Trump is expected to announce the outline of a trade agreement with the UK today, as he faces political pressure to find an off-ramp from his plan to raise US tariffs to their highest level in a century. The US president signaled the deal he’ll discuss would be the first of many. Separately, the administration plans to rescind some Biden-era AI chip curbs as part of a broader effort to revise global semiconductor trade restrictions. Poland’s prime minister pushed back against plans by Germany’s new Chancellor Friedrich Merz to tighten border controls with its European Union neighbors. Donald Tusk said his country won’t accept Berlin sending back migrants, saying the focus should rather be on reinforcing the bloc’s outside frontier. The UK is drawing up plans to make it harder for migrants to get permanent residency in Britain. Taking a tougher stance on immigration has become a priority for Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he tries to respond to the electoral threat from Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party, which has been riding high in polls. Meanwhile, Starmer said British workers would benefit from plans to boost military spending. India and Pakistan yesterday hit each other with military strikes for the sixth time since 1947, when Britain pulled out of the subcontinent and both nations won independence. Yet while militarily both countries have the ability to inflict untold damage, India has much more at stake in economic terms, with its surging gross domestic product now over eight times the size of Pakistan’s. A protest in response to India’s military strikes in Karachi, Pakistan, yesterday. Photographer: Asim Hafeez/Bloomberg Argentina’s Congress rejected a bill authored by President Javier Milei yesterday, leaving open the possibility that former leader Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner could again run for the nation’s top office. Known locally as ficha limpia, or “clean slate,” the bill would have effectively barred Fernandez de Kirchner and others convicted of corruption charges from running for or being appointed to any national office. Denmark summoned the US ambassador in Copenhagen to discuss alleged espionage against Greenland amid a growing push to gain control of the Arctic island. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te warned that the territory and Europe are under threat from new totalitarian powers in a speech aimed at underscoring Taipei’s alignment with the West amid growing threats from China. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa unveiled the second phase of a reform program aimed at firing up an economy that’s grown by an average of less than 1% annually over the past decade, with measures planned to fix dysfunctional municipalities and drive the adoption of digital technologies. The Trump administration’s purge of federal workers has impacted offices inside at least a dozen US government agencies that are responsible for fielding Freedom of Information Act requests. In all, it stands to jeopardize the public’s ability to access government documents. What questions do you have for Bloomberg’s senior investigative reporter and FOIA expert Jason Leopold? Join us for a Live Q&A on May 9 at 1pm EDT. Sign up for the Washington Edition newsletter for news from the US capital and watch Balance of Power at 1 and 5 p.m. ET weekdays on Bloomberg Television. |