Evening Briefing: Europe

European leaders meeting in Brussels today had a message for Donald Trump: There will be no side deals or shortcuts on trade negotiations.

The EU’s strategy is to speak with one voice as the US president uses the threat of steep tariff hikes to try to persuade countries, like Switzerland, to sign bilateral trade deals that would be advantageous to America. Trump hailed such a pact with the UK this week as a breakthrough that would open the door to others.

Although White House trade adviser Peter Navarro says reaching a new deal with the EU is high on the priority list, there’s been little progress so far. The bloc is planning to hit €95 billion ($108 billion) of US products with additional levies if talks with Trump’s team fail to yield a satisfactory result. — Caroline Alexander

What You Need to Know Today

China’s exports to the US slumped sharply in April after Trump targeted its goods with tariffs above 100%, while growing in other markets, with total exports expanding 8.1% last month. That’s far more than forecast by economists but down from a gain of more than 12% in March. Ahead of negotiations due to begin Saturday, Trump floated an 80% tariff on China and urged Beijing to do more to open its markets to US goods.

One of China’s largest online recruitment platforms has stopped providing wage data it’s compiled for at least a decade, making it more difficult to gauge the health of the world’s biggest labor market.

India and Pakistan continued to trade accusations about military action against each other as hostilities entered a third day. Tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors have surged to their most dangerous levels in years, with the nations shooting down missiles and drones over densely populated cities yesterday. The US and other major global powers have called for both sides to show restraint.

President Vladimir Putin said Russia would achieve its strategic objectives in Ukraine at a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. He insisted, during a speech, that the country was united behind his war and made no reference to Trump’s call yesterday for a 30-day ceasefire. Global leaders at the event included Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.

Putin and Xi watch the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, in a photo provided by Russian state media. Photographer: Sergei Bobylev/Photo host agency RIA Novosti

The portion of Ukraine’s foreign reserves held in euros has surged to $39 billion of its total reserves of nearly $46.7 billion in US dollars. With Russia’s war now in its fourth year, the trend largely reflects increasing flows of aid from the EU as US support wanes. It also underscores Ukrainian policymakers’ bid to forge closer economic ties with the EU as well as broader market trends that have seen appetite for dollar assets decline amid the US trade war, we’re told.

Jamf is best known for helping businesses manage and secure Apple devices, but the company will begin offering mobile management services for Android users in July. Trump’s trade policies have left Apple vulnerable to rising, which could weaken demand for its devices. And that’s given Jamf all the more reason to seek business beyond the iPhone maker.

As the weather turns warmer in Britain, and the swimming season gets underway, cases of sewage-related sickness are rising. Untreated sewage entered English waters for a record 3.61 million hours last year — a result of aging infrastructure which sends rain and wastewater from toilets and kitchens through the same pipes and often overflows into rivers and seas.