Money blog: Trump throws another tariff shot at EU - as global trade war escalates (2025)

We're pausing our live coverage for today - thanks for following along.

But before we go, here's a recap of how events unfolded as Donald Trump fought his trade war on multiple fronts after his global tariff of 25% on steel and aluminium came into effect overnight.

• Trump's tariffs came into effect at 4am UK time and are designed to protect US manufacturing and bolster jobs by making foreign-made products less attractive;
• The European Union announced it will impose retaliatory tariffs affecting€26bn (£21.9bn) of US goods from 1 April - affecting steel and aluminium but also textiles, home appliances and agricultural goods;
• At PMQs at midday, Sir Keir Starmer said Britain would not hit back with any counter tariffs, but later said the government "will keep all options on the table";
• Canada also announced 25% retaliatory tariffs on US goods worthC$29.8bn (£16bn) from tomorrow;
• The US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, said Trump's economic policies are "worth it" - even if they lead to a recession;
• A surprise fall in US inflation meant a brighter day for stock markets after their falls in recent days;
• Donald Trump met Irish leader Michael Martin at the White House, where he singled out Ireland and accused the country of using its tax policies to lure away pharmaceutical and other companies from the US;
• Trump also said the US would respond to EU counter-tariffs, saying there was still a "massive deficit".

These are the tariffs Trump has enacted in his second term in office:

And here is how they will affect the UK:

ByStephen Murphy, Ireland correspondent, in the Oval Office

Well that went well. An Oval Office meeting that in any other St Patrick's week would have been regarded as almost unimaginably confrontational – this time round the Irish delegation will be floating on air.

Micheal Martin isthe first leader to step into the Oval Office since Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s verbal bloodbath, and you could forgive the Irish prime minister for being apprehensive.

The Irish government knew it was in the president's crosshairs – any small country boasting a huge trade surplus with the US was bound to be a target for this administration.

American figures put that surplus in goods at around €80bn (£73bn) last year, although Irish statisticians insist it was a mere €50m (£42m), still a record.

In the Oval Office, I managed to ask the president if Ireland was taking advantage of America.

"Of course they are," he replied.

But Donald Trump is at heart a businessman and it sounded more like a sneaking admiration.

"I have great respect for Ireland, and what they did," he said. "Ireland did exactly what they should have done," he continued, referencing the luring of lucrative US multinationals.

But he placed the blame firmly on "stupid" American leaders who "allowed" it to happen. Martin sat beside him, saying nothing.

The EU was set up to exploit America, Trump said. It was "abuse". Again and again, it was the Brussels bogeyman, not the Emerald Isle, that bore the brunt of his attack.

I asked if he would respond with more tariffs to the new EU tariffs.

"Of course," Trump responded.

After an anecdote about the lack of Chevrolets in Munich, I asked would he now consider tariffs on the crucial European car industry – he replied in the affirmative.

Martin sat beside him, saying nothing. The minutes ticked away… Ireland was left unscathed.

They finished with a discussion about the president’s Irish resort at Doonbeg in County Clare. President Trump lauded the Irish efficiency at approving an expansion plan, and decried the subsequent EU approval period of several years. Once again – Ireland good, Brussels bad.

There was so much nervousness in Irish government circles. Now they must be wondering what the fuss was all about.

British shares are on the rise after Ukraine said it was ready to sign a 30-day ceasefire with Russia.

It follows a a dip in the UK market yesterday, fuelled by concerns over how Donald Trump's tariffs could affect the economy.

As of the time of writing, the FTSE 100 has gained 0.5% - a day after it recorded its worst session in nearly two months.

Meanwhile, the pan-European STOXX 600 closed up 0.8% after four consecutive sessions of losses.

From "Canadianos" to cancelled trips to Las Vegas, our US correspondent Martha Kelner looks at how Canadians are hitting back over US tariffs.

You can read her full article here.

Wall Street stocks have been swaying between gains and losses in the aftermath of Donald Trump's steel tariffs, but shares have bounced back after Ukraine said it was ready to accept a 30-day ceasefire with Russia.

As of the time of writing, the S&P 500 was up 0.8% after completely losing an initial increase of 1.3% and then regaining some territory. It came a day after the index briefly fell more than 10% below its all-time high set last month.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fluctuated between a gain of 287 points and a loss of 423. It is now up 56 points, or 0.1%. The Nasdaq composite is 1.5% higher.

It remains to be seen how much pain Trump will let the economy suffer through tariffs and other policies in exchange for getting what he wants - manufacturing jobs back in the US, along with a smaller government workforce and mass deportations, among other measures.

Trump and Martin are still speaking to reporters at the Oval Office.

"The EU was set up in order to take advantage of the United States," Trump says.

Asked if Ireland is also taking advantage of the US, he says: "Of course they are... But the United States shouldn't have let that happen. We had stupid leaders, we had leaders who didn't have a clue.

"All of a sudden Ireland has our pharmaceutical companies, this beautiful island of five million people has got the entire US pharmaceutical industry in its grasps."

He says he would have put a 200% tariff on pharmaceutical companies going to Ireland "so you're never going to be able to sell anything into the United States".

"You know what they would have done? They would have stayed here."

Trump's comments reflect his views on trading with Canada and European countries in recent weeks - he's repeatedly said Canada is "ripping off" the US and that tariffs are part of his drive to end the "America last" global agenda.

He says in today's news conference that the US "has been abused but will be abused no longer".

Watch the news conference in the Oval Office here:

Donald Trump and Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin are continuing their news conference in the Oval Office.

Martin is in Washington DC for the annual St Patrick's Day meeting between the leaders of the two countries.

We told you earlier that Trump has singled out Ireland for its tax policies while speaking to reporters at the start of the meeting.

He has now told Martin that the US "doesn't want to do anything to hurt Ireland but we do want fairness".

Trump has also hit out at the European Union, accusing it of not buying American farm products and cars.

The meeting between the two men appears to be going well, with Trump referring to Martin as a "gentleman".

France, Spain and Italy reportedly allrequested that the European Commission exclude wine and spiritsfrom the list of US goods targeted with tariffs today.

That's according to an executivefrom a large European spirits producer.

The European Commission said it will impose "counter-measures" affecting €26bn (£21.9bn) of US goods from 1 April after US tariffs on steel and aluminium came into force today.

The levies will cover "products ranging from boats to bourbon to motorbikes", in addition to steel and aluminium goods such as pipes, tin foil and household products like cooking ware or window frames.

The European Commission said it launched a two-week consultation to "ensure that the right products are chosen for inclusion in the new countermeasures".

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU "must act to protect consumers and business".

Donald Trump has been speaking about tariffs at the start of a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin in the Oval Office.

He said the US will respond to European Union counter-tariffs introduced today.

The US president added that there is flexibility on tariffs at the moment, but this will stop once the tariffs are enforced.

There is still a "massive deficit", Trump says, but that the US is going to even it out.

The president also singled out Ireland, accusing the country of using its tax policies tolure away pharmaceutical and other companies from the UnitedStates.

"There's a massive deficit that we have with Ireland and with other countries too, and we want to sort of even that out as nicely as we can, and we'll work together," Trump said.

"But the deficit is massive."

Trump doubled down on his vow to impose reciprocal tariffsto help rebuild US manufacturing.

The UK is taking a "pragmatic approach" to the global metal tariffs imposed by the US, but is that the correct appraoch?

Business and economic correspondent Gurpreet Narwanhas been looking into the UK's imports and exports of aluminium and steel and why the UK government feels there are "bigger battles to fight" than Trump's tariffs.