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Australia posts first trade deficit since 2017
Australia recorded an unexpected trade deficit in March, marking the country’s first monthly trade gap in more than seven years as exports weakened and imports surged on strong demand for technology equipment and fuel products. Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Thursday showed Australia posted a trade deficit of A$1.84 billion in March, significantly below market expectations for a A$4.25 billion surplus. The result also represented a sharp reversal from the revised $5.02 billion surplus recorded in February and marked the first trade deficit since December 2017. Australia’s exports fell 2.7% month-on-month in March to $43.93 billion, reversing a downwardly revised 4.2% increase in February. The decline was driven by weaker shipments of metal ores, coal and sugar, amid softer commodity export volumes during the month. However, mineral fuel exports rose 4.6%, partially offsetting broader weakness across the export sector. Meanwhile, imports surged 14.1% month-on-month, reversing a revised 2.7% decline in February as domestic demand strengthened sharply. The increase was led primarily by a surge in capital goods imports, particularly computing and data-processing equipment. Imports
Trade
UK exports to US remain weak since 2025 tariffs
The United Kingdom’s exports to the United States fell by almost 25% when tariffs were imposed last April and have remained low since, according to the UK’s Office of National Statistics (ONS). Total UK goods exports to the U.S. had averaged £5.5 billion (A$10.39 billion) in 2024 before the decline in April 2025. Export values have continued below pre-tariff levels until at least February 2026, the most recent month recorded. “Following the introduction of tariffs, UK goods exports to the United States fell by £1.5 billion (24.7%) to £4.7 billion in April 2025 compared with March 2025. The value of goods exports to the United States was £0.8 billion (14.1%) lower in April 2025 than in April 2024,” per the ONS report. The UK’s trade in goods balance with the U.S. declined to a deficit in December, which has continued for at least three months. “The trade in goods balance with the United States has weakened following the implementation of tariffs. Exports of goods have remained low, while imports of goods have increased at the start of 2026.” The U.S. is the UK’s largest goods export partner, and its third-largest import partner. It imposed a 10% blanket tariff on UK exports last April, as well as other tariffs on car
Trade
Trump administration begins tariff refunds
The Trump administration will begin processing refunds for US$160 billion (A$223.6 billion) worth of refunds in tariffs that the United States Supreme Court struck down in February. It is set to be the biggest repayment programme in history. Companies can now apply online for the money they were charged under the ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, plus interest, to be returned. Trade lawyers are warning of bureaucratic hurdles, legal vulnerabilities, and the possibility of a last-minute appeal by the Trump administration. Grayhawk Law principal and trade attorney, Matthew Seligman, said importers are pessimistic that the government is going to make it easy. “They’re anticipating that the government is going to make it as difficult as possible to get their money back,” he said. In March, the U.S. Court of International Trade ordered customs officials to refund the more than $160 billion the government collected. This would put roughly 330,000 importers in a position to potentially win back some money. However, some individual consumers who were hit with the tariffs indirectly through higher prices are not expected to be compensated. The refunds relate to levies charged by U.S. President Donald Trump under the Internatio
Trade
US$166bn tariff refund rollout begins 20 April
The United States will begin rolling out a system on 20 April to refund up to US$166 billion (A$254 billion) in tariffs to importers, following a landmark Supreme Court ruling that invalidated a key element of former president Donald Trump’s trade policy. The refund mechanism, known as CAPE (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries), has completed primary development and entered intensive testing, according to a court filing by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the U.S. Court of International Trade. The agency said the first phase will allow importers to receive consolidated electronic payments, rather than refunds processed shipment by shipment. The rollout follows a February decision by the Supreme Court that found the Trump administration exceeded its authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a 1977 law designed for national emergencies, when imposing sweeping global tariffs. The ruling triggered a wave of litigation from importers seeking reimbursement. CBP said that as of 9 April, 56,497 importers had registered for electronic refunds covering about US$127 billion in tariff deposits – around 82% of eligible entries. In total, more than 330,000 importers paid the
Trade
US to add 50% tariffs on countries sending Iran weapons
United States President Donald Trump has said the U.S. will impose tariffs of 50% on countries supplying Iran with weapons. While Russia and China have provided missiles and air defence technology to Iran in the past, both countries have denied sending weapons recently. The U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire yesterday. “A Country supplying Military Weapons to Iran will be immediately tariffed, on any and all goods sold to the United States of America, 50%, effective immediately,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “There will be no exclusions or exemptions!” Trump did not specify which nations this would include, or if other forms of military assistance to Iran would qualify a country for these tariffs. Russia has supplied Iran with imagery surveys of military facilities used to strike U.S. targets, according to Ukrainian intelligence. Chinese chipmaker SMIC, which is under U.S. sanctions due to alleged ties to China’s military, has reportedly been sending chip production tools to Iran over the past year. It is also not clear how these tariffs could be imposed. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down all tariffs imposed under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act in February, and other legal tariff measu

Trade
India buys oil from Iran for first time in seven years
India has bought oil and gas from Iran for the first time in seven years. This comes amid supply disruptions due to blockages in the Strait of Hormuz. “Amid Middle East supply disruptions, Indian refiners have secured their crude oil requirements, including from Iran; and there is no payment hurdle for Iranian crude imports, contrary to the rumours being circulated,” the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said in a post to X. India stopped purchasing oil from Tehran after the United States imposed sanctions on Iranian oil. These sanctions have since been lifted to ease supply shortages. This waiver is expected to remain in place until 19 April. The ministry also said India has secured its full requirements of crude oil for the coming months. India reportedly bought 44,000 metric tons of Iranian liquefied petroleum gas loaded on a sanctioned vehicle. Arpit Chaturvedi, a South Asia advisor at Teneo, told CNBC that India does not intend to take sides in the ongoing U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran. There are currently 17 Indian-flagged vessels awaiting safe passage through the strait, and seven have crossed the route in recent weeks following diplomatic engagement with Tehran. According to the Times of Ind
Trade
How tariffs quietly intensified China's trade dominance
The working assumption in Washington and on Wall Street is that tariffs are slowly weaning the world's production networks off Chinese factories. Yet McKinsey Global Institute's latest trade report - covering more than 90% of global goods flows - says otherwise. It shows that U.S.-China bilateral trade fell ~30% in 2025, with $130 billion in Chinese exports evaporating under tariff rates that peaked at 137% in April. American importers scrambled and found alternative suppliers, swapping out about two-thirds of what they'd been buying from China with shipments from ASEAN and India. Global trade, far from collapsing, grew 6.5% and outpaced GDP. None of these things changes the underlying shift in what China actually sells to the world. So how come Chinese exports of intermediate goods - the components, materials and semi-finished products that other countries need to make things - expanded 9% in 2025, up from 6% the year prior? Intermediate goods climbed to 47.4% of China's total exports in the first three quarters, up from 41.7% in 2017, according to Chinese customs data, and accounted for just over 40% of worldwide exports in this segment at the start of 2025. Beijing's manufacturers contributed close to 50
Trade
Chinese manufacturers warn of price hikes due to Iran war
Chinese suppliers have warned that they will hike up prices for Americans due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The war in the Middle East has stalled all shipments of oil and other products shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, raising concerns among Chinese manufacturers about further disruption across the global supply chain. Pickleball paddle producer Devi Wei told CNBC, “Americans will need to pay more,” at a Beijing trade show last week at the China International Exhibition Center. Wei, who founded his own exporting business, Huijin Trade, said he would need to hike the prices on his paddles and pickleballs by as much as 20% because of the recent swings in oil prices created by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. “I might have to go even higher,” Wei said. “Maybe double if the Iran war doesn’t stop soon.” Wei’s products are made with polypropylene, a plastic material derived from oil and made in the Middle East. Surging oil prices are filtering into the prices of all kinds of products that rely on the commodity for manufacturing. In the medical industry, Pang Li, sales manager at a Shanghai-based medical catheter maker, spent days urging United States buyers to lock in orders before her company
Trade
EU-US trade deal moves ahead with safeguards
The European Parliament has voted to advance legislation implementing the European Union’s side of a transatlantic trade agreement with the United States, adding legal safeguards amid persistent concerns over Washington’s tariff policy under Donald Trump. Lawmakers on Thursday backed the measure by 417 votes to 154, with 71 abstentions, incorporating provisions that would allow the EU to suspend or condition tariff concessions if the U.S. fails to comply with the deal struck in Turnberry, Scotland, in July 2025. The vote marks a procedural step rather than final approval, with negotiations between Parliament and EU member states due to begin on 13 April ahead of a final vote expected no earlier than June. The legislation underpins a broader EU-U.S. agreement designed to stabilise trade relations after a period of escalating tariff threats. It would eliminate most EU import duties on U.S. industrial goods, expand access for U.S. agricultural exports, and extend zero tariffs on U.S. lobsters first agreed in 2020. In return, U.S. tariffs would remain capped at 15% on most EU exports - an asymmetry that has drawn criticism from European lawmakers. According to Eurostat data, the U.S. remains the EU’s largest trading