Trump’s first trade war begins as China hits back on tariffs: Live updates

If you’re just joining us, China has announced a package of tariffs on a range of American products in retaliation against the 10 per cent tariff imposed on its goods by Donald Trump.

The move comes after Trump agreed to suspend the aggressive tariff hikes he had threatened against North American neighbors Mexico and Canada by one month after speaking with his counterparts in both nations.

No such reprieve was made available to Beijing, however, so they went ahead as planned at 12.01am ET this morning, prompting China’s foreign ministry to impose 15 percent tariffs on American coal and liquefied natural gas while oil and agricultural equipment from the US will face a 10 percent levy.

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar reports.

The Chinese commerce ministry said in a statement: “The US’s unilateral tariff increase seriously violates the rules of the World Trade Organization.

“It is not only unhelpful in solving its own problems, but also damages normal economic and trade cooperation between China and the US.”

Sir Keir Starmer downplayed Donald Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on the EU and UK, which caused EU and US stock markets to tumble on Monday.

China has announced a wide range of measures and investigations targeting US businesses including Google, farm equipment makers and fashion brand Calvin Klein’s owner.

The commerce ministry said it had put the holding company for brands including Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, and US biotechnology firm Illumina on its “unreliable entity” list.

It said the two companies took what it called “discriminatory measures against Chinese enterprises” and “damaged” legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.

Companies added to the blacklist can be subject to fines and a broad range of other sanctions, including a freeze on trade and revocation of work permits for foreign staff.

Staff at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a watchdog agency formed after the 2008 financial crisis, have been told to cease work after President Donald Trump appointed his Treasury Secretary to temporarily head it.

In an email sent from acting director Scott Bessent, employees were told to pause all work related to issuing rules, enforcing regulations on rules that are not yet effective but approved, conducting investigations, and providing communications to the public, according to The Washington Post.

The directive is part of the administration’s agenda to review agency policies to ensure they align with Trump’s agenda.

It arrived just two days after Trump fired Rohit Chopra, the former CFPB director and a Biden appointee, and temporarily replaced him with Bessent, the Treasury Secretary.

It’s the latest bad omen for the CFPB, an independent agency that Congress created in 2010 as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to protect consumers from unfair, deceptive or abusive financial practices.

President Donald Trump’s plan to unilaterally impose a 25 percent tariff on Mexican and Canadian imports appears to be on hold in both countries Monday after a series of phone calls between Trump and the leaders of the two nations.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to X (formerly Twitter) after what he described as a “good call with President Trump,” and said Canada was continuing to implement a $1.3 billion investment in security along his country’s long and largely unguarded border with America, including “new choppers, technology and personnel, enhanced coordination with our American partners, and increased resources to stop the flow of fentanyl.”

Trudeau also said there are and already had been 10,000 Canadian personnel working along the world’s largest unguarded land frontier on protection-related duties.

Several reports indicate Trump and his team will begin to tackle re-vamping the Department of Education, a target during his presidential campaign.

Some Republicans have championed for Trump to get rid of the Department of Education – a policy also part of Project 2025. However, it would require congressional approval.

Instead, Trump and his team may look at ways to defund the department or drastically reduce its size.

In a post on X on Monday night, Elon Musk seemed receptive to a highly controversial proposal to ship U.S. prisoners to El Salvador, a country which human rights observers have accused of violating human rights and carrying out mass arbitrary detention as part of a crackdown on violent and gang crime.

“Great idea!” Musk said, in response to a post from Salvadorian president Nayib Bukele, proposing to “take in only convicted criminals (including convicted U.S. citizens) into our mega-prison (CECOT) in exchange for a fee.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently visiting El Salvador as part of a Central American tour.

President Donald Trump touted that Canada would implement stronger border policies in exchange for pausing sweeping 25 percent tariffs on the U.S.’s northern neighbor, but some of those policies have already been in place.

In December, Canada announced a $1.3 billion investment in expanding drug detection technology and Canadian law enforcement at the border.

The new addition will be the appointment of a fentanyl czar, listing cartels as terrorists and launching a U.S. – Canada Joint Strike Force to combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering.

The U.S. stock markets have finished down after President Donald Trump agreed to delay implementing trade tariffs on Mexico and Canada.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by more than 122 points, and the NASDAQ fell about 235 points. The S&P 500 sank by 0.76 percent, following similar losses for markets across Asia and Europe.