FirstFT: Trump renews tariff threats sending shockwaves by way of world markets

Good morning and welcome again to FirstFT Americas. In the present day we’re overlaying:

Simply hours after promising a brand new “golden age” for America, President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs towards US allies, sending shockwaves by way of world monetary markets.

Chatting with reporters within the Oval Workplace following his inauguration, the brand new president threatened to power tariffs of as much as 25 per cent on imported items from Canada and Mexico as early as February 1, hitting the nations’ currencies and pushing US fairness futures decrease.

The newly minted forty seventh US president additionally threatened to use levies on Chinese language imports of as much as 100 per cent if Beijing did not agree on a deal to promote at the least 50 per cent of the TikTok video app to a US firm, and tariffs on EU merchandise until they purchased extra American oil.

The feedback supplied a stark reminder of how keen Trump is to upend the world order and interact in excessive stakes coercive negotiations as he embarks on his second time period in workplace. Right here’s extra on Trump’s Oval Workplace remarks.

And if you happen to missed the inauguration, listed below are the key moments from Trump’s speech. We’ve extra reads and evaluation beneath:

• A brand new ‘golden age’: Trump started his second time period in workplace by signing greater than 100 government orders as he rapidly moved to ship on marketing campaign guarantees.

• The inauguration visitor record: Greater than a dozen billionaires attended the ceremony, underlining the president’s deepening ties to business.

• Edward Luce: In the present day’s occasions had been no abnormal switch of energy as the brand new president outlined his radical agenda.

• The FT View: The second age of Trump guarantees to be much more consequential, and disruptive, than the primary, writes our editorial board.

What’s going to Trump’s second time period imply for Washington, enterprise and the world? Signal as much as our White Home Watch e-newsletter for the most recent on the brand new administration.

Right here’s what else we’re protecting tabs on right this moment:

• Financial information: Mexico’s nationwide statistics company publishes its preliminary financial progress figures for December whereas Canada updates its client value index.

• Firms: 3M, Netflix and United Airways are among the many firms reporting outcomes. See The Week Forward e-newsletter for the full record.

• World Financial Discussion board: The annual gathering of worldwide elites is below means in Davos. Be part of the FT as we convey you stay updates and evaluation on the bottom.

• Prince Harry trial: The Duke of Sussex takes his combat towards Rupert Murdoch’s Information Group Newspapers to London’s Excessive Courtroom right this moment. Right here’s a preview of what to anticipate.

5 extra prime tales

1. Panama’s authorities yesterday started an audit of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Ports, the corporate that operates ports at both finish of its canal, in a transfer seen as a concession to US president Donald Trump. The brand new president threatened to “take back” the canal, which handles about 3 per cent of worldwide seaborne commerce annually, in yesterday’s inauguration speech with out saying how.

2. Joe Biden issued pre-emptive pardons to Anthony Fauci, Liz Cheney, Mark Milley and members of his family shortly earlier than relinquishing the US presidency to Donald Trump, who has vowed retribution towards political foes. Within the run-up to his departure from the White Home, the outgoing president additionally made sweeping use of his powers of clemency.

3. Unique: Ray Dalio has warned that the UK could possibly be heading for a “debt death spiral”, during which it has to borrow extra money to service its rising curiosity prices. The founding father of Bridgewater Associates stated the market was struggling to soak up Britain’s borrowing wants since October’s Price range. Learn the FT’s interview with the billionaire hedge fund supervisor.

4. Huawei is in search of to seize a bigger share of the Chinese language marketplace for synthetic intelligence chips dominated by Nvidia. As a substitute of difficult the US chipmaker in coaching, Huawei is positioning its newest Ascend AI processors because the {hardware} of alternative for the computation utilized by massive language fashions to generate responses to prompts — or so-called “inference” duties.

5. Sufferers who took widespread weight reduction medicine had been 12 per cent much less more likely to develop Alzheimer’s illness however had been extra liable to arthritic, kidney and pancreatic issues, in keeping with the most important examine of the medicines’ widening impression. The evaluation of two.4mn sufferers bolsters analysis into how blockbuster medicine for weight problems and diabetes might have important results on different well being situations.

In the present day’s massive learn

Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “destroy” Hamas within the wake of its October 7 2023 assault on Israel. As a substitute, after 15 months of combating an underground guerrilla conflict, the militant group’s officers, fighters and policemen have within the days because the ceasefire emerged from the rubble of the shattered enclave seemingly able to rule Gaza as soon as once more.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

• India land disputes: Efforts to construct clear vitality infrastructure on the earth’s fastest-growing massive economic system is triggering quarrels with farmers.

• Conflict on medicine: Liberal reformers have been too hesitant to spell out the unfavourable penalties for others, writes Stephen Bush.

• Local weather investing: European asset managers are following their US counterparts in “pulling back” on a public present of local weather motion.

Chart of the day

The US share of worldwide cross-border funding initiatives has soared to its highest stage on file, in keeping with FT evaluation of knowledge collected by fDI Markets, an FT-owned firm that has tracked cross-border investments from 2003. The rise has been pushed by buoyant client demand and authorities incentives on the earth’s largest economic system.

Take a break from the information . . . 

For vinyl lovers: HTSI has compiled a listing of FT journalists’ favorite file shops around the globe.