US, UK sign trade deal at G7 summit
The deal was reached following bilateral negotiations on US tariffs in May. It includes increased access to British markets for US exports and the United Kingdom's reduction or elimination of non-tariff barriers against the United States.
Up to 100,000 UK-made automobiles a year will be subject to a 10 percent tariff, which includes the existing levy.
Trump told reporters on Monday, "It's a fair deal for both. And it produces a lot of jobs, a lot of income."
For UK-produced steel and aluminum products, the agreement calls for introducing a "tariff-rate quota" or reducing the tariffs to a low level. But no details were included, and discussions will reportedly continue.
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Japan Today
24 minutes ago
- Japan Today
US employers slash hiring as Trump advances a punishing trade agenda
By Paul Wiseman and Christopher Rugaber U.S. hiring is slowing sharply as President Donald Trump's erratic and radical trade policies paralyze businesses and raise doubts about the outlook for the world's largest economy. U.S. employers added just 73,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department reported Friday, well short of the 115,000 expected. Worse, revisions shaved a stunning 258,000 jobs off May and June payrolls. And the unemployment rate ticked higher to 4.2% as Americans dropped out of the labor force and the ranks of the unemployed rose by 221,000. 'A notable deterioration in U.S. labor market conditions appears to be underway,'' said Scott Anderson, chief U.S. economist at BMO Capital Markets. 'We have been forecasting this since the tariff and trade war erupted this spring and more restrictive immigration restrictions were put in place. Overall, this report highlights the risk of a harder landing for the labor market.'' Economists have been warning that the rift with every U.S. trading partner will begin to appear this summer and the Friday jobs report appeared to sound the bell. 'We're finally in the eye of the hurricane,' said Daniel Zhao, chief economist at Glassdoor. 'After months of warning signs, the July jobs report confirms that the slowdown isn't just approaching—it's here.' U.S. markets recoiled at the jobs report and the Dow tumbled more than 600 points Friday. But President Donald Trump responded to the weak report by calling for the firing of Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, which compiles the jobs numbers. 'I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,' Trump said on Truth Social. 'She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.' Trump questioned the big revisions, but they are a standard part of the monthly jobs report. The Labor Department revises its numbers as more data comes in. Particularly since COVID-19, responses to its surveys of businesses and households have declined, making the data more subject to revision. Revelations in the new data raise questions about the health of the job market and the economy as Trump pushes forward an unorthodox overhaul of American trade policy. Trump has discarded decades of U.S. efforts to lower trade barriers globally, instead, imposing hefty import taxes — tariffs — on products from almost every country on earth. Trump believes the levies will bring manufacturing back to America and raise money to pay for the massive tax cuts he signed into law July 4. Mainstream economists warned that the cost of the tariffs will be passed along to Americans, both businesses and households. That has begun. Walmart, Procter & Gamble, Ford, Best Buy, Adidas, Nike, Mattel, Shein, Temu, Stanley Black & Decker, have all hiked prices due to U.S. tariffs. Economists at Goldman Sachs estimate that overseas exporters have absorbed just one-fifth of the rising costs from tariffs, while Americans and U.S. businesses have picked up the lion's share of the tab. Trump has sowed uncertainty in the erratic way he's rolled the tariffs out — announcing, then suspending them, then coming up with new ones. Overnight, Trump signed an executive order that set new tariffs on a wide swath of U.S. trading partners to that go into effect on Aug. 7, and that comes after a flurry of unexpected tariff-related actions this week. 'There was a clear, significant, immediate, tariff effect on the labor market and employment growth essentially stalled, as we were dealing with so much uncertainty about the outlook for the economy and for tariffs,' said Blerina Uruci, chief U.S. economist for the brokerage T. Rowe Price. Still, Uruci said the data suggests we could be past the worst, as hiring actually did pick up a bit in July from May and June's depressed levels. 'I'm not overly pessimistic on the U.S. economy based on this morning's data,' she said, though she does think that hiring will remain muted in the coming months as the number of available workers remains limited due to reduced immigration and an aging population. 'Because of immigration policy, labor supply growth has nearly ground to a halt,' said Guy Berger, senior fellow at the Burning Glass Institute, which studies employment trends. 'So we're going to have very weak employment growth. And we look like southern Europe or Japan.' Still, with fewer workers available, the economy doesn't need to generate many jobs to soak up the unemployed. That could keep the unemployment rate from climbing much, Berger added. Trump has sold the tariffs hikes as a way to boost American manufacturing, but factories cut 11,000 jobs last month after shedding 15,000 in June and 11,000 in May. The federal government, where employment has been targeted by the Trump administration, lost 12,000 jobs. Jobs in administration and support fell by nearly 20,000. Healthcare companies added 55,400 jobs last month – accounting for 76% of the jobs added in July and offering another sign that recent job gains have been narrowly concentrated. The department originally reported that state and local governments had added 64,000 education jobs in June. The revisions Friday slashed those jobs to less than 10,000. Those revisions also revealed that the U.S. economy has generated an average of just 85,000 jobs a month this year, barely half last year's average of 168,000 and well below an average 400,000 from 2021-2023 as the economy rebounded from COVID-19 lockups. The weak jobs data makes it more likely that Trump will get one thing that he most fervently desires: A cut in short-term interest rates by the Federal Reserve, which often -- though not always -- can lead to lower rates for mortgages, car loans, and credit cards. Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other Fed officials have repeatedly pointed to a healthy job market as a reason that they could take time to evaluate how Trump's tariffs were affecting inflation and the broader economy. Now that assessment has been undercut and will put more pressure on the Fed to reduce borrowing costs. Wall Street investors sharply raised their expectations for a rate cut at the Fed's next meeting in September after the report was released. On Wednesday, the Fed left its key rate unchanged for fifth consecutive meeting and Powell signaled little urgency to reduce rates anytime soon. He said the 'labor market is solid' with 'historically low unemployment.' But he also acknowledged there is a 'downside risk' to employment stemming from the slow pace of hiring that was evident even before Friday's weaker numbers. 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This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Yomiuri Shimbun
an hour ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Rapp-Hooper: Like-Minded Countries Show Resilience Despite U.S. Unpredictability; No More Important U.S. Ally Than Japan
The tariff measures of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump have revealed that being a privileged U.S. security partner does not necessarily mean being a privileged economic partner, former Director for Indo-Pacific Strategy of the U.S. National Security Council Mira Rapp-Hooper said in a recent interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun. The following is excerpted from the interview, which was conducted by Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent Yuko Mukai. *** I'm very relieved that the United States and Japan were able to conclude a trade negotiation after intensive engagements over the last many months. Japan is a critical ally to the United States and a critical economic partner, and having trade issues remain an irritant would have placed downward pressure on the totality of the relationship. We calculated that the LDP's setback [in the House of Councillors election on July 20] would actually make a trade deal more difficult in the coming days, but the fact that a trade deal was reached is testimony to the fact that both sides had done a good job of preparing for that moment of opportunity when it came. The critical piece, as I understand, is that the Trump administration finally demonstrated flexibility on auto tariffs, which up until that point, it had not done, and the Japanese government was then able to grant a little bit of flexibility on rice imports under the existing quota, which was something that mattered a lot to the Trump administration. I also think that elements of this trade deal recognize the critical role that Japan already plays in the U.S. economy, such as as a driver of high quality investment. I think there's no doubt that the tariff policy has impacted public opinion of the United States, in Japan and around the world, especially in allied countries. Part of what is being captured in that public opinion is, for allied countries, typically American security commitments and American economic commitments, openness to trade, have traveled together. So, part of what was demonstrated in the April 2nd tariffs was the fact that just because you are a privileged U.S. security partner did not mean you would be a privileged U.S. economic partner. The era that we knew as the post-Cold War era has come to an end, and we are at a moment of significant flux in which we don't exactly know how we will define the international order that is coming next. We are headed into a world that is much more multipolar. In that world, the United States is still extremely powerful, but it has competition when it comes to the exercise of its power on the global stage, and power is much more diffused than it has been in any time in recent memory. President Trump is playing the role of an accelerant, or an accelerator, on these trends towards multipolarity. Obviously, China is going to be extremely powerful. So too do we expect economies like India to keep growing at a significant rate. It is very hard to know after three more years of Donald Trump's presidency, where exactly this will all leave us. What is clear is that the United States is not going to be able to go back into the exact same leadership position that [it] has occupied during the post-Cold War period. It's going to need to adjust itself come 2029, once President Trump is no longer president, to a changed set of global circumstances. That certainly means finding a way to renew its relationships with key allies, because those are such an essential part of American power. And I think you even saw over the course of [former U.S.] President [Joe] Biden's four years, the challenges sort of piling up in ways that tested the United States' ability to do everything it wanted to do on the global stage. Just a year into the administration, Russia invaded Ukraine. In 2023, you saw another horrible attack on Oct. 7 that plunged the Middle East into conflict, Americans have demonstrated, in their public opinion over the course of the last couple of decades, increasing disaffection with American involvement in faraway, long-lasting wars, and have some skepticism about vast expenditure overseas, if they think those same dollars could be used at home. I think one of the really critical charges for whomever the next U.S. president will be, whether they be a Democrat or a more mainstream Republican, will be to think about how to link our foreign policy objectives on the global stage to a rhetoric and a narrative capability that actually works for the American people. Part of the beauty of what the United States built with Japan and other regional partners over recent years is that those networks of alliances and partnerships in the Indo Pacific and in Europe have actually created resilience amongst allies and partners that they can draw upon now. So whether it's Japan's leadership in the Quad [a cooperation framework among Japan, the United States, Australia and India], the U.S.-ROK-Japan trilateral, Japan's relationships with India, Australia, Vietnam individually, or the fact that Japan has forged much stronger ties with NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] allies, these are all basically like-minded countries that came together because they agreed they had a common set of strategic objectives in the world at a moment where the United States may feel more unpredictable, a little bit less reliable in its day to day interactions. It is highly likely that wherever the United States winds up three years from now, we are still living in a world where Democrats and Republicans in Congress agree that Asia is the priority theater for the future and that there is no more important ally in Rapp-Hooper Mira Rapp-Hooper served as director for Indo-Pacific strategy of the U.S. National Security Council under the administration led by former U.S. President Joe Biden. She joined the administration after working on Hillary Clinton's U.S. presidential election campaign. Rapp-Hooper holds a doctorate from Columbia University. She is a partner at The Asia Group, a consulting firm led by former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell.
The Diplomat
4 hours ago
- The Diplomat
Why the US Is Letting China Win on Energy Innovation
To China's delight, the U.S. has simply stopped competing to be the world's clean energy powerhouse. During the cold war, the United States and Soviet Union were locked in a desperate race to develop cutting‑edge technologies like long-range missiles and satellites. Fast forward to today and the frontiers of global technology have pivoted to artificial intelligence (AI) and next‑generation energy. In one domain, AI, the U.S. has far outpaced any other nation – though China looks to be closing the gap. In the other, energy, the U.S. has just tied its shoelaces together. The reason isn't technology, economics or, despite the government's official line, even national security. Rather, it is politics. Since returning to the White House in January, Donald Trump has handed out huge wins to the coal and oil and gas industries. This is no great surprise. Trump has long been supportive of the U.S. fossil fuel industry and, since his reelection, has appointed several former industry lobbyists to top political positions. According to the Trump administration, national security requires gutting support for renewable energy while performing political CPR on the dying coal industry. The reality is that, since 2019, the United States has produced more oil, gas, and coal annually than Americans want to use, with the rest exported and sold overseas. The U.S. is currently one of the most prolific exporters of fossil fuels in the world. In short, the U.S. does not have an energy security problem. It does, however, have an energy cost problem combined with a growing climate change crisis. These issues will only be made worse by Trump's enthusiasm for fossil fuels. Over the past six months, the Trump administration has upended half a decade of green industrial policy. It has clawed back billions of U.S. dollars in tax credits and grants that were supercharging American energy innovation. Meanwhile, China has roared forward. Beijing has doubled down on wind, solar and next‑generation batteries, installing more wind and solar power in 2024 than the rest of the world combined. To China's delight, the U.S. has simply stopped competing to be the world's clean energy powerhouse. While Trump repeats the tired mantra of 'drill, baby, drill,' China is building factories, cornering the market for critical minerals such as lithium and nickel, and locking in export partners. Roughly one-in-five lithium‑ion batteries, a key component in clean energy products, are made in China. Many of the newest high‑tech batteries are also being developed and patented there. At the same time, household energy spending in the U.S. is expected to increase by $170 each year between now and 2035 as a result of Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The bill, which includes sweeping changes to taxes, social security, and more, will raise energy costs mainly because it strips away support for cheap and abundant renewables like wind and solar. Household energy costs could go up even more as Trump threatens to make large‑scale clean energy development much more onerous by putting up bureaucratic hurdles. The administration recently issued a directive requiring the secretary of the interior to approve even routine activities for wind and solar projects connected to federal lands. Meanwhile, climate change is hitting American communities harder with each passing year. As recent flooding in Texas and urban fires in California and Hawai'i have shown, fewer Americans still have the luxury of ignoring climate change. As the cost of these disasters mount – $183 billion in 2024 – the grifting of the oil and gas industry will become an increasingly bitter pill for the nation to swallow. China, with its authoritarian government, is less susceptible to the petroleum-obsessed dogma fueling the Republican party. It does not have prominent leaders like U.S. politician Marjorie Taylor Greene, who previously warned that Democrats are trying to 'emasculate the way we drive' by advocating for electric vehicles. Rather, China's leaders are seeing green – not in the environmental sense, but in a monetary one. It is generally cheaper nowadays to build and operate renewable energy facilities than gas or coal power stations. According to a June 2025 report by Lazard, an asset management company, electricity from new large-scale solar farms costs up to $78 per megawatt hour – and often much less. The same electricity from a newly built natural gas plants, by comparison, can cost as much as $107 per megawatt hour. Across the world, utilities are embracing clean energy, choosing lower costs for their customers while reducing pollution. China saw the writing on the wall decades ago, and its early investments are bearing a rich harvest. It now produces more than half of the world's electric vehicles and the vast majority of its solar panels. The United States can still compete at the leading edge of the energy sector. American companies are developing innovative new approaches to geothermal, battery recycling, and many other energy technologies. But in the battle to become the world's 21st-century energy manufacturing powerhouse, the U.S. seems to have walked off the playing field. In Trump's telling, the U.S. may have simply exited one race and reentered another. But the fossil fuel industry – financially, environmentally and ethically – is obviously a dead end. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
