China will pause exports of critical minerals to the United States in the country’s latest move to counteract President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Trump has set a tariff on China at a hefty 145%, which it has responded to with a 125% reciprocal tariff.

The U.S. granted tariff exemptions on laptops, smartphones, and other items. China called on the U.S. to “completely cancel” its tariffs, saying that the exemptions were a “small step” toward doing so.

Members of Parliament in the United Kingdom approved on Saturday plans to take emergency control of British Steel's blast furnaces.

The decision to save the steel plant in the industrial town of Scunthorpe followed an emergency parliamentary session.

Keir Starmer's government recalled lawmakers, who had been on Easter recess, to pass a law in the House of Commons which allows Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds to direct the company's board and workforce, ensure they get paid, and order the raw materials to keep the blast furnace running.

President Trump’s escalating tariff battle with China is rattling the global economy and raising questions about how the standoff will end.  

Trump this week announced a 90-day pause on his sweeping tariffs against dozens of countries, but he bumped up import taxes on China to a staggering 145 percent total. China hit back by upping its own tariffs to 125 percent on Friday, raising the stakes as the hikes roil global markets.  

In response to why Beijing is not backing down to Donald Trump on tariffs, the answer is that it doesn't have to.

China's leaders would say that they are not inclined to cave in to a bully – something its government has repeatedly labelled the Trump administration as – but it also has a capacity to do this way beyond any other country on Earth.

Before the tariff war kicked in, China did have a massive volume of sales to the US but, to put it into context, this only amounted to 2% of its GDP.

A whistleblower on Wednesday told congressional lawmakers that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and other executives lied to Congress as Meta actively tried to help China develop artificial intelligence in an effort to win favor with Beijing. 

China announced Friday that it will raise tariffs on U.S. goods from 84% to 125% — the latest salvo in an escalating trade war between the world’s two largest economies that has rattled markets and raised fears of a global slowdown.

While U.S. President Donald Trump paused import taxes this week for other countries, he raised tariffs on China and they now total 145%. China has denounced the policy as “economic bullying” and promised countermeasures. The new tariffs begin Saturday.

U.S. stocks are diving Thursday and surrendering much of their historic gains from the day before as President Donald Trump’s trade war continues to confuse and threaten the economy, even if its temperature has cooled a bit.

The S&P 500 was down 5% in midday trading, slicing into Wednesday’s surge of 9.5% following Trump’s decision to pause many of his tariffs worldwide. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,724 points, or 4.2%, as of 12:40 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 5.7% lower.

The United States and China have sharply raised tariffs on each other’s imports over the last week, raising the prospect of a long and painful trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

Amazon.com Inc. has canceled orders for multiple products made in China and other Asian countries, according to a document reviewed by Bloomberg and people familiar with the matter, suggesting the company is reducing its exposure to tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.