Here is European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announcing the EU’s countermeasures this morning.As of this morning, the United States is applying a 25% tariff on imports of steel and aluminium.We deeply regret this measure.Tariffs are taxes.They are bad for business and worse for consumers.

They are disrupting supply chains,They bring uncertainty for the economy,Jobs are at stake,Prices up,Nobody needs that on both sides, neither in the European Union nor in the United States.

The European Union must act to protect consumers and business.She said the counter measures “are strong but proportionate”.As the United States is applying tariffs worth $28bn, the EU is responding with countermeasures worth €26bn.She added:In the meantime, we will always remain open to negotiations.Donald Trump has begun another trade war, announcing 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports into the United States.

This prompted countermeasures from the European Union and Canada, while Australia, the UK and other countries held back from announcing retaliatory action.European stock markets have rallied, cheered by hopes of a ceasefire in Ukraine.Keep up with the latest news on our US and UK politics live blogs:Thank you for reading.We’ll be back tomorrow.Bye! – JKCanada is retaliating with its own tariffs, from tomorrow.

In response to 25% tariffs imposed by Donald Trump on Canadian steel and aluminum imports, Canada’s finance minister, Dominic LeBlanc, says his country will tomorrow retaliate with levies of the same amount on almost $30bn in imports from the United States.LeBlanc said at a press conferenceI am announcing that the government of Canada, following a dollar for dollar approach, will be imposing, as of 12.01am, tomorrow, March 13, 2025, 25% reciprocal tariffs on an additional $29.8bn of imports from the United States.This includes steel products worth $12.

6bn and aluminum products worth $3bn, as well as additional imported US goods worth $14.2bn for a total of $29.8bn.The list of additional products affected by counter-tariffs includes computers, sports equipment and cast iron products, as examples.It’s easy to forget that all countries are affected by US tariffs.

Brazil’s finance minister Fernando Haddad said that the South American country will not immediately retaliate against tariffs imposed by the United States on steel and aluminium imports, instead seeking negotiations.The relief rally on Wall Street, sparked by a dip in US inflation, is petering out.The Dow Jones is now down 0.7%, the S&P 500 is flat and the Nasdaq, which rose 1.8% earlier, is only 0.

7% ahead.Here in Europe, the German and Italian equity markets are still more than 1% ahead while the French bourse has pared gains to trade 0.3% higher.The UK’s FTSE 100 index in London has edged 0.2% higher.

The dollar is having a better day after trading on Tuesday close to the four-month low it hit last Friday, rising by 0,3% against the basket of other major currencies,The pound is down a tad at $1,2939 while the euro is also slightly lower on the day, but back above the $1,09 level, at $1.

0908.Speaking at prime minister’s questions in parliament, Sir Keir Starmer didn’t rule out retaliatory tariffs against the US.I am disappointed to see global tariffs in relation to steel and aluminium, but we will take a pragmatic approach.We are… negotiating an economic deal which covers and will include tariffs if we succeed.But we will keep all options on the table.

You can read more on our politics live blog:Canada is to hit back at Donald Trump’s 25% steel and aluminium tariffs with $20.7bn in retaliatory tariffs, Associated Press reported, citing a senior Canadian government official.The EU has also announced retaliatory trade action with new duties on US industrial and farm products, responding within hours to the Washington’s increase in tariffs on all global steel and aluminium imported into the US to 25%.Canada is the largest foreign supplier of steel and aluminium to the US.BREAKING: Canada will announce more than $20 billion in retaliatory tariffs in response to U.

S.President Donald Trump's metal tariffs, AP sources say.https://t.co/OHfmfwWa7JWhile US interest rate cuts are uncertain despite the dip in inflation today, the Bank of Canada has taken action.It reduced its policy rate by a quarter of a percentage points to 2.

75% from 3%,The central bank is worried about the impact of US tariffs on the Canadian economy,It explains,The Canadian economy entered 2025 in a solid position, with inflation close to the 2% target and robust GDP growth,However, heightened trade tensions and tariffs imposed by the United States will likely slow the pace of economic activity and increase inflationary pressures in Canada.

The economic outlook continues to be subject to more-than-usual uncertainty because of the rapidly evolving policy landscape.Bank of Canada reduces policy rate by 25 basis points to 2¾%https://t.co/ZnFzJbHkJV#economy #cdneconBritishAmerican Business, a transatlantic trade and business group, representing more than 470 companies on both sides of the Atlantic, has responded to the US tariffs on steel and aluminium.Its chief executive Duncan Edwards said:The new US administration has set out to be a pro-business, pro-growth government and there is much in its agenda that our members will be encouraged by.However, imposing tariffs on a close trading partner like the UK does not feel helpful to either country.

Rather than fostering economic growth, these measures introduce unnecessary friction in a strong and mutually beneficial trade relationship.We welcome the UK government’s decision not to introduce its own retaliatory tariffs, and we hope discussions between the two governments can help reduce trade and investment barriers, strengthen economic ties, and ensure businesses on both sides of the Atlantic can thrive.While US inflation has cooled, US tariffs threaten to push price growth higher again in coming months, warned James Knightley, chief international economist at ING.He said:Good news on inflation, but the fact it was overwhelmingly caused by falling airfares has muted the market reaction.Tariff fears are already seeing companies nudging prices higher and risk higher inflation readings over the summer.

There has been a bit of a relief rally on Wall Street following the slowdown in US inflation.The Dow Jones has edged 0.1% higher while the tech-heavy Nasdaq is 1.7% ahead and the S&P 500 index gained 0.7%.

Over here, European stock markets have notched up chunky gains despite the looming trade war between the United States and the European Union.Sentiment has been lifted by hopes of a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine – although Russia is yet to respond to the proposal agreed by the US and Ukraine.The German, French and Italian indices are between 1.2% and 1.8% higher.

The UK’s FTSE 100 index is only 0.3% ahead, up 25 points at 8,521.The dollar has strengthened today following days of selling pressure sparked by “Trumpcession” fears.The greenback is trading 0.4% higher against a basket of major currencies.

Sterling is down a smidgen at $1.29340 while the euro has lost 0.3%, dipping back below $1.09 to $1.0890.

Daniela Sabin Hathorn, senior market analyst at the trading platform Capital,com, said:Consumer inflation has softened in February,That is the key takeaway from the latest data released on Wednesday,Both headline and core CPI came in lower than expected at 2,8% and 3.

1% respectively.Additionally, both monthly readings also dropped from the previous month and came in below expectations at 0.2%.As anticipated, the initial market reaction was a relief rally in US equities, accompanied by a weaker US dollar and lower yields.However, this momentum has struggled to sustain itself.

The dollar and yields have rebounded from their initial knee-jerk declines, turning higher, while equity indices have found limited buying interest to push significantly higher.“Not as good as it looks” – is the verdict on the drop in US inflation from Thomas Ryan, North America economist at Capital Economics.The softer 0.23% month on month rise in core CPI in February is not as encouraging at it looks, as the components which feed into the Fed’s preferred PCE price index rose more sharply.While it will depend a lot on the producer price index (PPI) data tomorrow, our preliminary calculations point to another above-target consistent 0.

3% month on month gain in the core PCE deflator last month.Core CPI inflation was pulled down by some much smaller gains in hospital services and motor vehicle insurance, as well as a sharp 4% month-on-month decline in airfares.None of those feed into PCE, however, although we assume that the PPI data tomorrow will also show at least moderate declines in the key airfare components.Otherwise, food at home prices were broadly unchanged despite another 10% surge in egg prices.With energy prices also better behaved on the month, this led to a relatively soft 0.

22% month-on-month rise in headline CPI, pulling down the annual rate to 2,8%, from 3,0%,The upshot is that, absent a huge downside surprise in the PPI data tomorrow, inflation is still running too hot for the Fed to consider cutting interest rates,At next week’s meeting, we expect the Fed to reiterate that it is in no hurry to loosen policy again