Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes.

On today's podcast:

(1) President Donald Trump unveiled the first in a wave of promised letters that threaten to impose higher tariff rates on key trading partners, but suggested that he was still open to additional negotiations and pushed off increased duties until at least Aug. 1.

(2) The European Union is seeking to conclude a preliminary trade deal with the US this week that would allow it to lock in a 10% tariff rate beyond an Aug. 1 deadline as they negotiate a permanent agreement.

 
(3) The UK is racing to secure US agreement to make operational a deal to eliminate tariffs on British steel ahead of a Wednesday deadline when American officials could choose instead to raise the levy to 50%.

(4) More than 100 people have been confirmed dead in floods that tore through central Texas over the weekend, marking a grim milestone as searchers used boats, dogs and drones to locate victims and authorities debated whether anything more could have been done to prevent the disaster.

(5) The UK government is moving to ban employers deploying nondisclosure agreements to muzzle workers who have been victims of misconduct on the job.

(6) France's President Emmanuel Macron arrives in Britain today for the first state visit from a french leader since 2008.

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