Jaguar Land Rover 'pause' US shipments in wake of tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover has said it will "pause" shipments to the US as it works to "address the new trading terms" of Donald Trump's tariffs.

A 25% levy on all foreign cars imported into America came into force on Thursday, and a wider "baseline" 10% tariff on goods imported from around the world kicked in this morning.

The move from the British car firm comes as companies are grappling with the new trade rules, and the fallout on the global stock markets.

In a statement, a JLR spokesperson said: "The USA is an important market for JLR's luxury brands.

"As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans."

Trading across the world has been hammered in the aftermath of the president's tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday.

The FTSE 100 plummeted yesterday in its worst day of trading since the start of the pandemic, while markets on Wall Street also tumbled.

All but one stock on the FTSE 100 fell - with Rolls-Royce, banks and miners among those to suffer the sharpest losses.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to spend the weekend taking calls from foreign leaders about the tariffs after calls with the prime ministers of Australia and Italy yesterday in which the leaders agreed that a trade war would be "extremely damaging".

Issuing a read-out of their separate conversations yesterday, Number 10 said the leaders "all agreed that an all-out trade war would be extremely damaging".

A spokesperson said Mr Starmer "has been clear the UK's response will be guided by the national interest" and officials will "calmly continue with our preparatory work, rather than rush to retaliate".

"He discussed this approach with both leaders, acknowledging that while the global economic landscape has shifted this week, it has been clear for a long time that like-minded countries must maintain strong relationships and dialogue to ensure our mutual security and maintain economic stability," the spokesperson added.

Italy urges against retaliation to tariffs

Elsewhere, Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti has warned against the imposition of retaliatory tariffs on the US in response to Mr Trump's sweeping import duties on trade partners.

Speaking at a business forum near Milan, Mr Giorgetti said Italy was aiming for a "de-escalation" with the US.

Under Mr Trump's plans announced on Wednesday Italy, which has a large trade surplus with the US, will be subject to a general tariff of 20% along with other EU countries.

"We should avoid launching a policy of counter-tariffs that could be damaging for everyone and especially for us," Mr Giorgetti said, adding "we must try to keep a cool head."

To offset the negative economic impact the tariffs were likely to have, Mr Giorgetti said the EU should allow member states to raise spending without breaching the bloc's fiscal rules.

High-debt Italy frequently calls on the EU to allow more budget leeway.

Under EU governance, commitments agreed with the European Commission to cut public spending can be put on hold in the event of a "severe economic downturn" in the euro zone.

The Bank of Italy said yesterday the euro zone's third largest economy would grow by just 0.5% this year, less than half the government's 1.2% forecast made in September.

"In recent days there has been talk of aid for companies, but aid for companies is a state intervention that must be allowed under EU rules," Mr Giorgetti said.

Read more: Donald Trump's global 'baseline' tariff takes effect

Italy has committed to bringing its deficit below the EU's 3% of gross domestic product ceiling in 2026 from 3.4% in 2024, a task made harder by its faltering economic growth.

The government is expected to cut its growth forecast for this year and 2026 next week, when it presents multi-year economic projections.

"The Italian public debt means reduced budget room for our country, a constraint that must be taken into account in any decisions we make," Mr Giorgetti said.

Italy's debt, proportionally the second highest in the euro zone, is currently seen rising to almost 138% of GDP in2026 from 135.3% last year.