[SINGAPORE] More than a month after US President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day”, he is giving the world a glimpse at what it will take to get him to relent on the hefty tariffs he has slapped on most of America’s trading partners.

And the mood in the market seems to be improving.

Last week, the US and UK announced an “economic prosperity deal”, in what could be the first of a number of similar agreements with other nations.

Among other things, the deal will see tariff-free beef exports between the US and UK, and the UK reduce its tariff on US ethanol to zero. Meanwhile, the US will reduce its industry-specific tariffs on UK cars, steel and aluminium.

The US will maintain its baseline reciprocal tariff of 10 per cent on most imports from the UK, though.

The US and China also began trade discussions over the weekend in Switzerland, with Trump floating the possibility of cutting US tariffs on Chinese goods if the talks are substantive.

It is not clear that these trade talks and deals will improve the outlook for the global economy any time soon, of course. Indeed, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week