US economy shrinks 0.3 per cent in first quarter of 2025 amid widespread concern over Donald Trump’s tariffs

Donald Trump asked Americans to be “be patient” after the US economy unexpectedly shrank in the first quarter of the year, amid widespread concern over the president’s tariffs agenda. Gross domestic product (GDP) decreased at an annualised rate of 0.3 per cent between January and March, according to a report released by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis on Wednesday. That was worse than the 0.3 per cent growth economists had been forecasting, and came amid deep uncertainty over the impact of the Trump administration’s broad tariffs. The latest data marks the American economy’s worst performance in three years,…