The mother of all trade deals' comes months after the United States slapped tariffs on India and the European Union. One of the biggest trade deals in history has been struck by India and the European Union, months after United States President Donald Trump hit both with tariffs. What's in the agreement and how much is driven by Washington's unpredictable measures?
By now we have grown accustomed to Trumps strategy of threatening nations with tariffs in a bid to get what he wants, but this occasion appears to have taken it a step too far. For many of the European leaders, this is a warning sign that their US partners are no longer reliable for as long as Trump is in power.
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
We knew the story of the international rules-based order was partially false. That the strongest would exempt themselves when convenient. That trade rules were enforced asymmetrically. ... That international law applied with varying rigor depending on the identity of the accused or the victim,
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground.
Donald Trump's threat to impose fresh tariffs on eight European countries UK, Norway and six EU member states is a wrecking ball to the carefully stitched deals he concluded with those countries last summer. The two biggest voting blocs in the European parliament, the European People's Party (EPP) and the Socialists & Democrats (S&Ds), said on Saturday night the deal with the EU cannot be approved in the present circumstances.
The first year of Donald Trump's second term has been anything but calm amid a flurry of executive orders by the US president targeting alleged "opponents" at home and abroad, and negatively affecting transatlantic trade and business. Trump's so-calledLiberation Day announcement of "reciprocal tariffs" last April shocked governments and companies alike across the world, as did his crackdown on corporate diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Less than a year ago, automakers found themselves on the cusp of tariff hell. Car companies were suddenly hit with a gut-punch of tariffs on their supply chains and completed vehicles. The U.S. imposed some hefty import duties on all things China in the hopes of protecting domestic manufacturers. Now President Trump is welcoming Chinese cars into the U.S.as long as they build them here.
2026 is already shaping up to be a challenging year. Soft seasonal peak sales through November and December last year and increased staffing costs don't give a sturdy foundation for retailers and manufacturers to build on. However, there are some significant gains to be made, especially around tech improvements. In fact, Parcelhero will be unveiling its own AI-powered tracking and messaging services this year for individuals and growing businesses.
The deal, which comes as Brussels seeks new markets to offset US tariffs and reduce reliance on China for critical minerals, will open free trade with four South American countries. European Union ambassadors have given a provisional nod to the bloc's largest-ever agreement in terms of erased tariffs, opening the way to free trade with the Mercosur group of South American countries.
A report on the company's wholesale and retail sales reveals both decreased in the third quarter of fiscal year 2026 (FY26). Wholesales were down 43.3% compared to Q3 FY25 (at approximately 59,200 units), while retail sales were down 25.1% (at approximately 79,600 units). Although the report states this decrease was partially influenced by a "planned wind down of legacy Jaguar models ahead of the launch of new Jaguar," it also notes that production disruption caused by the previous year's cyberattack impacted these numbers.
Every morning at 7am, women gather outside clothing factories in Maseru, the capital of the southern African mountain kingdom of Lesotho, hoping to be offered work. However, since Donald Trump imposed swingeing global tariffs in April 2025, those opportunities have been fewer and farther between. Moleboheng Matsepe lost her full-time job sewing sports leggings for the California brand Fabletics in 2023. She was initially able to pick up three-month contracts, but has not had any work since September.
Copper had its best year since 2009, fueled by near-term supply tightness and bets that demand for the metal key in electrification will outpace production. The red metal has notched a series of all-time highs in an end-of-year surge, rallying 42% on the London Metal Exchange this year. That makes it the best performer of the six industrial metals on the bourse. Prices dipped 1.1% Wednesday, the last trading day of 2025.
Since returning to the White House in January, President Donald Trump has overturned decades of U.S. trade policy - building a wall of tariffs around what used to be a wide open economy. His double-digit taxes on imports from almost every country have disrupted global commerce and strained the budgets of consumers and businesses worldwide. They have also raised tens of billions of dollars for the U.S. Treasury.
The Scottish whisky market has slipped into a supply glut as US tariffs and falling demand weigh on the country's distilleries. Global scotch sales fell 3% in the first half of 2025, marking the third consecutive year of decline after decades of growth, according to the alcohol data provider IWSR. The slowdown comes as distilleries grapple with uncertainty around Donald Trump's trade tariffs, as well as declining rates of alcohol consumption.
The global fashion industry is bracing for 2026, navigating a market defined by geopolitical instability, macroeconomic uncertainty, and, above all, unprecedented U.S. tariffs. As leaders pivot from focusing on "uncertainty" to acknowledging the environment is simply "challenging," tariffs have emerged as the number one hurdle facing executives. The severity of the trade landscape cannot be overstated, executives told McKinsey and the Business of Fashion for the 2026 edition of the "State of Fashion" report.
Just about every major exporting economy was hit by U.S. President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs in April. Malaysia was no exception, getting a 24% "reciprocal tariff" on its exports to the U.S. which, while perhaps not as catastrophic a level as some of its neighbors, still posed a significant threat to the Southeast Asian economy. Yet, Malaysia's government took a more measured response to new U.S. protectionism.
Hundreds of General Motors employees took to the sidewalk outside the CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ont., on Wednesday to call on the automotive company to find a new vehicle for production at the plant. The workers, represented by Unifor Local 88, want clarity soon on the future of production after last week's announcement that the CAMI plant would no longer be involved in the BrightDrop electric delivery van.
