US politics live: Trump’s wild new 3521 per cent tariff

The US is considering a new tariff against one country that makes China’s 145 per cent import tax seem relatively reasonable.

Welcome to our live coverage of US politics.

If you thought Donald Trump’s tariffs on China were steep, then wait until you hear about a new import tax that’s been floated.

The US Government has suggested a tariff on 3521 per cent should be applied to some products from a South East Asian nation.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday, US time, that the global economy was being “severely tested” by the President’s tariffs.

It has downgraded growth across the world from 3.3 per cent this year to 2.8 per cent due to both tariffs and general uncertainty with the Trump administration’s economic policies.

The IMF has said the US will see the biggest growth slump going from 2.7 per cent to 1.7 per cent growth in 2025. It says there is now a 40 per cent chance of a recession in the US.

And embattled Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said that a second chat about military manoeuvres in Yemen – this time including his wife and brother – were “informal” and “unclassified”, attributing the revelations to disgruntled former defence employees.

Read on for more updates.

Originally published as US politics live: Trump’s wild new 3521 per cent tariff