer of commodities. Australian mining stocks declined 1.8%. Heavyweights BHP and Rio Tinto retreated 2.8% and 2.3% respectively. Fortescue’s shares fell 2.7%. Energy stocks retreated 3.5% after oil prices declined more than 3% overnight. The subindex was on track to decline more than 5% for the week. Top energy companies Woodside Energy and Santos fell 3.5% and 3.6% respectively. Gold stocks rose 2.2% to hit a fresh all-time high, mirroring the record high in gold prices. Banking stocks declined 2.9%. Financials were on track to lose 2.7% for the week. The “big four” banks fell between 2.8% and 3.2%. New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 1.5% to 12,023.84 points. New Zealand stocks were heading for a 1.6% fall for the week, in what could be their worst week since early March. The US dollar index has dropped below 100 for the first time since July 2023, Reuters is reporting. And the currency is down 0.8 against the Swiss franc, hitting a 10-year low of 0.8142 Japan’s benchmark Nikkei index has fallen 3.6% amid continuing tariff worries. Spot gold, however, has risen to a record high of $3,205.21 an ounce, Reuters reports, as investors seek safe havens. And the euro has extended its gains, up as much as 1.7% at $1.13855. Donald Trump has threatened Mexico with sanctions and tariffs in a dispute over water sharing between the two countries, accusing Mexico of breaking an 81-year-old treaty and “stealing the water from Texas farmers”. Under the 1944 treaty, Mexico must send 1.75 million acre-feet of water to the US from the Rio Grande through a network of interconnected dams and reservoirs every five years, Reuters reports. An acre-foot of water is enough to fill about half an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The current five-year cycle is up in October, but Mexico has sent less than 30% of the required water, according to data from the International Boundary and Water Commission. Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Thursday: Mexico OWES Texas 1.3 million acre-feet of water under the 1944 Water Treaty, but Mexico is unfortunately violating their Treaty obligation. My Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins, is standing up for Texas Farmers, and we will keep escalating consequences, including TARIFFS and, maybe even SANCTIONS, until Mexico honors the Treaty, and GIVES TEXAS THE WATER THEY ARE OWED! The office of Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the UK, shoppers stayed away from the high street in March, a situation retailers said could worsen if the economic gloom caused by Donald Trump’s tariff war hits consumer confidence. Footfall fell 5% in March to extend a downturn in February that retailers said could be attributed to a recent rise in inflation and pressure on pay packets since a brief revival during the January sales. Out-of-town shopping centres were the worst hit, falling by 5.8%, though traditional high streets and retail parks also suffered a loss of sales after drops in footfall of 4% and 1.2% respectively. The British Retail Consortium said that while the impact of US tariffs on imported goods was difficult to calculate, it could have a chilling effect on people’s willingness to spend, especially on expensive items. Helen Dickinson, the organisation’s chief executive, said: Global uncertainties resulting from tariffs and a potential economic slowdown could reduce the appetite for shopping trips in the coming months. See the full story here: Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 has fallen on opening a short while ago, as expected, dropping 0.5% to 7,670.50 points in early trade after Wall Street’s sell-off overnight. Australian shares are poised to open sharply lower this morning, as concerns about Donald Trump’s unsettling policy shifts and deteriorating trade relations between the world’s two biggest economies take hold. Futures prices are pointing to a 1.6% fall in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 to 7,590 points when it opens later this morning, after a sell-off on Wall Street overnight. Investors have had to contend with wild swings this week triggered by changes to the US tariff regime, with share prices pushed around by extreme bouts of relief and fear. While some nations have enjoyed a reprieve from their super-sized tariffs, Australia’s position, along with those of the UK and New Zealand, are unchanged given they remain subject to the US “baseline” 10% charge. The White House clarified overnight that total tariffs on China had been raised by 145% since Trump took office. The Reserve Bank of Australia governor, Michele Bullock, said last night that an uncertain and rocky path lay ahead, saying “financial market and economic volatility can be expected as this process unfolds”. The Australian dollar has recovered significant ground in recent days, rising to US62.2c this morning, after threatening to plunge below the 59c barrier earlier this week. Hello and welcome to our live business coverage as the shockwaves from Donald Trump’s tariffs moves continue to buffet global markets. The US president has blamed “a transition cost, transition problems” as US markets continued to sink in the wake of his seesawing global tariffs strategy and escalating trade war with China. “We think we’re in very good shape,” Trump said on Thursday. “We think we’re doing very well. Again there will be a transition cost, transition problems, but in the end it’s going to be a beautiful thing.” His remarks came as US stocks tumbled again after a historic rally following Trump’s surprise retreat on Wednesday on the hefty tariffs he had just imposed on dozens of countries. He has instead focused on China, where goods now attract tariffs totalling 145% effective immediately – 125% in “reciprocal” tariffs plus 20% already imposed for China’s alleged role in the fentanyl crisis. Former US treasury secretary Janet Yellen said Trump’s tariffs were “the worst self-inflicted wound that I have ever seen an administration impose on a well-functioning economy”. She accused the US president of having “taken a wrecking ball” to the American economy. China said Trump’s trade war with Beijing “will end in failure” for Washington. Beijing’s retaliatory 84% tariffs on US imports came into effect on Thursday. Its foreign ministry said it was not interested in a fight “but will not fear if the United States continues its tariff threats”. In other developments: The Dow was down 2.5% by Thursday’s end after soaring on Wednesday afternoon. The Nasdaq Composite was down more than 4%, after posting its biggest gain in more than two decades on Wednesday, and the S&P 500 down 3.4%. Stocks seemed unresponsive to news on Thursday morning that the European Union announced it would suspend 25% retaliatory tariffs against US imports and new data showed inflation in the US cooled to 2.4% in March – both typically cause for optimism on Wall Street – reflecting the market’s apparent state of fatigue after a rollercoaster week, report Anna Betts and Lauren Aratani. The US president said he would “love” to make a deal with China, and that he believed he and Chinese president Xi Jinping would “end up working out something that’s very good for both countries”. China has said it will immediately restrict imports of Hollywood films in retaliation for the US president’s escalation of US tariffs on Chinese imports, targeting one of the most high-profile American exports. Beijing’s National Film Administration said Trump’s tariffs would further sour domestic demand for US cinema in China and it would “moderately reduce the number of American films imported”. The move comes after three decades during which China imported 10 Hollywood movies a year. Industry analysts said the financial impact was likely to be minimal, however, because Hollywood’s box office returns in China have declined significantly in recent years, Reuters reported. Trump is facing accusations of market manipulation over a Truth Social post on Wednesday where he said it was a “great time to buy” just hours before he made a dramatic U-turn on his trade war that led to big rises in stock markets around the world. The European Union and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to launch free trade talks. The EU is the UAE’s second-largest trading partner, accounting for 8.3% of the Emirati total non-oil trade.
Author: Kalyeena Makortoff (now) and Adam Fulton (earlier)