The onus is now on the Trump administration to show that it can quickly conclude trade negotiations with Washington’s trading partners within the US president’s 90-day timeframe, a former US trade negotiator has said.

“Teeing up these decisions is going to take some serious negotiations,” Wendy Cutler, a former US Trade Representative chief negotiator, told Reuters. “There’s no way during this timeframe we’re doing a comprehensive agreement with any of these countries.”

Describing this as a “huge task”, Ms Cutler said: “The onus is going to be on them to show that they can quickly conclude agreements with countries, and instil some confidence in the market and with other trading partners that there is an off-ramp here.”

Investors in WH Smith will be keen for more details on its strategy after agreeing to sell its UK high street stores and the potential impact of US tariffs when the retail firm updates the market on Wednesday on its past six months of trading.

In what will mark the first major update since the historic retailer pivoted to focus solely on its growing travel store business, selling off its estate of high street shops across the UK for around £76m, shareholders will be keen for more guidance on what the sale deal and the increased focus on travel means for its longer-term outlook.

The company is among retailers with exposure to the US market which have seen their value knocked by Donald Trump’s US tariff plans.

Analysts at Investec highlight that around 28 per cent of its sales and 30 per cent of its profits for the current financial year are expected to come from the US, which also includes Marshall Retail Group (MRG) and InMotion stores.

Investec suggests the company may see more of an impact from a “macro-economic slowdown rather than a tariff impact”, as weaker growth may affect traveller numbers.

Donald Trump and his team want to reach trade deals with 90 countries in as many days – but experts say there’s “no way” he can achieve that mark.

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told Fox Business the Trump administration will “run 90 deals in 90 days.” His proclamation comes after Trump issued blanket tariffs of at least 10 percent on nearly every country — then placed a 90-day pause on most of the tariffs Wednesday.

Navarro added Trump will be “the boss” and “chief negotiator” of these supposed deals: “Nothing is done without him looking very carefully at it.”

US trade representative Jamieson Greer similarly said that a team of 200 people are “working around the clock” to get deals “to a point where the president can close” them.

But economists say it’s not going to happen with the Senate having only confirmed one other senior Treasury Department official and the administration already being stretched thin.

Katie Hawkinson reports from Washington:

Donald Trump’s decision to exempt phones, laptops and other electronics from his global tariffs comes after analysts said even the lower levy of 54 per cent on Chinese goods could have seen the price of an iPhone soar from $1,599 to $2,300.

At a higher rate of 125 imposed by Mr Trump this week, economists and analysts warned that US-China trade could have largely halted altogether.

Smartphones were the top US import from China in 2024, totalling $41.7bn, while Chinese-built laptops were second, at $33.1bn, according to US Census Bureau data.

Apple recently chartered cargo flights to ferry 600 tonnes of iPhones, or as many as 1.5 million, to the US from India, after it stepped up production there in an effort to beat Mr Trump’s tariffs, Reuters reported on Friday.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that Donald Trump has made clear the US cannot rely on China to manufacture critical technologies such as semiconductors, chips, smartphones and laptops.

But she claimed that, at Mr Trump’s direction, major tech firms – including Apple and chipmakers Nvidia and Taiwan Semiconductor – “are hustling to onshore their manufacturing in the United States as soon as possible”.

Donald Trump’s exemption on smartphones and other electronics from his global tariffs is “the most bullish news we could have heard this weekend”, an analyst at the financial services firm Wedbush Securities has said.

“There is still clear uncertainty and volatility ahead with these China negotiations,” Dan Ives said in an industry note, reported by Reuters.

“Big Tech firms like Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft and the broader tech industry can breathe a huge sigh of relief this weekend into Monday.”

Asked on Saturday about his reasoning for the exemptions on smartphones, computers and semiconductors, Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One: “I’ll give you that answer on Monday.

“We’ll be very specific on Monday … we’re taking in a lot of money, as a country, we’re taking in a lot of money.”

Chinese president Xi Jinping has vowed to deepen his country’s strategic partnership with Indonesia in a call with his counterpart Prabowo Subianto, Beijing’s state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

Mr Xi told Mr Prabowo that their bilateral partnership had strategic significance and impact globally, as the two exchanged congratulations over the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties, Xinhua said.

Beijing is trying to persuade other nations to hew to a common line against US import tariffs announced by Donald Trump last Wednesday. Following a tit-for-tat escalation, Mr Trump has now increased has levy on China to 145 per cent – but has relented to exclude smartphones, laptops and computer chips.

Mr Xi will visit Indonesia’s fellow Southeast Asian nations Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia from Monday, aiming to consolidate ties with some of China’s closest neighbours as trade tensions escalate with the US.

Tesla has reportedly suspended taking new orders for Model S and Model X vehicles on its Chinese website as the world’s two largest economies exchange blows in a trade war.

Both models are made in the US and imported to China. New orders for the two models were also no longer available on the automaker’s WeChat mini-programme account in China, Reuters reported.

While the company did not give a reason for the move, it comes as China and US have been locked in an escalating trade war.

China on Friday raised its tariffs on US imports to 125 per cent after president Donald Trump’s decision to hike duties on Chinese goods to 145 per cent.

Higher US tariffs significantly increases the retail cost for Chinese consumers, making these cars more expensive than locally produced EVs.

The Texas-based company is least affected by Mr Trump’s tariffs among automakers due to its largely domestic manufacturing for sales in the US.