Imogen James
Reporting from Washington DC

The impact of US President Donald Trump's tariffs is coming to light after the global growth forecast was downgraded.

The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) new report shows the United States faces the biggest downgrade among advanced economies.

The report states that an increase of tariffs and uncertainty will cause a "significant slowdown," predicting the US economy will grow 1.8% this year, down from its previous estimate of 2.7%.

The IMF also said there is a 40% chance of a recession in the US.

It isn't the only country affected. The IMF slashed growth expectations for Canada, Japan, the UK, Germany, France and Italy.

The White House did not address the IMF's report today.

Instead, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said there were 18 proposals for trade deals on the table, and plenty more discussions being had.

Americans remain divided. A farmer told us whilst tariffs will raise some costs, the long-term outcome is positive. But a comic store owner is already paying more, and says he will have to pass additional costs onto customers.

You can read more here about how the IMF slashed global growth forecasts.

Our live coverage is now ending, thanks for joining us.

Image source, Reuters

A little earlier, electric car firm Tesla released its first quarter earnings report. The report shows the company missed its revenue targets for the quarter, earning about $2bn (£1.5bn) less than projected.

Tesla's revenue from its automotive division dropped 20% compared to the same period in 2024.

Tesla said reduced vehicle deliveries impacted its profitability.

"Uncertainty in the automotive and energy markets continues to increase as rapidly evolving trade policy adversely impacts the global supply chain and cost structure of Tesla and our peers,"the report notes, adding that "political sentiment" could continue to impact demand for Tesla vehicles.

Tesla executives also anticipate that US tariffs will impact future earnings.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is a close ally of Trump - but he is not aligned with the president on tariffs, saying last month that the "cost impact" of the levies "is not trivial".

Trump has imposed a 25% on cars and car parts. Tesla's Model Y sources only 70% of its parts from the US.

Image source, Getty Images

The US markets have closed for the day, with the major indexes on the up.

It's a better day than yesterday, when President Trump called central bank boss Jerome Powell a "major loser" for not cutting interest rates, rattling markets as a result.

Here are where things stand at the closing bell on Wall Street:

• S&P: +2.51
• Dow Jones: +2.66
• Nasdaq:+2.71

Caitriona Perry
Chief presenter, reporting from Ohio

A giant Darth Vader greets customers to Alter Ego Comics in downtown Lima, Ohio.

This store is a mecca for collectors and its owner, Marc Bowker, ships his figures, replica models, comics and books right across the US.

The only things made in America in the store, he jokes, are he and his co-worker.

All his products come from abroad - the figures and collectibles from mostly China, the majority of the comics are printed in Canada.

He’s already had what he calls “tariff emails” coming from a variety of manufacturers, warning of increases in prices from 14% to 35%.

He’s regretfully, he says, going to have to pass some, if not all of those costs, onto his customers.

“Small retailers like me, we can't absorb all of the tariff fees that are being passed on to us, and we understand that our manufacturers can't either.”

Bowker is an independent voter who grew up in a Republican family but finds himself leaning towards the policies of the Democratic party now. And is firmly anti-tariff.

“At the end of the day, the tariff is a consumer tax,” he says.

"None of us were expecting this. Not only the manufacturers, but neither the retailers and the consumers.”

The US markets will close in half an hour.

Here's how things look for the three main indexes:

• S&P 500 is up 2.02%
• Nasdaq is up 2.06%
• Dow is up 2.3%

Stick with us, we'll bring you the latest when the closing bell rings.

Image source, Reuters

Norway's prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre will visit the White House on Thursday.

Trade and business will be on the agenda, according to a statement from the prime minister's office. Finance minister Jens Stoltenberg, a former NATO chief and also a former prime minister of Norway, will attend.

Norway was initially hit with a 16% tariff by the US, but that was reduced to 10% when President Trump announced a 90 day pause. Norway is not a member state of the European Union, which negotiates trade deals as a bloc.

Støre is the latest European leader to head to Washington. Last week, Italy's Giorgia Meloni visited the White House to discuss trade and other issues.

Image source, Reuters

Meanwhile on Trump's social media platform Truth Social, the president says he's had a good call about trade with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"The call went very well—We are on the same side of every issue," he writes, also mentioning they spoke about Iran.

We learned a little earlier at today's White House press briefing that there are 18 trade deal proposals with the US.

Israel was initially hit with a 17% import tariff despite its close ties to the US - however, following Trump's decision to pause most higher rates, Israel is currently facing a 10% levy.

Image source, Reuters

The independence of the Fed's monetary policy is the key to better economic results, the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari says.

He's speaking at the US Chamber of Commerce Global Summit in Washington DC today, and a reporter has asked him about Trump's attacks on the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Powell's been criticised by the president for not cutting interest rates.

Kashkari said it's too soon to judge the right path of interest rates.

He adds that the recent rise in Treasury yields and the weakening of the dollar suggests some investors are reassessing whether to invest in the US.

Less capital flows in the country could result in higher interest rates, he adds.

Image source, Getty Images

Tech billionaire Elon Musk's car company Tesla will release its earnings report for the first quarter of the year after trading ends at the New York Stock Exchange today.

It's expected there will be a decline in revenue from the previous year, which may indicate future repercussions from US President Donald Trump's tariffs.

The stock has fallen dramatically this year, and Tesla has also seen a reduction in deliveries.

But stocks rose 4% today ahead of the earnings report.

Musk has been open in his support for Trump, often appearing at the White House beside him and acting as a close adviser.

But the pair don't see eye-to-eye on the tariffs: Musk previously said he wants zero tariffs between the US and Europe.

While we didn't hear much about the IMF forecast during today's White House press briefing, tariffs were still a central point for reporter questions.

Here's what we heard:

• There have been no concrete trade deals struck since Trump paused the onset of "reciprocal tariffs" for 90 days
• But there are 18 proposals on paper and the US trade negotiation team will be in talks with 34 countries this week, Leavitt said

• A China trade deal continues is in the works - but the White House won't confirm if there have been calls with China's President Xi Jinping

Jonathan Josephs
BBC business reporter

At the event in Washington I understand that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said “the goal isn’t to decouple” relations between the US and China.

However there are no expectations of a quick fix. Bessent said that negotiations with China haven’t started and would be a “slog” and that “no one in the administration, believes that they have had free and fair trade”.

He went on to suggest that a deal between the two sides could rebalance the divide between the consumer economy and manufacturing.

There was an insight into the negotiations ongoing with China. The treasury secretary said that “if we walk out the door of negotiations and signed something in two or three years that looked like that, I would think that it's a huge win.”

Bessent added he was “optimistic that we could do this rebalancing… it'll be a question of whether they're ready to do it”.

At the moment China’s government is putting huge efforts into trying to grow its economy by getting its own citizens to spend more of their money rather than making goods to export.

Meanwhile in the US, consumer spending makes up about two thirds of the economy - but President Trump has spoken repeatedly about the need to increase manufacturing.

The White House briefing has concluded. While trade and deals were the subject of several reporter questions, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt did not speak directly about the IMF's forecast.

Image source, Reuters

Leavitt is now asked if she has a response to reports that China is targeting US trade allies with potential retaliatory measures.

She says the sheer number of countries that have reached out to the Trump administration "speak for themselves".

"The entire world knows that they need the United States of America and they want to do business here," she says.

And with that, the press briefing ends.

We're still listening in to the White House briefing, where Leavitt is asked if the president believes in the independence of the US central bank.

She says Trump thinks it is not acting in an independent way, and the president believes its leader is influenced by politics.

Trump has intensified his attacks on the US central bank boss in recent days, calling Fed chair Jerome Powell "a major loser" for not lowering interest rates.

Trump's criticism of Powell's handling of the US economy comes as his own plans for tariffs have driven a stock market sell-off and raised fears of economic recession.

Trump's criticism of Powell dates back to his first term in office, when he also reportedly discussed firing him. Since winning the election, he has urged Powell to lower borrowing costs.

Image source, Reuters

Leavitt says the US is looking at 18 trade deal proposals.

The US trade team is also meeting with 34 countries this week, the White House press secretary says.

Leavitt also mentions Vice-President JD Vance's trip to India - where trade is high on the agenda.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was just asked by a reporter if proposals on trade deals are enough to extend the pauses on reciprocal tariffs, or if those deals need to be signed.

"Ask me in July when the deadline hits," she says, adding that there is plenty of time left.

They are working "as quickly as they can to ensure" the deals can be made, she says.

On China, Leavitt says they are "doing very well" working on a potential deal.

Jonathan Josephs
BBC business reporter

US stock markets have been rising and it seems they might be finding some cheer in comments from the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

I understand he told an event in Washington that when it comes to US-China tariffs “no one thinks the current status quo is sustainable”.

This is a reference to US tariffs of 145% on imports from China and Beijing’s retaliation of 125% tariffs for goods going the other way round.

Bessent added that he would suggest that in “the very near future, there will be a de-escalation. And I think that that should give the world, the markets, a sigh of relief”.

My understanding is that this is an anticipation that both of the world’s biggest economies will step back from where they are now.

Image source, EPA

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says she doesn't agree with the IMF's prediction that Mexico's economy will contract this year.

"We do not know what it is based on. We do not agree... we have our economic models, which the finance ministry has, that do not coincide with this projection," she says during a daily news conference.

Earlier this month, the Mexican government predicted the economy would grow between 1.5% and 2.3% this year, in a draft budget from the finance ministry.

But the IMF’s World Economic Outlook - released today - predicts Mexico's economy will contract by 0.3% this year, compared with its previous forecast of 1.4% growth.

We're about listen in to a press briefing from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

We'll be listening for any comments she has about today's IMF forecast - though it's not clear yet if Leavitt will address this in her remarks today.

Stay tuned, we'll bring you any relevant lines here. You can follow along with her remarks by clicking watch live at the top of the page.

All of the main American stock indexes are up, after a buoyant opening earlier in the day.

The Dow Jones is up around 2.6%, the Nasdaq is up 3%, the NYSE is up 2.4%, and the S&P is up 2.8%.

CMC's chief markets analyst Jochen Stanzl says the increases could be fuelled by "hopes that President Donald Trump's criticisms of Fed Chair Jerome Powell won't translate into actionable threats to his position".

He adds that markets had already priced in "negative headlines" about tariffs and recession fears.