US President Donald Trump has threatened to slap a 200 percent duty on imports of wine and spirits from the European Union.  He accused the bloc of imposing a "nasty" 50 percent tariff on bourbons, even though that planned levy is itself a response to Trump’s 25 percent tax on steel and aluminium imports. Plus, Donatella Versace is stepping down as chief creative officer at the Italian fashion house after 30 years.   

The 48th International Tourism Salon gets underway in Paris, with the world's #3 destination the United States seeing a big drop in Canadian visitors. The United Nations prepares for budget cuts amid an efficiency drive after 7 years of liquidity crisis. 

A new, 25 percent import tax on all steel and aluminium coming into the United States has taken effect, drawing swift retaliatory measures from Canada and the European Union. Donald Trump warned of a further response. Sweeping metal tariffs imposed during Trump's first term did have some positive impact on the US steel and aluminium industries but negatively affected other sectors downstream. Plus, US inflation in February cooled slightly. 

US President Donald Trump's 25 percent tariffs on all imports of steel and aluminium came into effect on Wednesday, without any exemptions for the country’s traditional allies. The import duties were welcomed by some American metal producers who want protection against what they believe is unfair competition. The European Union has vowed to retaliate with its own measures targeting 26-bn euros worth of US goods entering the common market. Also, fears of a recession rattle global stock markets.

In the latest twist in an escalating trade war between the US and Canada, Donald Trump announced doubling tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium to 50 percent only to halt them hours later, after Ontario's premier Doug Ford suspended a planned 25 percent surcharge on electricity exports to the United States. This led to another chaotic trading day on Wall Street. Plus, embattled Japanese carmaker Nissan has announced a management reshuffle: Ivan Espinosa is to replace Makoto Uchida as CEO next month. 

Wall Street stocks plummeted after Donald Trump refused to rule out the possibility of a recession resulting from his tariffs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 89 points, the S&P 500 closed down 2.7 percent and the Nasdaq sank 4 percent, its biggest one-day loss in five years. Tesla shares nosedived, closing the day down 15 percent as a backlash against Elon Musk's politics intensified. Plus, Japan auctioned off a portion of its emergency stockpiles of rice in an effort to bring prices down. 

President Donald Trump says the US economy is “in transition” as his vacillating tariff policies and government downsizing spread chaos and confusion along manufacturing supply chains. Canada faces a trade war not just with the US but with China as well, and Greenlanders consider their territory's mineral wealth as its strategic importance grows. 

According to reporting from Bloomberg, Germany's envoy to Brussels urged the EU on Wednesday to ease its fiscal rules in order to allow for more defence expenditure to counter Russia. This would mark an important policy shift for a country known for financial restraint, and follows plans to change Germany's own strict fiscal rules. Also in this edition, the EU unveils a new plan to boost its struggling auto industry.

Germany's political parties hoping to form the next government have agreed to loosen the country's strict "debt brake" system which constitutionally limits new government borrowing to 0.35 percent of GDP.  Conservative leader Friedrich Merz says extraordinary efforts are needed to boost the country's defence capabilities given the current security uncertainty. Plus, a day after imposing 25 percent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, Donald Trump has agreed to give a one-month exemption to cars. 

At the opening of the National People's Congress in Beijing, Chinese Premier Li Qiang presented the country's parliament with his government's work report for 2025. Li stressed the importance of revitalising domestic consumption as a driver for economic growth, especially in a context of increased global trade tensions. For the first time in decades, deficit spending will reach 4 percent of GDP. Also in this edition: Europeans consider using Russian frozen assets to finance increased defense spending.