U.S. President Donald Trump said he was temporarily exempting smartphones, computers and other electronics from his tariffs after China announced Friday that it was boosting its tariffs on U.S.

I dunno, I go on holiday for a few days and in my absence Donald Trump has turned the US’s already messed-up tariff schedule into the kind of hopelessly tangled cat’s cradle that even the most down-and-out feline* would reject as a place of repose.

On April 2, 2025, President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs – a 10% levy on nearly all U.S. imports, along with targeted duties aimed at punishing countries he accuses of exploiting American markets.

History shows that tariffs to revive U.S. manufacturing, reclaim jobs and counter allegedly unfair trade practices rarely succeed. In today's interconnected world, they're more likely to provoke painful retaliation.