Young people and part-time workers hit by fall in UK employment – business live | Business

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Fighting a war on multiple fronts is never easy — you risk losing focus, fighting the wrong battles, and creating too many foes to tackle at once.

So it’s understandable that the US may be swaying away from escalating its trade dispute with Europe, as it tried to secure a win against China.

According to multiple sources, Donald Trump is reportedly planning to delay a planned hike on EU car imports. He has to decide by Wednesday whether to impose a 20% tariffs on vehicles and auto parts, or kick the decision down the road for another six months.

These tariffs were first threatened a year ago, as the two sides began a tit-for-tat trade spat which hit European steel and American peanut butter, whiskey and motorcycles.

Trump has already delayed these tariffs once. One source told Politico that the president is planning to announce another six-month delay:

That would avoid a new bruising dispute with one of the United States’ biggest trading partners, just as Trump is trying to put out another trade fire by striking an initial deal with China. But it would also set the stage for Trump to revisit the controversial trade issue in the throes of next year’s presidential campaign.

The person with familiar the decision cautioned there is always uncertainty surrounding Trump’s final determination when it comes to trades and tariffs. But barring some unforeseen development, the president is expected to announce another six-month delay, the person said.

Outgoing European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is also hopeful that Trump will resist escalating tensions between Washington and Brussels.

He told Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung late last week:

“Trump is going to make some criticism, but there won’t be any auto tariffs.

He won’t do it. … You are speaking to a fully informed man.”

Such a move would obviously boost European car makers, who have already been hurt by trade tensions and weakening demand in China.

It could also reassure markets, where investors are disappointed that the US-China negotiations over a Phase One trade deal are dragging on.

But predicting the president’s next move is often tricky. Donald Trump is due to speak at the Economic Club of New York later today, so we may hear more clues about his trade war strategy.

Also coming up today

Yesterday we learned that UK growth has fallen to a 10-year low, as Brexit uncertainty continues to hit investment and the global economy weakens.

Today we get the latest labour market report, which is expected to show that the UK employment total fell by around 94,000 in the last quarter. That would reinforce concerns that the jobs market is cooling.

Economists also predict that the unemployment rate will remain at 3.9%, close to a four-decades low, with wage growth pegged at 3.8%.

There may be drama at the High Court too, as the Royal Mail tries to block a planned strike that could disrupt Christmas deliveries and postal votes in next month’s general election.

The agenda

• 9.30am GMT: UK unemployment data for July-September
• 10am GMT: ZEW survey of eurozone economic confidence
• 5pm GMT: President Donald Trump speaks at Economic Club of New York