Worldwide Financial Planning

Over the past two years, that foundation has cracked, not in one dramatic collapse, but in a quiet shift which is now gathering speed. Countries are rewriting how they trade with each other. And they’re doing it without the dollar.

A threat of an almost immediate 50% tariff on European imports was pushed back following a conversation with the European Commission president over the weekend. However, this was over-shadowed by the US courts ruling that the US president had exceeded his powers by imposing sweeping tariffs on most US imports.

Britain is no stranger to a spooked bond market but does not share Americas privileges. UK government borrowing unexpectedly climbed to £20.2bn in April, up almost 6% from last year.

The inflationary impact of tariffs has not disappeared. The rapid policy announcements have disrupted trade flows with US importers rushing orders to beat tariff deadlines before scaling them back. This is disguising any inflationary effect. But price rises appear inevitable for US consumers.

You can think of Kashmir as conflict and headlines, but behind the noise is something far less discussed and far more critical to the new global economic race now reshaping a potential post-dollar world.

With his typical hyperbole, Donald Trump hailed the agreement as a “great” and “comprehensive” deal and US markets welcomed signs that the most punishing tariffs may be avoided. But investors in UK equities appeared to be less enthusiastic as the hastily arranged agreement leaves a lot unresolved.