Elon Musk reveals hopes for 'free trade zone' between Europe and US | Tariffs latest

We're now going to bring you part of a report from our US partner NBC News.

It reported on the anxieties and frustrations US retirees, and soon-to-be retirees, are facing after Donald Trump's tariffs.

The US president's announcement in the Rose Garden triggered days of market turmoil that hit people's 401(k)s - their retirement plans.

NBC reported some had paused making big purchases and home renovations, while others feared they may have to come out of retirement if things got worse.

Paula, 68, is a former occupational health professional in New Jersey who retired three years ago.

She said: "I'm just kind of stunned, and with so much money in the market, we just sort of have to hope we have enough time to recover."

She added: "What we've been doing is trying to enjoy the time that we have, but you want to be able to make it last.

"I have no confidence here."

Trump fulfilled his campaign promises this week, unleashing his tariffs on the world, leaving Wall Street reeling.

Victor Fettes, from Georgia, retired last week aged 54.

He claimed to have lost $58,000 (£44,931) on Thursday and Friday alone.

He had worked as a senior director of risk management and compliance.

"If that continues, I can't stay retired."

Keep calm and carry on like Sir Keir Starmer or roll up your sleeves and retaliate like Canada's Mark Carney?

That's the question facing world leaders hit by Donald Trump's tariffs this weekend.

Some may try and plot a third path - but the decision has left many scratching their heads.

Indonesia blinks

Indonesia is the latest country to make its decision on how it will respond to Trump.

A senior economic minister from Southeast Asia's largest economy said today that it would not realitate.

Airlangga Hartarto said in a statement that Indonesia would pursue diplomacy and negotiations instead to find mutually beneficial solutions. 

While many countries have said they are going to negotiate - it isn't abundantly clear how successful, if at all, these will be.

So far only one country has managed to get its world leader an invitation to sit down face-to-face with Trump.

Netanyahu flies to Washington

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is flying to Washington today.

He was invited by Trump to discuss the 17% tariff the US leader slapped its close ally with.

Keen to stress its closeness with Trump - a vital supporter of its war in Gaza - Israel said of the invite yesterday: "The PM appreciates the personal and warm ties with President Trump and thanks him for the invitation to be the first leader to meet with him following the imposition of global tariffs, just as he was the first leader to meet with him following his entering the White House."

We reported in our 10.36am post on the EU plotting its own response.

But expect this theme to dominate today and into early next week.

Much of today is likely to be countries gearing up for the week ahead.

The EU for example is readying to prepare a united front in the coming days against US President Donald Trump.

We heard from the German ambassador to the UK on Sky News this morning - see our 9.35am post - that EU trade ministers had been speaking this weekend, ahead of a meeting tomorrow.

The bloc will likely approve targeted counter measures against Trump on up to $28bn (£21.6bn) of US goods - from dental floss to diamonds.

Such a move would put the EU shoulder-to-shoulder with China and Canada in launching retaliatory actions against the US in what is shaping up to be a global trade war.

The 27-nation bloc faces a 25% import tariff on steel and aluminium, and another 25% levy on cars, going into the US.

Then from Wednesday, it is going to be hit with a receiprocal 20% tariff.

Trump's tariffs cover some 70% of the EU's exports to the United States - worth in total €532bn (£451bn) last year - with likely duties on copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and timber still to come.

The European Commission will propose to members late on Monday a list of US products it could hit with extra duties.

This could include US meat, cereals, wine, wood, diamonds and clothing as well as chewing gum, dental floss and toilet paper.

A (dis)united EU?

Among the EU members, there is a spectrum of opinion on how to respond.

France has said the EU should work on a package going well beyond tariffs.

President Emmanuel Macron has suggested European companies should suspend investments in the US until "things are clarified".

Then, Ireland, who sends almost a third of its exports to the US, has called for a "considered and measured" response.

Meanwhile, the EU's third largest exporter to the US, Italy, has questioned whether the EU should hit back at all.

It's right-wing government has looked to closen ties to Trump in the past.

"It's a difficult balance. Measures cannot be too soft to bring the United States to the table, but not too tough to lead to escalation," one EU diplomat said.

Yesterday, we brought you the news that British automobile giant Jaguar Land Rover had paused shipments to the US.

The decision was made, the company said, in light of Donald Trump's tariffs. 

Analysts have now warned other British carmakers may follow suit as the industry faces increasing pressure.

"I expect similar stoppages from other producers as firms take stock of what is unfolding," said David Bailey, an automotive industry expert and professor of business economics at the University of Birmingham. 

Around 77% of the 779,584 vehicles made in the UK last year were destined for export.

UK factories export the likes of Nissans, BMWs and Minis, Toyotas as well as Jaguar and Land Rover models.

"The industry is already facing multiple headwinds and this... comes at the worst possible time," Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said in the week. 

Ahead of the tariffs, UK carmakers built up stockpiles in the US.

"This was manufacturers like JLR trying to get ahead of the game in terms of getting inventory to the US before the tariffs were implemented," Bailey said.

Donald Trump has long trumpeted his own abilities to make deals.

Some have asked if the tariff enslaught is a tactic for him to crack open countries to make more deals.

Former UK chief trade negotiator Sir Crawford Falconer has spoken to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips about this idea.

When asked if Donald Trump's tariffs were a negotiating tactic or were here to say Sir Crawford said: "To be honest it's not clear."

 He went on: "I suspect to some degree it's not definitively decided. It's true if you watch the Rose Garden performance, the tone was that he was making promises to his domestic base that he was going to protect them.

"He may feel if he does deals, he can still sell that to that base, but the tenor of the presentation would make you a little gloomy that they are here to stay.

"His chief advisers have been out saying: 'Hey we're not doing deals.'

"But the model of this president in the past is that he's deal-osbsessed.

"My view on these things being a grimy old trade negotiator is that you test it. You see what it is.

"If these are here to stay, then you have to go for a different tactic."

UK role

And what could this different tactic be?

In lieu of the US, the UK could play an important role building up trade relations with other partners, Sir Crawford said.

He explained: "The role of the UK, in advancing trade liberalisation with others, will become important.

"At the moment you have to put emphasis on the US to see where you are.

"But I think you then start directing your efforts to find a way to get other countries to come and join a more liberalising agenda."

A new trading bloc?

The eventual end state of that could look like building up liberalised free trade with other countries - excluding protectionist nations like the US and possibly China too.

Sir Crawford said: "You [the US] want to protect yourself? That's your decision. 

"The rest of us want to get on with liberalisation because we believe that's good for all of us.

"That sends a pretty powerful message and it's also got commercial benefits for us."

A not-so special relationship?

Much has been said of the so-called "special relationship" the US and UK allegedly share.

But it didn't stop Washington from hitting Britain with tariffs like everyone else.

Asked about US-UK relations, Sir Crawford said: "We got stiffed."

But he added: "Everybody also got stiffed as well."

"I certainly don't think you should be working on the assumption that we have some kind of absolutely favoured position," he said.

We're able to bring you a bit more reaction to Donald Trump's tariffs now.

On Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Berlin's man in London, ambassador Miguel Berger outlined the EU's next steps.

"We could laugh about it [the tariffs] but it's devestating," he told Sky News.

He added: "It's the biggest assault we have seen since the end of the Second World War on global trade and we'll all have to find a way to deal with it."

Berger explained that over the weekend, European trade ministers have been talking ahead of a meeting on Monday where they would make a decision on how to react.

The EU, Berger said, had decided to react to the steel and aluminium tariffs, but wanted to give negotiations over the 20% EU-specific tariff "some time".

"We might hear a little bit more [on Monday] but we want to give negotiations some more time," he said.

However, he was quick to add the bloc was still working out a list of possible counter measures and: "Yes, we are prepared to react."

"However we react, the end objective of any reaction is to get into negotiations," Berger added.

Tech target?

When asked if the EU would target big US tech firms, Berger didn't deny that as a possible path, but said: "With all the counter measures, you always have to take into account: do you hurt your own consumers?

"Instead of an Apple iPhone you can buy a Samsung phone.

"That means this is something the EU will take into account."

Much of this weekend has been dominated by the introduction of the baseline 10% tariffs.

US customs agents began collecting the levy yesterday morning.

But there's more on the way.

This week will be marked by the introduction of reciprocal tariffs for who Donald Trump called the "worst offenders".

In light of that, US and Vietnamese businesses have come together to ask the Trump administration to delay the planned 46% tariff on Vietnamese goods.

They warned the move will hurt them - repeating claims heard elsewhere.

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the American Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi expressed concern to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in a letter dated Saturday.

They said the tariff, which takes effect on Wednesday, was "shockingly high".

They added: "A fast and fair agreement would add certainty for businesses and would help to rectify the trade imbalance between the two countries in a manner that benefits both countries."

Ahead of the markets opening tomorrow, Darren Jones is speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips.

He said the UK is a "stable country with a clear policy and a strong government" and it will react to the Trump tariffs in a "cool-headed and calm way".

In short, he repeated the same message coming out from Number 10 since the tariffs began.

The minister added the PM was set to reveal more support for British businesses next week after working closely with them in response to the tariffs.

Jones said: "Keir has been clear that he's unhappy about the tariffs." 

Read more on the British political reaction to the Trump tariffs in our politics hub below...

Thousands of people hit the streets yesterday in protests against Donald Trump and his administration.

While the US president enjoyed a third day of golfing, every single state saw demonstrations.

They were targeting not just him, but also his most high-profile adviser Elon Musk.

Around 1,200 demonstrations were planned, including in Washington DC and West Palm Beach, Florida - just miles away from where Trump was teeing off.

The "Hands Off!" protests targeted not just the economy, but the administration's slashing of the federal government and actions against migrants, among other issues.

In Washington DC, as the crowds streamed on the grass in front of the Washington Monument, one person carried a sign which read: "Make democracy great again."

 A non-tariff-related story to bring you quickly.

Sarah Boardman is a British artist who painted an official portrait of Donald Trump hanging in Colorado's state capitol.

However, at the end of last month, Trump himself complained about the painting saying it had been "purposefully distorted".

Following that, officials took down the painting.

In a statement to Sky News, she said she felt her "intentions, integrity, and abilities" had been "called into question" when the president criticised the oil painting.

Read more on the backlash she's faced here...