Trump tariffs stay: Starmer warns ‘world as we knew it has gone’ – whereas EU readies retaliatory measures

The outlook for Prosecco, Brunello di Montalcino and other Italian wines in the United States is increasingly gloomy, producers and importers said, following President Donald Trump’s imposition of a 20 per cent tariff on European imports.

Italy exports more wine to the U.S. than any other country. Last year, it sold 2bn euros ($2.2bn) worth of wines, spirits and vinegars in the U.S. market, a quarter of its total worldwide exports, according to trade group Federvini.

Italian producers and US importers gathered at a wine fair in Verona, in the north-eastern Veneto region this weekend, said business had already been slowed by the fear of US tariffs and they fear more lasting damage as the duties take effect.

Under the announced levies, Italian wine revenues would fall by some 323m euros per year, said Lamberto Frescobaldi, chairman of the Italian Wine Union lobby.

Wine traders and producers are pinning their hopes on a deal between Europe and the U.S. to scrap or reduce the tariffs.

“Hopefully, the EU will not retaliate – a trade war would be difficult to navigate,” Simone Luchetti, president of US importer Banville, said

A Downing Street spokesperson said:“The Prime Minister spoke to the Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney this evening.

“They discussed their commitment to working together to maintain global economic stability in the wake of the announcement from the United States this week.

“An all-out trade war is in no-one’s interest, they agreed.

“Both agreed on the importance of free and open trade between like-minded nations, and the Prime Minister stated that trading blocs such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership will be important in this new global era.

“Prime Minister Carney thanked the Prime Minister for his leadership on Ukraine and reaffirmed his commitment to Canada playing a role in the Coalition of the Willing.

“Looking ahead, the Prime Minister said he was looking forward to travelling to Canada for the G7 Summit in June. They agreed to stay in close contact.”

There’s trouble in Trumpland; Tesla CEO and head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, has taken public swipes at Donald Trump’s adviser on trade and manufacturing, Peter Navarro, who helped shape the president’s reciprocal tariff policy that tanked markets across the world.

Musk is typically vocal in his support and defense of the president, but has been quiet since Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement that killed $2.5 trillion from the U.S. stock market — a loss of value that cost the Tesla CEO more than $30bn, according to CNBC.

On X, which Musk owns, he took swipes at Navarro, a Harvard-educated economist who advises Trump on trade. Navarro who was originally tapped for a spot in the White House by Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is the author of books on China and the economic threats he says the nation poses to the U.S.

More than 50 nations have reached out to the White House to begin trade talks since US president Donald Trump rolled out sweeping new tariffs, top officials said.

The officials defended levies that wiped out nearly $6 trillion in value from US stocks last week and downplayed economic fallout.

Mr Trump’s economic advisors tried to portray the tariffs as a savvy repositioning of the US in the global trade order.

Neither Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent nor the other officials named the countries or offered details about the talks.

Ireland’s Minister for Finance has ruled out a wage subsidy scheme for sectors affected by US tariffs, saying it is not appropriate now.

Paschal Donohoe said he is not aiming to bring forward a proposal that would introduce supports similar to those brought in during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It comes as government ministers and businesses grapple with the 20 per cent tariffs imposed by president Donald Trump.

“I don’t believe an economy-wide wage subsidy scheme in the way we had during the Covid pandemic would be appropriate,” he told Irish media RTE.

“I am hopeful that our efforts to engage with employers, in combined with the high level of employment that we already have here in Ireland, will offer a sufficient response back.

“But what we will do is we will evaluate what steps are necessary, but we need to avoid doing anything that has such a cost that it, in turn, could create other difficulties for us in the time ahead. We have to keep our economy safe.

“That means supporting and protecting jobs, and it means keeping our public finances safe.”

President Donald Trump is not intentionally trying to crash the stock market, the White House national economic council director Kevin Hassett has said.

Speaking on ABC’s This Week on Sunday, Mr Hassett said the stock market crash following Mr Trump’s tariff announcement was “not a strategy”.

He was questioned about it after Mr Trump shared a video on social media platform Truth Social that claimed the president was causing the markets to plummet as part of a larger economic plan.

Mr Hassett insisted: “He’s not trying to tank the market. He’s trying to deliver for American workers. It’s not a strategy for the markets to crash”.

France’s economy and finance minister Eric Lombard has suggested imposing stricter regulations on US Big Tech’s use of data in response to president Donald Trump’s tariffs.

In an interview with Le Journal Du Dimanche, Mr Lombard said: “We may strengthen certain administrative requirements or regulate the use of data”.

He added the EU could also “tax certain activities” but did not specify what these would be.

Mr Lombard also told French media that Trump’s tariffs could cause tax revenues to fall in France, predicting “then GDP would fall compared to forecasts, which would worsen the deficit”.

US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick has said that president Donald Trump’s tariffs would remain in place “for days and weeks,” and that some islands inhabited by penguins were included on the list so that countries could not use them as a loophole.

“What happens is, if you leave anything off the list, the countries that try to basically arbitrage America, go through those countries to us,” he told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” program.

US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick has told CBS news that the steeper tariffs due to be imposed on 9 April will not be postponed.

Mr Lutnick was asked about whether president Donald Trump would follow through on the harsher measures. He replied: “They are coming, he announced it and he wasn’t kidding. The tariffs are coming, of course they are”.

He also said that islands with few or no inhabitants, such as Penguin Island, had to be included in the tariffs in case another country tried to use them as a loophole.

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has told EU leaders he is “disappointed” by the tariffs imposed by president Donald Trump.

Sir Keir spoke with EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen, German chancellor Olaf Scholz, and leader of the German Christian Democratic Union party Friedrich Merz.

In a read-out of the discussions, a Downing Street spokesperson said: “Discussing the announcement of additional tariffs by the United States, they all agreed that – as with defence and security – this is a new era for the global economy. Europe must rise to meet the moment and ensure the impact on hard-working people is minimised, while working closely with other countries to help maintain wider economic stability.

“The prime minister reiterated that he was disappointed by the new tariffs and stressed he will continue to act in the UK’s national interest – remaining calm while preparing for all eventualities.

“He updated on his plans to go further and faster to strengthen the UK’s economy and ensure it is as resilient as possible and can withstand these kinds of global shocks. He added that it would be important for the UK to strengthen its trading relationships with others across the globe at the same time.

“The prime minister agreed to keep in close contact.”