The European Union is seeking to accelerate trade talks with the US just six weeks before President Donald Trump’s threatened 50% tariffs come into effect.

Stock futures are pointing to a sharply higher open for major U.S. indexes on Tuesday as investors react to the latest back-and-forth from the Trump administration on trade.

European Union countries backed plans on Tuesday to scale back the bloc's carbon border levy to cover just 10% of the companies currently covered by the scheme, on the grounds that these firms account for nearly all of the emissions involved.

President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the war in Ukraine, hosted the president of South Africa at the White House and threatened more stringent tariffs against the European Union this week.