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JD Vance admits tariffs will cause ‘profound changes’

Elon Musk will ”significantly” cut back his time working for the Trump administration from next month to spend more time running his companies as Tesla profits fell.

Since Donald Trump’s inauguration the Billionaire Tesla boss led the controversial Department of Government Efficiency, which has aggressively cut costs across the federal government, sparking public backlash.

Musk told investors on a conference call following Tesla’s results that he would likely cut back his work for Trump to one or two days a week, saying the “large slog of work” to get the DOGE team up and running was mostly complete.

“Starting next month, I’ll be allocating far more of my time to Tesla,” he said.

A key reason for his pivot away from finding public service savings to focus on his businesses is that Tesla profits plunged in the first quarter of the year, with revenue falling to its lowest level since the third quarter of 2021.

The shift from Musk comes as dozens of finance ministers and trade representatives have descended on Washington in the hopes of securing trade deals with the president, after he introduced sweeping tariffs on most trading partners earlier this month.

The president has admitted the current 145 percent levy on goods imported from China will fall, but he warned they will not hit zero.

Donald Trump said talks between Washington and Beijing were “doing fine” because “everybody wants to have involvement” but he maintained that China will ultimately be forced to reach an agreement to get the tariffs down.

“Ultimately, they have to make a deal, because otherwise they’re not going to be able to deal in the United States, and we want them involved, but they have to, and other countries have to make a deal, and if they don’t make a deal, we’ll set the deal,” he said on Tuesday.

“We’re going to be setting the deal, and it’ll be a fair deal for everybody and it’ll be — I think it’s a process that’s going to go pretty quickly.”

Asked whether he would drop the tariffs, Trump said: “It’ll come down substantially. But it won’t be zero.”

President Donald Trump said tariffs on Chinese goods will come down, but won’t be zero (REUTERS)

Rachel Clun23 April 2025 09:09

Elon Musk will significantly cut back his time working for the Trump administration from next month to spend more time running his companies as Tesla profits fell.

Since Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Billionaire Tesla boss has led the controversial Department of Government Efficiency which has aggressively cut costs across the federal government.

The cuts, including to scientific research funding and government departments such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture sparked public backlash and concern from investors in Musk’s businesses.

Musk told investors on a conference call following Tesla’s results that he would likely cut back his work for Trump to one or two days a week.

“I think starting probably next month, in May, my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly,” Musk said.

“The large slog of work necessary to get the DOGE team in place and working with the government to get the financial house in order is mostly done.”

Elon Musk is cutting back his time working for the Trump administration (AFP via Getty Images)

Rachel Clun23 April 2025 08:55

As the International Monetary Fund warned global economic growth will slow in nearly every country due to the Trump administration’s aggressive tariff policy, finance chiefs and trade delegates from around the world converged on Washington.

They were there on Tuesday for the IMF and World Bank’s spring meetings, but most were also there to work out a deal with the White House to ease tariffs imposed on most U.S. trading partners,

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said negotiations were happening at pace. So far 18 countries have made proposals, she said, and the administration’s negotiating team is preparing to meet with 34 countries to discuss tariffs in the upcoming week.

Donald Trump imposed a baseline 10 percent tariff on nearly all trading partners earlier this month, and introduced higher tariffs on dozens more before pausing those additional duties for 90 days.

High tariffs also remain in place for all steel, aluminum and car exports to the U.S.

(AP)

Rachel Clun23 April 2025 08:40

The outlook for the U.S. economy has significantly worsened, according to the International Monetary Fund, due to unprecedented disruption and uncertainty caused by Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The U.N.’s top financial agency slashed its growth forecast for the American economy to just 1.8 percent for the year, down from 2.7 per cent, one of the largest negative economic growth revisions from the IMF’s latest global outlook.

While the IMF does not expect a U.S. recession, it has raised the odds of one occurring this year from 25 percent to 37 percent.

“We are entering a new era,” Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, chief economist at the IMF, said. “This global economic system that has operated for the last eighty years is being reset.”

The International Monetary Fund has warned tariff uncertainty will slow economic growth around the world, cutting its global economic growth forecast by 0.5 percentage points for this year, downgrading growth in nearly all countries.

Rachel Clun23 April 2025 08:20