Key occasions
Donald Trump has threatened Mexico with sanctions and tariffs in a dispute over water sharing between the 2 nations, accusing Mexico of breaking an 81-year-old treaty and “stealing the water from Texas farmers”.
Below the 1944 treaty, Mexico should ship 1.75 million acre-feet of water to the US from the Rio Grande by way of a community of interconnected dams and reservoirs each 5 years, Reuters experiences. An acre-foot of water is sufficient to fill about half an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
The present five-year cycle is up in October, however Mexico has despatched lower than 30% of the required water, in response to knowledge from the Worldwide Boundary and Water Fee.
Trump posted on his Fact Social platform on Thursday:
Mexico OWES Texas 1.3 million acre-feet of water below the 1944 Water Treaty, however Mexico is sadly violating their Treaty obligation.
My Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins, is standing up for Texas Farmers, and we are going to preserve escalating penalties, together with TARIFFS and, perhaps even SANCTIONS, till Mexico honors the Treaty, and GIVES TEXAS THE WATER THEY ARE OWED!
The workplace of Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Phillip Inman
Within the UK, customers stayed away from the excessive avenue in March, a state of affairs retailers stated might worsen if the financial gloom brought on by Donald Trump’s tariff warfare hits shopper confidence.
Footfall fell 5% in March to increase a downturn in February that retailers stated might be attributed to a current rise in inflation and strain on pay packets since a short revival throughout the January gross sales.
Out-of-town purchasing centres have been the worst hit, falling by 5.8%, although conventional excessive streets and retail parks additionally suffered a lack of gross sales after drops in footfall of 4% and 1.2% respectively.
The British Retail Consortium stated that whereas the affect of US tariffs on imported items was tough to calculate, it might have a chilling impact on folks’s willingness to spend, particularly on costly objects.
Helen Dickinson, the organisation’s chief government, stated:
World uncertainties ensuing from tariffs and a possible financial slowdown might cut back the urge for food for purchasing journeys within the coming months.
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Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 has fallen on opening a short time in the past, as anticipated, dropping 0.5% to 7,670.50 factors in early commerce after Wall Road’s sell-off in a single day.
ASX to open sharply decrease amid worsening commerce warfare

Jonathan Barrett
Australian shares are poised to open sharply decrease this morning, as issues about Donald Trump’s unsettling coverage shifts and deteriorating commerce relations between the world’s two largest economies take maintain.
Futures costs are pointing to a 1.6% fall within the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 to 7,590 factors when it opens later this morning, after a sell-off on Wall Road in a single day.
Buyers have needed to deal with wild swings this week triggered by modifications to the US tariff regime, with share costs pushed round by excessive bouts of reduction and worry.
Whereas some nations have loved a reprieve from their super-sized tariffs, Australia’s place, together with these of the UK and New Zealand, are unchanged given they continue to be topic to the US “baseline” 10% cost.
The White Home clarified in a single day that whole tariffs on China had been raised by 145% since Trump took workplace.
The Reserve Financial institution of Australia governor, Michele Bullock, stated final evening that an unsure and rocky path lay forward, saying “financial market and economic volatility can be expected as this process unfolds”.
The Australian greenback has recovered vital floor in current days, rising to US62.2c this morning, after threatening to plunge beneath the 59c barrier earlier this week.
Opening abstract
Good day and welcome to our reside enterprise protection because the shockwaves from Donald Trump’s tariffs strikes proceed to buffet international markets.
The US president has blamed “a transition cost, transition problems” as US markets continued to sink within the wake of his seesawing international tariffs technique and escalating commerce warfare with China.
“We think we’re in very good shape,” Trump stated on Thursday. “We think we’re doing very well. Again there will be a transition cost, transition problems, but in the end it’s going to be a beautiful thing.”
His remarks got here as US shares tumbled once more after a historic rally following Trump’s shock retreat on Wednesday on the hefty tariffs he had simply imposed on dozens of nations. He has as an alternative targeted on China, the place items now appeal to tariffs totalling 145% efficient instantly – 125% in “reciprocal” tariffs plus 20% already imposed for China’s alleged function within the fentanyl disaster.
Former US treasury secretary Janet Yellen stated Trump’s tariffs have been “the worst self-inflicted wound that I have ever seen an administration impose on a well-functioning economy”. She accused the US president of getting “taken a wrecking ball” to the American economic system.
China stated Trump’s commerce warfare with Beijing “will end in failure” for Washington. Beijing’s retaliatory 84% tariffs on US imports got here into impact on Thursday. Its international ministry stated it was not occupied with a battle “but will not fear if the United States continues its tariff threats”.
In different developments:
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The Dow was down 2.5% by Thursday’s finish after hovering on Wednesday afternoon. The Nasdaq Composite was down greater than 4%, after posting its largest acquire in additional than 20 years on Wednesday, and the S&P 500 down 3.4%.
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Shares appeared unresponsive to information on Thursday morning that the European Union introduced it could droop 25% retaliatory tariffs in opposition to US imports and new knowledge confirmed inflation within the US cooled to 2.4% in March – each sometimes trigger for optimism on Wall Road – reflecting the market’s obvious state of fatigue after a rollercoaster week, report Anna Betts and Lauren Aratani.
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The US president stated he would “love” to make a take care of China, and that he believed he and Chinese language president Xi Jinping would “end up working out something that’s very good for both countries”.
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China has stated it is going to instantly prohibit imports of Hollywood movies in retaliation for the US president’s escalation of US tariffs on Chinese language imports, concentrating on one of the vital high-profile American exports. Beijing’s Nationwide Movie Administration stated Trump’s tariffs would additional bitter home demand for US cinema in China and it could “moderately reduce the number of American films imported”. The transfer comes after three a long time throughout which China imported 10 Hollywood motion pictures a 12 months. Business analysts stated the monetary affect was prone to be minimal, nonetheless, as a result of Hollywood’s field workplace returns in China have declined considerably lately, Reuters reported.
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Trump is dealing with accusations of market manipulation over a Fact Social submit on Wednesday the place he stated it was a “great time to buy” simply hours earlier than he made a dramatic U-turn on his commerce warfare that led to large rises in inventory markets around the globe.
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The European Union and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to launch free commerce talks. The EU is the UAE’s second-largest buying and selling companion, accounting for 8.3% of the Emirati whole non-oil commerce.