Donald Trump threatens extra 10% tariff for ‘anti-American’ Brics policies, as trade war deadline approaches – business live

Donald Trump threatens extra 10% tariff for “anti-American” Brics policies

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Donald Trump has targeted the BRICS group of developing nations in the latest salvo of his ongoing trade war, as the deadline to agree deals before the president’s 90-day tariff pause looms.

Trump has warned overnight that he will impose a new 10% tariff on any country that aligns itself with the BRICS group, claiming they are “anti-American”.

Writing on his Truth Social site, Trump declared:

Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

Trump’s attack comes after the Brics group — which was originally made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa but now includes other nations — met in Brazil at the weekend.

Brazil’s president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, told the meeting in Rio de Janeiro that BRICS was the heir to the “Non-Aligned Movement” – the bloc of countries who declined to ally with either side in the Cold War.

Lula criticised the move (driven by Trump) towards increased spending on the military rather than on international development, pointing out: “It is always easier to invest in war than in peace”.

He told leaders they were witnessing “the unparalleled collapse of multilateralism”, before warning:

“If international governance does not reflect the new multipolar reality of the 21st century, it is up to BRICS to help bring it up to date.”

The BRICS group also condemned US and Israeli attacks on Iran and urged “just and lasting” solutions to conflicts across the Middle East.

All of which appears to have stirred Trump into another tariff threat.

There’s also confusion this morning about the status of the original ‘liberation day’ tariffs which Trump announced at the start of April, and then paused for 90 days after the markets slumped.

The president told reporters on Sunday that his administration plans to start sending letters later today to US trade partners dictating new tariffs.

But there’s confusion about when these levies would kick in. Trump implied they would start on Wednesday, saying “I think we’ll have most countries done by July 9, yeah. Either a letter or a deal.”

But commerce secretary Howard Lutnick then weighed in to explain:

“But they go into effect on August 1. Tariffs go into effect August 1, but the president is setting the rates and the deals right now.”

Trump has subsequently posted that “TARIFF Letters, and/or Deals” will be delivered from 12:00 PM (Eastern)“ today, (that’s 5pm BST)

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China opposes tariffs being used as tool of coercion

China opposes tariffs being used as a tool to coerce others, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday, after Donald Trump threatened an extra 10% tariffs on countries aligning themselves with the BRICS group of developing nations.

The use of tariffs serves no one, said Mao Ning, spokesperson of the ministry, at a regular press conference, Reuters reports.

Tesla shares drop after Musk launches America Party

Over in Frankfurt, shares in Tesla are sliding as the row between Elon Musk and Donald Trump escalates.

Telsa have fallen 3% in early trading, an indication that they could fall Wall Street when trading resumes, as investors react to Musk’s plan to launch a new US political party called the America Party.

Trump called the idea “ridiculous”, and claimed Musk had gone completely ‘off the rails’.

Veteran tech analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush said Musk was Tesla’s “biggest asset” and his decision to dive deeper into politics could hurt the car maker’s share price.

Ives wrote:

“Tesla needs Musk as CEO and its biggest asset and not heading down the political route yet again…while at the same time getting on Trump’s bad side.

“It would also not shock us if the Tesla board gets involved at some point given the political nature of this endeavour depending on how far Musk takes it.”

FTSE 100 opens slightly lower as Shell slides

London’s stock market has slipped very slightly at the start of trading.

The FTSE 100 index of blue-chip shares has dropped by 9 points, or 0.1%.

Shell are the top faller, down 1.8%, after lowering its forecast for gas output and natural gas production this morning, and predicting that trading and optimisation at its integrated gas division in the last quarter will be significantly lower than in Q1.

Standard Chartered (+1.4%), the Asia-Pacific focused bank, are the top riser.

Updated at 08.11 BST

UK house prices flat in June, Halifax reports

UK house prices stagnated last month, new data from lender Halifax shows.

Halifax reports that house prices were effectively unchanged month-on-month in June with the average price of a property sold coming in at £296,665, compared to £296,782 in May.

This pulled the annual rate of house price inflation down to 2.5% from 2.6% in May.

Northern Ireland has by far the strongest annual price growth in the UK, with prices up by +9.6% over the past year.

But, growth was much more subdued in the South West of England, and London, with prices rising by just +0.5% and +0.6% respectively.

Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said the UK housing market “remained steady in June”, adding:

“The market’s resilience continues to stand out and, after a brief slowdown following the spring stamp duty changes, mortgage approvals and property transactions have both picked up, with more buyers returning to the market. That’s being helped by a few key factors: wages are still rising, which is easing some of the pressure on affordability, and interest rates have stabilised in recent months, giving people more confidence to plan ahead.

Bryden pointed out that affordability is still stretched, particularly for those coming to the end of fixed-rate deals, explaining:

The economic backdrop also remains uncertain; while inflation has eased, it’s still above target, and there are signs the jobs market may be softening.

According to @HalifaxBank average house price growth was flat in June making the average property price now £296,665, down £117 on May’s efforts. Moving forward increased flex around mortgage lending and two rate cuts has the lender expectant of a more buoyant market towards the… pic.twitter.com/jdCqNEjyGt

— Emma Fildes (@emmafildes) July 7, 2025

Most Asia-Pacific markets are in the red today.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index has dropped by 0.55%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is down 0.4%, Australia’s S&P/ASX is off 0.15%, and India’s Sensex has slipped by 0.1%

Jim Reid, market strategist at Deutsche Bank, says:

“Asian equity markets are a little nervous this morning, perhaps on Trump’s BRICs comments.”

Some BRICS currencies have also dipped this morning.

South Africa’s rand has fallen 1%, to 17.75/$ from 17.57/$ on Friday night.

India’s rupee has slipped by 0.5% against the dollar, to 85.8 rupees/$ down from 85.3925/$ at the end of last week.

China’s yuan has slipped by 0.1%, while Brazil’s real and Russia’s rouble are both flat.

Many currencies are slipping against the US dollar this morning, as traders await news of the tariff ‘deals and letters’ which Donald Trump says he will issue later today.

The euro has slipped by 0.15% against the dollar to $1.176, not too far from the near-four-year high touched last week.

The Australian dollar has lost 0.7%, while New Zealand’s dollar has dropped by 0.95%.

The British pound is also weakening a little, down 0.35% at just over $1.36.

So far, only the UK, China and Vietnam have reached any kind of trade agreements with the US in the last 90 days….