US and China holding talks on trade war, Trump says after Beijing rebuttal

The US and China held talks on Thursday to help resolve the trade war between the world’s two largest economies, Donald Trump said.“We may reveal it later, but they had meetings this morning, and we’ve been meeting with China,” the US president told reporters at the White House.China had earlier hit back against Trump’s previous claim to be close to a trade deal with Beijing.Trump had buoyed markets by suggesting on Wednesday that the US was “actively” negotiating with Beijing, and pointing to hopes of a deal that would “substantially” reduce tariffs, now set at 145%, on goods coming into the US from China.The Chinese commerce ministry’s spokesperson He Yadong said there were “currently no economic and trade negotiations between China and the United States”

Nissan warns of £4bn loss as costs rise and Trump tariffs loom

Nissan says it expects to lose as much as £4bn this year because a turnaround plan will be more costly than expected.The predicted loss at Japan’s third-largest carmaker is almost 10 times the figure it had previously guided.Nissan has been struggling for several years with leadership turmoil and falling profits. Its latest efforts to turn around the business include making deep cost cuts, but the car industry is facing deep uncertainty over the direct and indirect effects of Donald Trump’s tariffs.Nissan said it expected lower sales this year of 3

IMF urges global leaders to resolve trade tensions rapidly, as China tells US to ‘cancel all unilateral tariffs’ – as it happened

IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva is urging global leaders to resolve trade tensions rapidly.Speaking at a press conference to discuss her Global Policy Agenda, Georgieva warns that the world economy is facing “a new and major test”, at a time where its policy buffers are depleted after the shocks of recent years.That puts countries in a difficult position, Georgieva says, and also creates “urgency for action”.She says there are three “overarching priorities”, starting with ending the trade war that Donald Trump ignited this year.Georgieva says:First and most urgent [is] for countries to work constructively to resolve trade tensions as swiftly as possible, preserving openness and removing uncertainty

Magnum and Ariel makers say prices may rise further amid tariff pressures

The companies that make leading brands including Magnum ice-creams, Nescafé coffee and Ariel washing liquid have indicated that more price increases could be on the way as ingredient costs rise amid Donald Trump’s tariff war.Procter & Gamble, whose products include Pampers nappies and Oral-B toothpaste as well as Ariel, said new US tariffs could cost it up to $1.5bn (£1.1bn) a year, forcing it to put up prices again on top of a 1% year-on-year rise in the first three months of 2025. Prices of the group’s beauty products, which include Olay and Pantene, rose 3% in the quarter

IMF chief urges US to strike trade deals swiftly to limit damage to global economy

IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva has urged the US to strike trade deals urgently to limit the damage to the global economy from Donald Trump’s tariff policies.Speaking at a press conference at the IMF’s spring meetings in Washington, Georgieva declined to criticise the US administration directly; but warned that what she called “major trade policy shifts” had “spiked uncertainty off the charts”.“A trade policy settlement among the main players is essential, and we are urging them to do it swiftly, because uncertainty is very costly,” she said.“I cannot stress this strongly enough: without certainty, businesses do not invest, households prefer to save rather than to spend – and this further weakens prospects for already weakened growth.”Financial markets were buoyed earlier this week by signs of softening in Trump’s stance on trade, with the president suggesting he believed a deal with China was possible, that could result in significantly lower tariffs than the current 145%

US drug firm Merck says existing Trump tariffs will cost it $200m this year

The US pharmaceutical company Merck has said it expects to pay an extra $200m (£150m) in costs this year from tariffs that Donald Trump has already imposed, including his 10% tax on imports from around the world.Merck said the projected costs also included retaliatory tariffs imposed by foreign governments on the US, particularly those related to China.However, the projections do not account for threatened “major” tariffs that could be imposed just on pharmaceutical imports. The Trump administration opened a 21-day national security investigation into the industry earlier this month, seen as a first step to the imposition of levies in the coming weeks.The US president has promised to repatriate jobs and taxes he believes the pharma companies are dodging by manufacturing drugs consumed in the US elsewhere in the world including Ireland, where Merck has a base, which he has singled out for criticism