An economic deal with the US could be agreed in a matter of days, Government sources say.

Ministers are desperate to strike an agreement with Donald Trump despite his advisers warning that he will not ease tariffs on the UK.

Yesterday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the UK was ‘resolved’ to do everything it could to secure the ‘best deal possible’ with the US.

Conversations over a potential agreement will progress in the coming days, government sources indicated.

However, it is unlikely ministers will be able to avoid the ‘baseline’ tariff of 10 per cent on exports to the US.

Instead, the UK is focusing on easing the 25 per cent tariffs on steel, aluminium and cars, which are Britain’s single biggest export to America.

Travelling to Poland to meet European financial ministers, Ms Reeves said the UK needed to strike better trade arrangements with other partners across the world.

It came as Mr Trump’s global tariffs forced his ally Elon Musk to suspend new orders for Tesla cars to China as the trade war escalates between the two countries.

Ministers are scrambling to reach a trade agreement with Donald Trump (pictured on Friday) despite his advisers warning that he will not ease tariffs on the UK

An anti-Elon Musk campaign group destroy a Tesla Model S in south London in a protest on Friday

Despite the turbulence in world markets, Mr Trump insisted that he was ‘doing really well on our tariff policy’ and said it was ‘moving along quickly’.

Mr Trump has raised total tariffs on China to 145 per cent, while China responded yesterday by increasing its levies on US exports to 125 per cent.

The tit-for-tat trade war has all but ended trade between the two countries.

Tesla’s share price has fallen about 50 per cent due to the levies. A large amount of battery materials used for the cars are supplied by Chinese firms. 

Mr Musk has admitted his company faces a ‘significant’ impact from the levies and says there should be ‘zero tariffs’ between the EU and America despite being a US government adviser.

The company is already struggling to compete with Chinese rivals, including BYD, and there are suggestions that Mr Musk’s association with the Trump regime has tarnished the brand.

Mr Trump is also facing accusations of insider trading after saying it was a ‘great time to buy’ shares four hours before the stock market surged when he paused tariffs on Wednesday. 

Stock markets around the world plunged dramatically on Monday following his imposition of tariffs on worldwide imports. There was further meltdown when he paused nearly all of them except for China for 90 days.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves (pictured on Wednesday) says the UK is determined to do everything in its power to secure a deal with the US

Elon Musk’s Tesla has seen share price fall about 50 per cent due to the levies – a large amount of battery materials used for the cars are supplied by Chinese firms

The S&P 500 stock market index, which tracks the largest companies in the US, soared by more than 9 per cent following the decision by Mr Trump.

In a video posted on X, Mr Trump said that Charles Schwab, the founder of a multinational financial services firm, had made $2.5billion from the sudden surge in the stock market. He later said: ‘That’s not bad is it.’

US Democrats have called for an investigation after claiming he had tipped off his ‘billionaire’ allies before reversing the policy.

They say his intervention raised ‘grave ethics concerns’ and they want an urgent inquiry into whether any of Mr Trump’s family or officials benefited.

But Jordan Belfort, who wrote the memoir The Wolf Of Wall Street which inspired the film of the same name, told Sky News there was ‘no way’ Mr Trump had manipulated the market.

Yesterday White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that more than 75 countries had made contact with the US administration to talk about tariffs and the ‘phones have been ringing off the hook to make deals’.

She added: ‘If China continues to retaliate, it’s not good for China’.

Asked whether China had backed down by saying it would ignore any further tariff escalations, she said: ‘The President made it very clear when the United States is punched, he will punch back harder.’

Tesla stunt hammers home the point

He’s a divisive character. But would you show your feelings about Elon Musk by smashing up one of his Tesla cars?

That’s what happened outside a South London arts studios as a hammer-wielding group wrecked a £14,000 2014 Model S. 

The piece of performance art was organised by campaign group Everyone Hates Elon to give ‘Londoners a chance to stand up to far-Right hatred and billionaires and express how they feel about the current state of the world’. 

The car, which had been destined for scrap, will be auctioned and the proceeds will go towards a food bank. 

The group advised others ‘not to damage any other vehicles – you would face serious legal consequences’.

A campaigner smashes a Tesla car outside a London arts studio during a protest by activist group Everybody Hates Elon 

The car, which had been destined for scrap, will be auctioned and the proceeds will go towards a food bank

The performance art piece was organised to give Londoners a chance to express their hatred of far-Right policies and frustration with wealth-hoarding billionaires

A campaigner stands on the Tesla car, donated anonymously for the stunt

The group advised others not to follow in their footsteps lest they face legal consequences