Donald Trump could offer some countries tariffs of less than 10pc, the White House economic adviser has said.
Kevin Hassett, who is the director of the National Economic Council, said that nations offering good deals may be able to secure tariffs below the baseline.
Mr Hassett told CNBC: “We have seen that 10pc is a place that a lot of people have been pushed to, and I would guess that if they come in with good enough offers they’ll stay there or perhaps even below.
“But if they come in with retaliation and they don’t open their markets to US goods, then it will go the other way.”
The remarks signal a significant shift in Mr Trump’s position on tariffs. The US President described 10pc as “a floor” in April, although he said there “could be a couple of exceptions”.
The remarks threaten to take the shine off Sir Keir Starmer’s trade deal with the US President, which adheres to 10pc tariffs for nearly all goods.
They are the clearest sign yet that Mr Trump’s stance on the 10pc baseline is not firm as he has let on.
The economic advisor also dismissed concerns from chief executives about the hit from tariffs during the interview, saying they were just using it as a negotiating ploy.
Mr Hassett said: “Everyone is trying to make it seem like it is a catastrophe if there is a tiny little tariff on them.”
His comments come after Mr Trump on Sunday delayed plans to hit the EU with 50pc tariffs after a phone call with Ursula von der Leyen.
Mr Hassett described the conversation as a warm chat that “was almost like friend-to-friend.”
Read the latest updates below.
Global stocks markets rose on Tuesday after Donald Trump delayed punitive tariffs on EU goods.
In New York, the S&P 500 surged 1.7pc, the Nasdaq gained 2.1pc and the Dow Jones rose 1.4pc.
In Europe, Germany’s Dax closed up 1pc, which the Cac 40 finished flat. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up 0.5pc.
In the UK, the FTSE 100 added 0.7pc, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 rose 1.1pc.
Wasif Latif, chief investment officer at Sarmaya Partners in New Jersey, said: “It was good news over the weekend, at least for the market, with the 30-day extra time frame for the EU trade tariff negotiation deadline. I guess the market was happy about that.”
Donald Trump’s social media company plans to raise about $2.5bn (£1.9bn) with an eye to creating a “Bitcoin treasury”.
Trump Media & Technology Group, which operates the Truth Social site, said that it has entered into deals with around 50 institutional investors.
Under these agreements, the company agreed to issue and sell about $1.5bn in shares and $1bn in a type of debt known as convertible senior secured notes.
Trump Media’s stock price is down 9pc today.
Devin Nunes, the chief executive of Trump Media, said: “We view Bitcoin as an apex instrument of financial freedom, and now Trump Media will hold cryptocurrency as a crucial part of our assets.”
He added that the investment will “help defend our Company against harassment and discrimination by financial institutions.”
Mr Trump has vowed to make the United States the “crypto capital of the world.”
The US president’s newfound enthusiasm for digital currencies has expanded into multiple ventures led primarily by his sons.
A successful trade agreement between India and the US could energise its exports, India’s finance ministry has said.
“A successful US-India trade agreement could flip current headwinds into tailwinds, opening up new market access and energising exports,” the ministry’s monthly economic review said.
New Delhi is seeking to clinch a trade deal with the US within the 90-day pause on tariff hikes announced by Donald Trump on April 9 for major trading partners, which includes a 26pc tariff on imports from India.
The price of a barrel of oil has dropped as much as 1.6pc today to a low of $63.70 as the Opec+ cartel of products looks set to boost production.
A likely hike in production in July has been a stronger force in the markets today than a thaw in Donald Trump’s trade war, which points to greater demand – which would normally push up prices.
Opec+ members plan to discuss the July output level this Saturday.
Opec+ will meet on Saturday to discuss an output hike for July – Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
A US central banker has said that uncertainty from Donald Trump’s tariff war and over domestic taxes had caused businesses to pause hiring and delay investment decisions.
Tom Barkin, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, told Bloomberg Television: “They do think there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, that there will be some certainty, whether it’s the tax bill or some of the trade terms, but I think they’re just waiting it out.”
He added: “Consumer sentiment, which historically has been strongly correlated with consumer spending, has not seemed to be for the last two or three years. Nothing I’m seeing in the real time spending data suggests that spending is dropping.”
Richmond Fed president Tom Barkin said businesses believe there is ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ – Seth Wenig/AP Photo
Wall Street is rising this afternoon after Donald Trump postponed his threatened 50pc tariffs on EU imports. The moved has defused some of the trade tensions between the United States and the European bloc and boosted investor sentiment.
Joe Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading, said: “The negotiating style of President Trump is known by now. It will come at you hard and then they’ll be able to pull back a little bit.”
Global markets are mostly up today, although rises in US and UK shares are more pronounced as traders returned after their long weekends.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose is up 1.1pc, the S&P 500 is up 1.5pc and the Nasdaq is up 2pc.
In London, the FTSE 100 is up 0.9pc while the FTSE 250 is up 1.2pc.
Most Wall Street megacap and growth stocks jumped with Nvidia, up about 2.9pc, leading gains. The AI bellwether is set to report quarterly earnings after markets close on Wednesday.
Wall Street shares bounced this afternoon after Donald Trump delayed huge tariffs on imports from the EU – Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images
Consumer confidence in the United States has improved this month after deteriorating for five straight months amid a truce in the trade war between Washington and China.
The Conference Board said on Tuesday its consumer confidence index increased 12.3 points to 98.0 this month.
However, households continued to worry about tariffs raising prices and hurting the economy.
About half of the responses were collected after May 12, when the White House announced a deal to slash duties on Chinese imports to 30pc from 145pc for 90 days.
Stephanie Guichard, an economist at the Conference Board, said: “The rebound was already visible before the May 12 US-China trade deal but gained momentum afterwards.
“Write-in responses on what topics are affecting views of the economy revealed that tariffs are still on top of consumers’ minds.”
American companies have cut their levels of investment after Donald Trump’s on-and-off threats of tariffs hit confidence.
New orders for key US-manufactured capital goods plunged in April, suggesting business spending on equipment weakened at the start of the second quarter.
Figures from the US Commerce Department this afternoon also showed shipments of these goods falling last month. Economists said Mr Trump’s flip-flopping on trade was making it difficult for businesses to plan ahead. That has been evident in the deterioration in sentiment among businesses.
Stephen Stanley, an economist at Santander US Capital Markets, said: “I have predicted for months that business investment will be the main driver of a softer economic performance this year, as executives postpone their capital projects until they have more clarity on policy.
“These data offer the first confirming evidence of that hypothesis.”
Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, tumbled 1.3pc last month after a 0.3pc gain in March, the data showed.
Donald Trump has pledged to boost US manufacturing – Evan Vucci/AP Photo
Wall Street stocks jumped upon opening, as traders were encouraged by Donald Trump’s retreat on EU tariffs.
The blue chip S&P 500 index rose by as much as 1.2pc, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose by 1.3pc.
The Dow climbed by 0.9pc.
The US President wrote on his social media platform that he was pleased to hear that EU officials have already been in touch to agree dates for negotiating a deal.
Mr Trump said he hoped the bloc would “open up the European Nations for Trade with the United States of America”.
It comes after he on Sunday delayed plans to hit Brussels with tariffs of 50pc, giving the bloc until early July to negotiate a better outcome.
British retailers’ confidence has made the steepest dive in five years, after facing pressures from Rachel Reeves’ £26bn employer tax raid and uncertainty sparked by Donald Trump’s trade war.
A survey from the Confederation of British Industry found far more retailers expect their situation to worsen in the next three months than improve, at a net score of 29 percentage points – up from 19 points in February.
Retailers reported poor sales in May. They also expected a decline in staff numbers to accelerate, the survey found.
Ben Jones, lead economist at the CBI, said: “Firms are also feeling the impact of higher National Insurance contributions and the National Living Wage increase. Our quarterly survey suggests that retailers are cutting back on hiring, scaling back investment and expect to increase selling prices at the fastest pace for over a year.”
The world’s largest bank has cut the chances of a US recession from 60pc to 40pc after Donald Trump struck a deal with China
It means JP Morgan no longer thinks a recession is the most likely outcome for Mr Trump, after the world’s two biggest economies agreed to a truce.
The deal between Mr Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping means the US will lower additional tariffs from 145pc to 30pc, while China’s tariffs on some imports will be slashed from 125pc to 10pc.
JP Morgan analysts said: “We no longer see a recession as the baseline scenario, although the macro outlook remains fragile.”
While Britain struggles to shake off high inflation, in France consumer prices are now rising at the slowest pace since December 2020.
Prices were only 0.6pc higher in May than a year earlier, raising the prospect of interest rate cuts on the continent.
The fall was driven by a 8.1pc drop in energy costs. It is part of a wider trend across the eurozone, with inflation expected to be below the 2pc central bank target in all of the largest economies.
The European Central Bank has cut its benchmark rate seven times in the last year from 4pc to 2.25pc.
In contrast, the Bank of England’s base rate is still at 4.25pc, with analysts warning there may only be one cut this year.
European stocks are off to another strong day boosted by defence companies, as the market digests the news of Mr Trump’s tariff retreat.
The STOXX 600 index of the largest firms across the continent rose by as much as 0.5pc, after closing 1pc higher on Monday.
Britain’s largest defence company BAE Systems was trading 3pc higher, while the French aerospace and defence giant Thales was up 1.9pc and Airbus received a 1.6pc boost.
Europe’s manufacturing powerhouse is headed for the longest downturn in its post-war history, as Donald Trump’s looming tariffs threaten disaster.
Germany’s economy is poised to shrink by 0.3pc in 2025, as it struggles to shake itself out of slump fuelled by weak demand in China and trade tensions.
The boss of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which made the forecasts, warned the new government must step up to avoid another “lost year”.
Helena Melnikov said: “This reinforces our fear that economic output will fall for the third year in a row for the first time in Germany’s post-war history. We must do everything we can to ensure that this is not a lost year.”
Germany’s export-focused economy is particularly vulnerable to trade tensions, with the US its biggest trade partner.
Many fear Mr Trump’s looming 50pc tariffs that will take effect in July if the EU cannot reach a deal would trigger mass job losses in Germany’s already struggling industrial heartlands.
Agustin Carstens, general manager of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), speaks during a conference hosted by the Bank of Japan’s Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies in Tokyo
Debt-bloated governments must get their finances under control or risk losing public trust in the financial system, the head of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has warned.
Agustín Carstens, who is the head of the bank for central banks, said in a speech:
It is essential for fiscal authorities to curb the relentless rise in public debt. The low interest rate environment that followed the global financial crisis flattered fiscal accounts. Large deficits and high debt seemed sustainable, allowing fiscal authorities to avoid hard choices.
The warning comes as concern over the bulging US deficit is growing, after Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax cut bill passed through Congress.
Andrew Bailey and his panel of rate-setters will refrain from cutting interest rates from 4.25pc for half a year, analysts warn in a blow to borrowers.
Britain’s sticky inflation fuelled by Rachel Reeves’ £26bn employer raid and an inflation-busting minimum wage hike will prevent policy-makers from cutting, Robert Wood and Elliott Jordan-Doak at Pantheon Macroeconomics said.
It comes after figures released this morning showed food inflation rising to 2.8pc in the year to May.
They warned: “The UK environment is more inflationary than before the pandemic. Only one more rate cut this year looks fair.“
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