Money blog: Trump doubles tariffs on Canadian aluminium and steel in major escalation of trade war

Trump's 50% tariffs are incredibly punitive and clearly take no notice of US market reaction

Donald Trump's latest decision to hike tariffs on Canadian aluminium and steel to 50% is incredibly punitive and clearly takes no notice of the steep sell-offs we have seen in US markets, says our international correspondent Diana Magnay. 

Reacting to the US president's announcement, she says it looks as though Trump is trying to "undermine the Canadian economy to such an extent that he thinks annexation is the only solution for them". 

Trump suggested that Canada could avoid all the tariffs if it became America's 51st state. 

"Canada does now have a new prime minister, Mark Carney... and he has promised to fight back as hard as he possibly can against Donald Trump's tariffs," Magnay adds. 

"I expect we will hear something from him today. He has promised retaliatory tariffs on everything that comes from the US, and he has sworn that he will not even countenance becoming Trump's 51st state or anything close to it." 

People earning less than £3,000 from their side hustle will not have to fill out self-assessment tax return

Away from tariffs momentarily to bring you news that's just dropped from the UK government...

People earning less than £3,000 a year from a side hustle will no longer have to file a self-assessment tax form, it has been announced.

Instead of using the complex tax return system, Treasury minister James Murray said a new and simple online form will be used for declaring cash earnings up to £3,000 in self-employed work. 

But it won't change the amount of tax owed.

"From selling old games to creating content on social media, we are changing the way HMRC works to make it easier for Brits to make the very most of their entrepreneurial spirit," he told The Sun ahead of the official announcement at 3pm today. 

"Taking hundreds of thousands of people out of filing tax returns means less time filling out forms and more time for them to grow their side-hustle." 

Under current rules, people who earn £1,000 or more a year from activities such as online content creation, dog walking, or making handcrafted items to sell, must pay tax on it.

This means they need to submit a self-assessment tax return.

Those who earn less than £1,000 in a year don't need to declare it or pay tax on it.

Trump threatens to increase tariffs on cars coming from Canada

In his long social media post, Donald Trump also threatened to increase tariffs on cars coming from Canada. 

He said he will "substantially" raise the tariffs on 2 April, unless Canada drops its "egregious, long time tariffs" on the US. 

The US president said the move would "essentially, permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business" in the country. 

"Those cars can easily be made in the USA," he added. 

Last week, Trump postponed 25% tariffs on some imports from Canada for a month amid fears of the economic fallout from a broader trade war. 

Ontario will 'not back down' until all Canadian tariffs are removed

Ontario will "not back down" until Donald Trump has removed all tariffs on Canadian goods, the state's premier has said. 

"President Trump launched an unprovoked trade and tariff war with America’s closest friend and ally," Doug Ford said on X. 

"Until the threat of tariffs is gone for good, we won't back down." 

He made the comment after Trump said tariffs on Canadian aluminium and steel would double to 50% from tomorrow. 

The move was made in retaliation to Ford's decision to charge Americans 25% more for electricity coming from Ontario. 

Trump suggests Canada will only avoid tariffs by becoming an American state

Donald Trump has suggested that the only way Canada can avoid all of his tariffs would be to become an American state. 

The US president has been calling for the country to become the 51st state since he took office. 

In a lengthy post on Truth Social, he said: "The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished Fifty First State.

"This would make all Tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear. 

"Canadians taxes will be very substantially reduced, they will be more secure, militarily and otherwise, than ever before, there would no longer be a Northern Border problem, and the greatest and most powerful nation in the World will be bigger, better and stronger than ever." 

US stocks fall after Trump's major escalation of trade war

US stocks have tumbled following Donald Trump's announcement that he will increase tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium tomorrow. 

The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7% after the US president posted the news on Truth Social.

The S&P slumped 0.4% and the Dow Jones fell 0.3%. 

Analysts have been warning that escalating trade tension could fan inflationary pressures and potentially stall economic growth. 

Trump doubles tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium

Donald Trump has said he will double his planned tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium from 25% to 50%. 

He said the increase in the tariffs set to take effect on tomorrow as the trade war between the two countries intensifies.

"I have instructed my Secretary of Commerce to add an ADDITIONAL 25% Tariff, to 50%, on all STEEL and ALUMINUM COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES FROM CANADA, ONE OF THE HIGHEST TARIFFING NATIONS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD," Trump posted on Truth Social. 

Yesterday, Ontario announced it would be charge 25% more for electricity to 1.5 million American homes and businesses. 

Canada's most populous province provides electricity to Minnesota, New York and Michigan.

The US stock market promptly fell after the post.

Nationwide customers will be getting free £50

More than 12 million Nationwide customers will be given £50 each as a "big thank you" from the building society. 

The company said it wanted to thank members for their support during its purchase of Virgin Money last year. 

It will spend more than £600m on the gesture, with customers receiving payments from 9 April. 

Members who had a savings or current account or a mortgage at the end of last September are eligible for the payout. 

"Nationwide became even stronger when it bought Virgin Money and we are already improving services for its customers," said chief executive Debbie Crosbie. 

"The Big Nationwide Thank You recognises the role our members played in building the financial strength that made the deal possible."

Major UK recruiters linked to tax avoidance schemes after workers hit with crippling HMRC demands

Hays, Capita, Petrofac. These are some of Britain's best known companies and big players in the recruitment industry. 

Now, a Sky News investigation has revealed how, over the course of two decades, some of Britain's biggest recruitment companies were linked to large-scale tax avoidance when placing workers into jobs, including government roles in Whitehall.

Many of these workers, typically agency workers and contractors, were paid by third-party umbrella companies that promised to take care of taxes but were operating tax avoidance schemes.

They worked by paying workers what were technically loans, instead of a salary. This allowed them to circumvent paying income tax.

Often the umbrellas were recommended by recruiters, although there is no suggestion the recruiters knew these third parties were operating tax avoidance schemes.

-SKY NEWS