The US Treasury has announced it has struck a natural resources deal with Ukraine. It comes on a day it was announced the US economy had shrunk, in its worst performance for three years. Donald Trump insisted his tariffs were not to blame – despite the evidence.
Wednesday 30 April 2025 23:12, UK
We’ll be back tomorrow with more updates. Until then, here’s a rundown of what’s happened in the last 24 hours…
US and Ukraine sign natural resources deal
In the last few moments we had confirmation from the US Treasury that a minerals deal has been signed with Ukraine.
Specific details still remain unclear, but the Treasury said the agreement establishes a US-Ukraine reconstruction investment fund.
It also added that the agreement signals to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centred on a free, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine.
US economy shrinks – as Trump blames Biden
After soaking up the party atmosphere at last night’s Michigan rally marking his first 100 days back in the White House, Donald Trump was brought back down to earth abruptly on day 101.
That was thanks to the release of the first US economic growth figures covering Trump 2.0. It showed the world’s largest economy contracted during the first three months of the year.
Economists had largely expected growth of 0.3%, but instead the economy shrank at an annualised rate of 0.3% between January and March, its worst performance for three years.
Trump was quick to blame predecessor Joe Biden, claiming he „inherited a mess“ and that his administration has brought in investment worth $8trn.
In response, former Biden spokesman Andrew Bates said Trump was handed „the best-performing economy in the world“ by Biden, but now the US is“plummeting toward a Trumpcession“.
Trump claimed the economic dip had „nothing to do with“ his tariff policies, urging patience for what he said would be a „boom“ that was „like no other“.
But many economists say that his massive import taxes – and the erratic way he has rolled them out – have hurt growth and will do again in the second half of the year, and that recession risks are rising.
In other news:
Watch: Trump claims China ‚is doing very poorly‘
An update to bring you now on the resources deal between the US and Ukraine which we told you was expected to be signed today.
We’ve just heard from the US Treasury, which has confirmed than an agreement has been signed with Ukraine.
While specific details still remain unclear, it said the agreement establishes a US-Ukraine reconstruction investment fund.
The Treasury said the agreement signals to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centred on a free, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine.
It’s a long-awaited agreement and it had been expected Volodymyr Zelenskyy would sign it when he visited the White House in February.
But that meeting ended in the now infamous Oval Office row involving the Ukrainian president, Trump and JD Vance, with Zelenskyy leaving without signing the agreement.
As Donald Trump wraps up his speech, the US president was once again hailing his first 100 days back in office – but the polls tell a different story.
Pollster John Zogby explained to our chief presenter Mark Austin that most polls have Trump down anywhere from a low approval rating of 37% to a high of 47%.
He described the US president’s polling as being „upside down“, saying his disapproval ratings are over 50% in every poll.
„The only thing he’s not down on is immigration,“ Zogby added.
„But his numbers of approval on immigration are actually lower than they were, but he gets the highest marks for handling immigration.“
Watch the full interview below.
Donald Trump is now picking out some of the business leaders in attendance and is highlighting their investments.
Among them, he thanks Hyundai for $21bn and Johnson & Johnson for $55bn over the next four years.
Nvidia also gets a mention after it said it will build up to $500bn worth of artificial intelligence infrastructure in the US over the next four years.
Trump then shares a collective message for the businesses he’s hosting at the White House.
„I want to congratulate you all on your incredible success and accomplishments, you’re amazing, you’re the biggest and the best,“ he says.
Donald Trump is now up and speaking at the White House about investment in the US.
He repeats his claim that his administration has brought in investment worth $8trn – something he said in his cabinet meeting earlier today (see 4.40pm post).
„There’s never been anything like that in this country, we’ve never had anything close,“ he says.
He also hits out at Joe Biden, saying „100 days ago this week we inherited the wreckage of four years of economic disaster“.
„We finally have a president who wants to put our country first, we have a president who believes in America first,“ he adds.
Addressing today’s economic figures, he once again says „this is Biden’s economy“ – something he’s been repeatedly pointing out after it was revealed the US economy shrank 0.3% from January to March.
We’re still waiting for Donald Trump to emerge at the White House.
The US president tackled a range of topics when he took to the stage at his rally in Michigan last night.
But was he accurate in what he was saying? Sky’s David Blevins takes a closer look…
Here’s the scene at the White House as we wait for Donald Trump to take to the podium.
As a reminder, we’re expecting the US president to be speaking about investment in America.
We’re expecting to hear from Donald Trump shortly, who will be speaking about investment in the US.
He’s set to host top executives from the likes of Nvidia, Johnson & Johnson and GE Aerospace at the White House.
You can watch along in the stream at the top of the page when Trump starts talking, we’ll also bring you text updates.
Some pictures to bring you from Washington now, where protesters have blocked rush hour traffic at a busy downtown intersection.
They’re demonstrating against Donald Trump’s 100 days back in the Oval Office.
We brought you warnings from the toy industry earlier, that Trump’s tariffs could lead to empty shelves in US shops (see 15.13 post).
The president addressed this at his cabinet meeting in the White House this afternoon.
He said: „Somebody said, ‚Oh, the shelves are going to be bare.‘ Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30, you know?“
The US imports around 75% of its toys from China, according to the US Commerce Department.
The industry is one of the most reliant on US-China trade links – which have been hit hard by Trump’s tariffs. Toy sellers have warned shoppers of less choice and higher prices this year.
China has „ships that are loaded up with stuff, much of which, not all of it, but much of which we don’t need“, Trump added today.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also downplayed the need for Chinese imports, saying last month that the „American dream is not contingent on cheap baubles from China“.
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Trump latest: Natural resources deal shows Trump 'committed to free Ukraine' – US Treasury – Sky News
