JPMorgan: U.S.-U.K. trade deal likely to have ‘limited’ impact
Analysts at JPMorgan said the trade deal between the United States and United Kingdom that Trump is announcing this morning would likely have a “limited” impact.
“It remains to be seen whether the UK can arrange an exemption from the baseline tariff following subsequent negotiations,” they wrote.
“If there is no further breakthrough on the US baseline tariff, that would significantly limit the economic upside from continued negotiations and further concessions,” the analysis said. “With the UK having broadly balanced goods trade with the US, a reasonably good political relationship, no real threat of retaliation from Westminster and extensive bilateral negotiations having taken place, it is not clear where the UK can go from here.”
The U.K. was the top buyer of U.S. services in recent years, but ranked 5th behind Canada, Mexico, China, and Japan as a buyer of actual goods. While Britain is a key ally, the country does not even rank in the top 5 sources of imports for the U.S.
Trump snubs traditional allies and marks Gulf power with his first major foreign trip
Trump will return to familiar ground in Saudi Arabia next week, choosing the kingdom as the destination for his first major foreign trip of his second term, just as he did in 2017 — once again bypassing the traditional allies who have usually hosted presidents.
The decision underscores a broader Trump White House strategy, prioritizing the Middle East’s economic and strategic influence over North America’s deep-rooted trade and security ties.
With an eye on blockbuster deals, a Nobel-worthy diplomatic breakthrough and the Middle East’s role as a geopolitical fulcrum, Trump is chasing defining moments in a region that he has treated as a diplomatic and economic cornerstone. Meanwhile, his unpredictable tariffs and diplomatic approach has cast a shadow over partnerships with Canada and Mexico.
House to vote on bill codifying Trump’s Gulf of America executive order
Reporting from Washington
The Republican-led House is expected to vote today on legislation that would make Trump’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America federal law.
The GOP bill, authored by Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene, follows an executive order signed by Trump in January that ordered Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to “take all appropriate actions to rename the Gulf” and update a database of the “official names for geographic features in the 50 states.”
While Trump does not need congressional approval to ensure the name change is reflected across the federal government, the bill would prevent a future president from easily reversing the move through executive action.
“As the previous administration made it painfully clear, executive orders can be undone and overwritten, and that’s why we have to move it through the legislative process — and we are,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters Tuesday. “We’re going to pass Marjorie Taylor Greene’s bill to permanently rename the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America.”
Trump confirms he will sign first post-tariff trade deal with Britain
Trump said this morning that he will sign a trade deal with Britain that will be America’s first since he announced sweeping global tariffs that hammered markets and threaten to upend the global economy.
In a post on Truth Social, the president wrote: “This should be a very big and exciting day for the United States of America and the United Kingdom. Press Conference at The Oval Office, 10A.M. Thank you!”