China has announced that it will raise retaliatory tariffs on select US imports from 84% to 125%, further intensifying the trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies. The move, detailed in a statement from Beijing’s State Council Tariff Commission, comes in direct response to Washington’s latest increase.
US President Donald Trump had recently declared a 90-day suspension of reciprocal tariffs on imports from 75 countries, lowering them to 10%, while simultaneously raising duties on Chinese goods from 104% to 125%.
Beijing’s earlier decision to increase tariffs to 84% was itself a response to prior US measures, setting off the latest round of tit-for-tat escalation in the spiraling tariff war.
13 April 2025
Asked about his move to exempt smartphones, computers, and other electronics from reciprocal tariffs in order to protect consumers from sticker shock, President Donald Trump would neither confirm nor deny that his administration was preparing separate tariffs on semiconductors.
“I’ll give you that answer on Monday. We’ll be very specific on Monday,” Trump said, before reiterating: “We’re taking in a lot of money. As a country, we’re taking in a lot of money.”
Chinese users are mocking Trump’s tariffs with a viral AI-generated video showing exhausted, obese Americans forced to do manual labor in factories.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday night, President Donald Trump defended his tariff strategy, insisting that his seemingly abrupt moves had put the economy in “very good shape,” with Americans allegedly getting richer than ever and inflation dropping.
“Inflation is dropping. Americans have more money, and the country has more money. You know, we’ve been making $2 or $3 billion a day the last couple of weeks,” Trump told reporters.
“And then, to be nice, I lowered the tariffs on everybody,” he claimed. Trump’s decision to backpedal effectively kept most of the tariffs at a “baseline” 10% – before further hikes even properly went into force – while most of Beijing’s imports are now subject to a 145% duty.
“We didn’t make that ever,” he said, arguing that “it’s always been the other way around. Other countries, in particular China, were making a lot of money.”
12 April 2025
Tesla has stopped taking new orders for Model S and Model X vehicles in China, with both luxury models – produced at Tesla’s factory in the United States – no longer available for purchase on the company’s Chinese website or through its official WeChat mini-program, according to a Reuters report.
The move comes as China raised tariffs on US-made goods, including cars, to 125% on Friday, following President Donald Trump’s decision to increase duties on Chinese imports to 145%. While Tesla did not provide a reason for halting new orders, the sharp rise in tariffs would significantly increase the retail price of imported US-made vehicles in China, making them far less competitive against locally produced electric cars.
The impact on Tesla’s overall business in China is expected to be limited. The Austin, Texas-based company manufactures its best-selling Model 3 and Model Y vehicles at its Shanghai Gigafactory, both for domestic sales and for export to markets such as Europe. These models account for the vast majority of Tesla’s deliveries in China.
In 2024, China imported 1,553 Model X SUVs and 311 Model S sedans, according to Li Yanwei, an analyst at the China Auto Dealers Association. These models represented less than 0.5% of Tesla’s total sales of over 657,000 vehicles in the country last year.
German Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz stated that Donald Trump's tariff policies raise the risk of a financial crisis and advocated for a US-European free trade agreement.
“Yes, I’m hoping for a new transatlantic free-trade accord,” Merz said in an interview with Handelsblatt newspaper published on Saturday.
“Zero percent tariffs on everything. That would be better for both sides,” he suggested.
The UK moves to take control of British Steel, Reuters has said, adding that “a minister told an emergency parliamentary session that a full nationalisation of the UK’s last maker of virgin steel was becoming increasingly likely”.
According to the agency, British Steel was already struggling in an over-supplied global market before the rise in energy costs in recent years. New US 25% tariffs on all steel imports, effective March, dealt another blow. The country receives about 5% of British steel exports worth 400 million pounds a year.
After exempting several high-tech products from new tariffs, President Donald Trump continues to urge firms to move production to the United States, according to the White House.
“President Trump has made it clear America cannot rely on China to manufacture critical technologies such as semiconductors, chips, smartphones, and laptops” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has told CNN.
That’s why the President has secured trillions of dollars in US investments from the largest tech companies in the world, including Apple, TSMC, and Nvidia. At the direction of the President, these companies are hustling to onshore their manufacturing in the United States as soon as possible.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note was 4.57% as of 11 AM ET on Friday, according to Axios. Though the level is not concerning, it may be a sign of global investors rethinking their assets strategy.
During past periods of significant turmoil, such as September 2008 and the early days of the 2020 pandemic, the dollar appreciated as global investors sought safety, Axios stressed Saturday.
US president Donald Trump’s administration has exempted smartphones, computers and other electronics from its reciprocal tariffs in order to protect customers from sticker shock and to help tech behemoths like Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.
In order to protect customers from sticker shock and to help tech behemoths like Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., President Donald Trump's administration has exempted laptops, cellphones, and other devices from its so-called reciprocal tariffs. By removing the products from Trump’s 125% China tariff and his base 10% global tariff on almost all other nations, the exemptions, which were released by US Customs and Border Protection late Friday, reduce the reach of the levies.
The Chinese Embassy in the US posted a cartoon on X criticizing American tariffs. It was shared alongside a quote from Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry. “In the face of US hegemony and bullying, remember this: give the bully an inch, he will take a mile,” the embassy wrote, urging followers to recall Lin’s warning.
President Trump’s 25% tariff on foreign auto imports and parts is set to hit US carmakers with nearly $108 billion in added costs, with Detroit’s Big Three taking the biggest blow – even though they operate factories on American soil.
The tariffs, which took effect April 3, will affect around 17.7 million vehicles, according to the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan. While the administration says the move is aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing, industry experts warn that even US-based automakers will face steep cost increases due to their reliance on imported parts.
Donald Trump has voiced strong confidence in the US dollar, calling it “tremendous” and declaring, “It’s got to be stronger than ever.”
Speaking aboard Air Force One, he linked the dollar’s strength to public understanding of his economic policies, saying, “I think when people understand what we’re doing, I think the dollar will go…” Though the thought trailed off, Trump’s tone suggested an optimistic outlook.
Framing the dollar as a lasting global standard, he emphasized its continued dominance, implying that as long as “you have somebody smart,” the US currency will remain the “currency of choice.”
US President Donald Trump has defended his tariff strategy, issuing a clear ultimatum to trade partners. “If they think it’s too high, they don’t have to do business with us,” he said aboard Air Force One on Friday.
Trump noted a reduction “down to 10% and so that made it a little bit less but I did that because I wanted to…” He emphasized the broad application of tariffs, saying, “We have a lot of countries, not just China.”
Highlighting the trade turnaround, he declared, “I flipped it,” claiming, “We were losing millions of dollars. China now is losing billions of dollars. I don't want them to lose money, but they're losing billions and we're making billions.”
Chinese Trade Minister Wang Wentao has warned that continued US tariffs could severely impact developing nations and potentially spark a humanitarian crisis.
In a video call Friday with WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Wang said China’s “decisive countermeasures” aim to defend its rights and promote global fairness.
He called on WTO members to unite against unilateralism and protectionism, and to support open cooperation and multilateralism, according to a Commerce Ministry statement on Saturday.
US stocks wrapped up a turbulent week on Wall Street, as investors closely monitored the latest developments in the ongoing trade war between the US and China and reacted to shifting tariff policies.
President Trump’s rapidly changing stance on tariffs triggered major market swings – starting with steep losses earlier in the week, followed by a historic rally on Wednesday, and sharp declines again on Thursday.
Despite the volatility, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted their strongest weekly performances since 2023, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded its best week since 2022, surging 7%.
India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade has launched a ‘Global Tariff and Trade Helpdesk’ to aid exporters and importers amid rising global tariff uncertainties. The helpdesk will address issues related to trade procedures, logistics, finance, and regulatory compliance. The move comes as India faces a 26% tariff under US President Donald Trump’s Executive Order, announced on April 2 – lower than those on Vietnam, Thailand, and China. However, the US has suspended enforcement of a key clause in the order until July 9, 2025, allowing time for diplomatic negotiations.
The US central bank would "absolutely be prepared" to intervene to stabilize financial markets if necessary, following recent turbulence triggered by Donald Trump’s new tariff policies, Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins stated. In an interview with the Financial Times, she emphasized that any intervention would depend on prevailing market conditions. She noted, however, that emergency interest rate cuts are unlikely in the near future due to concerns about rising inflation.
President Donald Trump has dismissed suggestions that US market volatility was the main reason behind his decision to halt further tariff hikes, insisting that his real goal was to put the US economy in an “unbelievable” position.
“A lot of people say it was that [the bond market] – but nah, it wasn’t,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked to what extent market instability influenced his decision.
Trump said the US economy was “making billions of dollars a day” from tariffs for the first time in years, claiming that previous presidents lacked the courage to pursue aggressive trade policies.
“I want to put the country in an unbelievable economic position, which is where we should be,” he stated. “We’re very strong… It’s going to be stronger than ever. I solved that problem very quickly.”
President Trump has hinted that he could offer some trading partners exemptions from tariffs – even as he insisted that his “baseline” tariff currently in place on most US imports was “pretty close” to the best possible offer when asked if 10% was the “floor.”
“There could be a couple of exceptions for obvious reasons, but I would say 10% is a floor,” Trump told reporters on Friday evening aboard Air Force One. He did not specify what the “obvious reasons” were.
President Donald Trump remains “optimistic” that a trade deal can be reached with China, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has insisted, telling reporters that Trump is ready to be “gracious” in negotiations.
“The President, as I said from the podium just a few days ago when I was up here, would be gracious if China intends to make a deal with the United States,” Leavitt said.
“If China continues to retaliate, it’s not good for China — and the United States of America is the strongest, best economy in the world, as evidenced by the more than 75 countries who have called the administration immediately to cut good deals,” she added.
More than 75 countries have reportedly asked to negotiate bilateral trade agreements with the US amid the tariff war, Leavitt said, although she declined to say whether formal talks with Beijing were planned.
11 April 2025
Asked why any US allies would work with Washington to isolate China in a trade war “if we’re treating friend and foe alike,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended President Trump’s approach, arguing that America’s market power gives Washington unprecedented leverage.
“The phones are ringing off the hooks,” Leavitt said. “They have made it very clear – they need the United States of America. They need our markets. They need our consumer base.”
Citing recent talks with Israel, South Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, Leavitt said Trump’s tariff policy was forcing other nations to lower trade barriers. “The president is using that leverage to our advantage,” she added.
The White House has called on Americans to have faith in President Donald Trump’s economic strategy, following a turbulent week on global markets and a sharp drop in US consumer sentiment.
“Trust in President Trump – he knows what he’s doing,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Friday. “This is a proven economic formula.”
Leavitt dismissed concerns over the latest University of Michigan survey showing consumer sentiment plunging 11% to its lowest level since 2022. She argued that the president’s tariff-driven agenda would deliver long-term gains despite short-term disruption.
“He wants consumers to trust in him and they should trust in him,” Leavitt said. “Look at what he did in his first term.”
US consumer sentiment fell to its lowest level since mid-2022 amid a spike in inflation expectations, according to a University of Michigan survey released on Friday. The poll was conducted between March 25 and April 8, covering a week following President Trump’s initial announcement of sweeping new levies on US imports – but not the subsequent reaction to a 90-day pause on many tariffs.
The sentiment index dropped to 50.8, down from 57 in March and well below economists’ expectations of 53.8.
“Sentiment has now lost more than 30% since December 2024 amid growing worries about trade war developments,” survey director Joanne Hsu said, warning of “multiple warning signs that raise the risk of recession.”
Inflation expectations also surged, with one-year forecasts jumping from 4.9% to 6.7% – the highest level recorded since 1981. Long-run inflation expectations (for the next 5 to 10 years) rose to 4.4%, up from 4.1% in March.
China has issued a fresh warning to the United States over its latest round of punitive tariffs, reaffirming its opposition to trade wars.
In a statement on Friday, the Foreign Ministry in Beijing said that “China does not want to fight, but it is not afraid of fighting.”
Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian has cautioned that China “never buys” into “extreme pressure” and warned the US against “acting recklessly.”
Beijing has called for dialogue that is based on “equality, respect, and mutual benefit.”
US President Donald Trump has taken to social media to praise his tariff policy, after China retaliated against his latest hike and suggested it was their last such increase.
”We are doing really well on our TARIFF POLICY. Very exciting for America, and the World!!! It is moving along quickly,” he wrote on his Truth Social media platform on Friday.
The Trump administration’s latest hike on Wednesday brought the duties on Chinese imports to a cumulative rate of 145%.
Beijing responded on Friday by hiking tariffs to 125% and dismissed what it described as Washington’s “numbers game,” indicating it may resort to other types of response.
Tesla has stopped accepting new orders for its Model S and Model X vehicles in China.
The two models, built in the US and imported into China, are no longer available for purchase on Tesla’s official Chinese website or its WeChat mini program.
The move comes as higher US tariffs drive up the retail price for Chinese consumers, making imported models less competitive against locally produced electric vehicles.
Tesla did not provide a reason for halting orders of the two models, but the step came just a day after China raised import tariffs on US goods to match the level of Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs.
The EU is ready to hit US tech giants with new taxes if negotiations with President Donald Trump fail to ease tariffs on European goods, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has told the Financial Times.
“We are developing retaliatory measures,” von der Leyen said, adding that potential options include taxing the digital advertising revenues of major US firms such as Meta and Google. “There’s a wide range of countermeasures… if the negotiations do not deliver satisfactory results.”
The warning comes after the EU said it would suspend its retaliatory tariffs on the US for 90 days – mirroring Trump’s announcement of a 90-day pause on his latest “reciprocal” tariffs.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said Friday that the ECB is prepared to act if needed to protect financial stability, as the region faces growing economic headwinds from global trade tensions.
Lagarde stressed the central bank’s ability to deploy existing tools, and develop new ones, to respond to market turbulence.
EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis warned that the bloc continues to feel the impact of the 10% US tariffs still in place, despite Trump’s temporary suspension of higher duties. He warned that the economic outlook is becoming increasingly unpredictable.
The Trump administration warned Chinese officials against escalating the trade conflict in private talks just hours before Beijing unveiled its latest round of retaliatory tariffs, CNN has reported, citing a source familiar with the discussions.
US officials also reiterated their demand that Xi Jinping should request a call with Donald Trump, according to the network.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia next week, just days after Trump targeted Southeast Asian nations with some of his steepest “reciprocal” tariffs.
China’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that Xi will travel to the three countries between April 14 and 18, marking his first foreign trip of 2025.
The visit comes after Trump announced plans to impose tariffs of 46% on Vietnam, 49% on Cambodia, and 24% on Malaysia, before later announcing that the measures would be paused for 90 days.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has warned that the escalating global trade war is adding to growing economic uncertainty.
“The economy is facing considerable turbulence, with the potential positives of tax reform and deregulation and the potential negatives of tariffs and ‘trade wars,’” Dimon said.
He noted that investment banking clients “have become more cautious amid an increase in market volatility driven by geopolitical and trade-related tensions,” adding that inflation remains “sticky.”
European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic will travel to Washington on Sunday for negotiations, an EU spokesperson told Ireland's RTE radio.
“The trade commissioner is heading to Washington to work on securing agreements — that is our priority,” European Commission trade spokesperson Olof Gill said. “All options remain on the table if those talks fail to produce a satisfactory outcome,” he added.
Why has Africa emerged as one of the primary victims of Trump’s new trade policy? In his analysis, researcher Vsevolod Sviridov explains why the “Sword of Damocles” tactic is common for the US and when it actually switched from being a “buyer” to a “seller” model in global trade.
Germany’s export-reliant economy will inevitably feel the fallout from the intensifying trade conflict between China and the US, Reuters cited an unnamed government spokesperson as saying on Friday.
“As a country heavily dependent on exports, Germany will of course not remain untouched by these developments,” the spokesperson said.
The US dollar fell to its lowest level against the euro in more than two years on Friday, as market jitters over the escalating US-China trade war weighed on the currency.
By about 9am GMT, the greenback had slipped 1.96% to trade at $1.14 against the euro – its weakest level since February 2022.
The broader US dollar index, which tracks its performance against a basket of major currencies, was also down 1.3%.
Chinese President Xi Jinping declared on Friday that China is “not afraid” in the face of its escalating trade conflict with the US — his first public remarks on the deepening dispute.
Speaking in Beijing ahead of the announcement of new tariffs on US goods, Xi told visiting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez that “there are no winners in a trade war, and going against the world will only lead to self-isolation.”
“For more than 70 years, China’s development has been built on self-reliance and hard work — never on handouts from others — and it is not afraid of any form of unjust suppression,” Xi said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
European stock markets turned lower on Friday morning after China announced it was raising its retaliatory tariffs on US goods to 125%, up from 84%.
The region’s benchmark Stoxx 600 index opened in positive territory but slipped 0.9% by 4:40 a.m. ET. France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX also lost ground, both down 0.9% and 1.2% respectively.
London’s FTSE 100 was more resilient but still edged 0.2% lower in early trading.
China’s Commerce Ministry has said that additional US tariff hikes would no longer make economic sense and could be remembered as a misstep in the history of the global economy.
The Ministry noted that, with current tariff levels, there is essentially no market left in China for US imports. It added that if the US government continues to raise tariffs on Chinese goods, Beijing would “ignore” them.
China’s Commerce Ministry has sharply criticized the United States’ ongoing high tariffs, describing them as a “numbers game” with little real economic impact.
According to the Ministry, these measures lack practical significance and fail to benefit either country in the long run. It also confirmed that a lawsuit has been filed with the World Trade Organization (WTO), challenging the legality of the fresh US tariff hikes.
China has announced retaliatory measures by increasing tariffs on US goods from 84% to 125%, effective Saturday.
President Donald Trump has acknowledged that his tariff plan may lead to “transition problems,” but expressed confidence in its long-term benefits, calling it “a beautiful thing” during a Cabinet meeting on Thursday. He emphasized that the US is in “very good shape” despite potential short-term costs.
Earlier a White House official clarified to CNBC that US tariffs on Chinese goods will effectively reach 145%. President Donald Trump this week announced a 125% tariff on Chinese imports, which the official said adds to a previously imposed 20% levy linked to China’s alleged role in fentanyl trafficking.
Former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has raised concerns that President Trump’s sweeping tariff policies could transform the principle of “America First” into “America Alone.”
In a recent interview, Blinken argued that instead of targeting specific trade abuses – such as those by China – the broad application of tariffs has strained relationships with long-standing allies. The erosion of trust, he warned, may prompt key partners to question the reliability of the United States and explore alternative alliances, including closer ties with Beijing. Speaking to CNBC, Blinken emphasized that this shift not only isolates the US but also diminishes its global influence at a moment when international collaboration is more critical than ever.
Warner Bros. Discovery shares plunged 12.5% Thursday, one of Wall Street’s steepest losses, after China announced plans to “appropriately reduce the number of imported US films.” The Walt Disney Co. also took a hit, with its stock falling 6.8%.
A spokesperson for China’s Film Administration said US films may become less appealing to Chinese audiences due to “the wrong move by the US to wantonly implement tariffs on China.”
Gold breached the $3,200/oz mark for the first time on Friday, hitting a record high as investors flocked to safe-haven assets amid a weakening dollar and intensifying trade tensions.
Spot gold rose 1.3% to $3,215.46 an ounce as of 0330 GMT, after touching an all-time high of $3,219.73 earlier in the session. The metal is up more than 5% for the week.
Japanese shares followed US markets lower Friday, with the Nikkei 225 down 4.2% by midday, reversing much of Thursday’s 9.1% surge driven by Trump’s 90-day tariff pause—excluding China.
Other Asia-Pacific markets also declined: South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1.2% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.3%, as investors weighed rising trade tensions and a strengthening yen.
The White House accused Democrats of “playing partisan games” after they raised concerns about possible insider trading ahead of Trump’s surprise pause on certain tariffs. Stocks jumped following the announcement, which Trump hinted at earlier with tweets like “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!” White House spokesman Kush Desai defended the posts, saying Trump was reassuring the public amid media fearmongering.
Rep. Adam Schiff called for an investigation into whether Trump or his allies used non-public information for financial gain. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also questioned whether Republicans had advance notice of the tariff shift, pointing to potential stock manipulation.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning warned that “China never bluffs – and we see through those who do,” posting a quote from late Communist leader Mao Zedong.
President Trump has warned that his administration may impose tariffs – or even sanctions – on Mexico if the country fails to deliver water owed to Texas under a decades-old treaty, which requires it to send water from the Rio Grande to the US.
“Mexico OWES Texas 1.3 million acre-feet of water under the 1944 Water Treaty, but Mexico is unfortunately violating their Treaty obligation,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social vowing to defend Texas farmers.
Trump said his Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins, was “standing up for Texas farmers” and warned that his administration would “keep escalating consequences, including TARIFFS and, maybe even SANCTIONS, until Mexico honors the Treaty, and GIVES TEXAS THE WATER THEY ARE OWED!”
Under the treaty, Mexico must send 1.75 million acre-feet (2.16 billion cubic meters) of water to the US every five years in exchange for water from the Colorado River. The International Boundary and Water Commission says Mexico has delivered less than 30% of the required water so far in the current cycle.
The European Union is prepared to impose bloc-wide tariffs on major US tech companies, such as Meta and Google, if negotiations with Washington fail to resolve the escalating trade dispute, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the Financial Times.
“We are developing retaliatory measures,” von der Leyen said, adding that these could include the first use of the EU’s anti-coercion mechanism to hit services rather than goods. “There’s a wide range of countermeasures... in case the negotiations are not satisfactory.”
“An example is you could put a levy on the advertising revenues of digital services,” she added, outlining a measure that would apply across the bloc’s entire single market – on top of digital sales taxes set individually by member states.
While the EU remains committed to seeking a “completely balanced” agreement during Trump’s 90-day tariff freeze, von der Leyen made clear that Brussels would not hesitate to act if talks fail.
10 April 2025
After US markets on Thursday lost about half of the gains made during the historic rally the day before, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro – a key architect of President Trump’s tariff initiative – dismissed concerns that the seemingly improvised policy could damage the US and global economy in the long term.
“You had the highest rise in stock market history yesterday. Of course there’s gonna be a little pullback… It’s just normal retracement after a big day. It’s no big deal,” Navarro said during an interview with CNN.
The United States and Vietnam have agreed to begin formal discussions on a trade deal, as part of Washington’s wider push to renegotiate terms with partners amid President Trump’s sweeping tariff campaign. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc, following talks between the Vietnamese delegation and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer earlier on Thursday.
“I emphasized the need for continued engagement and quick, demonstrable progress to resolve outstanding issues,” Bessent wrote in a post on X, noting that the meeting marks the start of formal negotiations with Vietnam.
President Donald Trump has said that the United States is already reaping “billions” of dollars daily from the “baseline” 10% tariffs, while the country’s trade partners are lining up to sign deals to avoid the full impact of higher levies he placed on a three-month hold the day before.
“The country is making approximately $2 billion a day… We’ve never done that before, never come close to it. And the number is probably $3.5 billion a day. And that makes us a very strong country,” Trump told a Cabinet meeting at the White House.
Dismissing concerns that the tariffs on foreign goods and market instability could harm US consumers and investors, Trump insisted the situation would “work out really very well.”
“We’re in good shape. There’s no inflation. There’s very little inflation,” the president said.
US stocks slid on Thursday, giving up about half of the gains made during Wednesday’s historic rally, which followed President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 90-day pause on certain ‘reciprocal’ tariffs. Despite the temporary relief, investors are reportedly concerned that targeting China with massively higher rates could hamper economic growth.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by around 2,000 points, or 5%, in afternoon trading. The S&P 500 dropped nearly 6%, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 7%.
US tariffs on Chinese goods will effectively total 145%, a White House official has clarified to CNBC. Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump announced he is raising the tariffs on Chinese imports to 125%. That figure comes on top of a 20% fentanyl-related tariff that Trump previously imposed on China, according to the administration official cited by the outlet.
About 20 countries are currently in talks with Washington over tariffs, Trump’s economic adviser Kevin Hassett has said in an interview with CNBC. He told reporters separately that around 15 of those nations have made “explicit offers,” though he did not disclose the details.
Hassett added that the administration is “studying and considering” the proposals and “deciding whether they’re good enough to present to the president.”
X account @WallStreetApes has shared a video of Trump talking tariffs back in 1988.
“Trump’s message about tariffs has never changed,” read the caption by the account, which has nearly a million subscribers on the platform.
China plans to “moderately” reduce the number of US films it imports, state broadcaster CCTV has reported, citing the country’s top film regulator.
“The US government’s wrongful imposition of tariffs on China would inevitably further reduce domestic audiences’ favorable perception of American movies,” a spokesperson for the China Film Administration said.
“As the world’s second-largest film market, China remains committed to high-level openness and will introduce excellent films from more countries to meet market demand,” the spokesperson added.
Swiss-based investment bank UBS has warned that global markets could face prolonged volatility in the coming weeks due to Trump’s tariff moves.
“Despite Wednesday’s announcements to lower the reciprocal tariff rate for most countries to 10%, the escalation between the US and China could dramatically impact trade between the world’s two largest economies,” Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, said in a note.
US Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has called for all lawmakers to disclose recent stock purchases amid concerns of market manipulation related to Trump’s tariff U-turn.
Moscow is closely monitoring US steps affecting global trade, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
“We are watching very closely what is happening, because all this cannot but have consequences for global trade and the global economy. We are carefully analyzing these possible consequences,” Peskov told reporters.
The Moscow Exchange Index (MOEX) jumped 5.7% at the start of trading on Thursday, climbing above 2,800 points for the first time in a week. The index had previously fallen below 2,600 after Trump’s tariff hike hit oil markets, pushing global benchmark Brent crude to around $61 per barrel on April 9 – its lowest level since February 2021. Russian stocks rebounded after Trump announced a 90-day pause on the tariffs.
Russia was not targeted by the tariff hike, with White House Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett telling ABC that Washington did not want to jeopardize ongoing talks with Moscow on resolving the Ukraine conflict.
The EU will put on hold its countermeasures against Trump’s tariffs for 90 days, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said in a post on X.
The world’s richest people added a combined $304 billion to their net worth during Wednesday’s market rally, driven by Trump’s pause on most tariffs, Bloomberg has reported. It marked the largest single-day gain in the history of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, surpassing the previous record of $233 billion set in March 2022 after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in years.
A clip of President Donald Trump praising financier Charles Schwab for making billions during Wednesday’s market rally has gone viral, sparking online debate over whether Trump deliberately manipulated the market with his tariff pause.
US Democrats have questioned the timing of Trump’s decision to pause tariffs, which closely followed his social media post urging investors to buy stocks. Sen. Adam Schiff has called for a congressional investigation into whether Trump engaged in insider trading or market manipulation by abruptly halting the sweeping tariffs — a move that sent stock prices soaring on Wall Street.
US e-commerce giant Amazon abruptly canceled multiple orders from Chinese suppliers following Trump’s initial tariff hike announcement last week, media reports have claimed. The cancelations reportedly came without warning and made no mention of tariffs. One vendor told Bloomberg the company canceled a $500,000 order, while an e-commerce consultant said orders from “several” of their clients were dropped.
The US stock market looks set to fall when trading resumes later today, with the Dow on track to drop by 1.3%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures are also down.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that the EU would be “cutting its own throat” if it seeks a closer alliance with China at the expense of its ties with Washington.
“The economic minister in Spain made some comments this morning, ‘Oh, well, maybe we should align ourselves more with China’ – that would be cutting your own throat!” Bessent stated.
“I can tell you that these Chinese exports that the US tariff wall is gonna keep out… the Chinese business model… it never stops. They just keep producing and producing and dumping and dumping.”
Markets across Europe opened higher on Thursday, joining a global rally after US President Donald Trump paused most tariffs for 90 days. Germany’s DAX rose 8% at the open, Italy’s FTSE MIB gained 7.5%, France’s CAC 40 share index rose 6.5%, and Spain’s IBEX climbed 7.2%. London’s FTSE 100 jumped 6.2%, recovering losses from earlier in the week.
US trade policies in recent weeks have shaken confidence in the dollar, Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau has said. Speaking on France Inter radio, Villeroy criticized the protectionism and unpredictability of the Trump administration, calling them “bad elements” for the US economy.
“The big element of constancy in US policy over past decades is the attachment to the central role of the dollar. I believe the Trump administration also holds that view, but it is very incoherent in how it practices it,” he noted. “What has happened in recent days and weeks plays against confidence in the US currency.”
“Thank God that Europe, 25 years ago, created the euro,” he added. “We have created our own monetary autonomy; we can manage our interest rates independently from the Americans.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning shared a meme mocking Donald Trump’s latest tariff hike. The image features Trump’s signature ‘Make America Great Again’ hat with a ‘Made in China’ label and a price tag updated to reflect the rising costs caused by the new tariffs.
China “firmly opposes” the US tariff hikes and has taken “decisive countermeasures,” Commerce Minister Wang Wentao has said, arguing that the move ignores how much the US has profited from global trade.
“If the US insists on going its own way, China will accompany it to the end,” Wang stated during a meeting with ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn.
European stock markets are poised to surge at the open, according to trading data. Futures for London’s FTSE 100 point to a 5% gain, while Germany’s DAX is set to rise by 7%.
Beijing is not “afraid of provocations,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in response to US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff hike.
She posted a video on X featuring former Communist Party leader Mao Zedong, declaring during the Korean War that “no matter how long this war lasts we will never yield.” Mao Ning captioned the clip: “We are Chinese. We are not afraid of provocations. We won’t back down.”
South Korean Acting President Han Duck-soo has stressed the critical need for negotiations to ease US tariff pressures following President Trump’s pause on most duties announced Wednesday.
“We must work even harder to show progress in all negotiations over the next 90 days so that we can be free from the burden of tariffs,” he said at a cabinet meeting on Thursday, his office confirmed.
“The US has agreed to postpone the 25% reciprocal tariff for 90 days during our negotiations, and only the base 10% tariff will apply in the meantime,” he noted.
Japan has welcomed President Donald Trump’s recent 90-day pause on most global tariffs but continues to express concerns over existing US tariffs on steel, aluminum, and automotive products.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi stated on Thursday that Tokyo views the tariff pause positively, following a recent phone call between Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and President Trump. Hayashi emphasized that Japan will persist in urging the US to reconsider the additional 25% levies on these products, highlighting their potential impact on the Japanese economy.
In response to the tariff pause, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index opened almost 2% higher on Thursday and countinued to rise, reflecting a broader rally across Asia-Pacific markets.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick warned that if Canada retaliates against President Trump’s tariffs, it would be an unwise decision. He pointed to China – now facing 125% tariffs after issuing its own countermeasures – as a cautionary example.
Earlier, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent caused confusion when he stated that Canada and Mexico would be subject to a 10% reciprocal tariff. A White House official later clarified to CNN that both countries would retain their existing exemptions, meaning tariffs on Canada would remain unchanged. The clarification followed President Trump’s announcement of a 90-day pause on most tariffs, lowering the reciprocal tariff rate to 10% for many countries while sharply raising tariffs on Chinese imports.
Former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers has warned that President Donald Trump’s escalating tariff war with the entire globe is pushing the United States toward a financial crisis, comparing recent market turmoil to conditions typically seen in unstable emerging economies.
“Long-term interest rates are gapping up, even as the stock market moves sharply downwards,” Summers wrote in a series of posts on X. “This highly unusual pattern suggests a generalized aversion to US assets in global financial markets. We are being treated by global financial markets like a problematic emerging market.”
Summers doubled down on his criticism after Trump announced a surprise 90-day pause on the latest round of tariff hikes, accusing the administration of reckless policymaking and undermining America’s global credibility.
“Bullies back down. It is tragic to see the United States following banana republic policy approaches and market patterns,” Summers wrote. He blasted the White House’s trade strategy as “reckless improvisation, not a strategy.”
Senator Bernie Sanders has sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcement, accusing the White House of pursuing a chaotic and unconstitutional trade policy that will hurt American workers and benefit the wealthy.
“Targeted tariffs can be a powerful tool to stop corporations from outsourcing American jobs,” Sanders said in a statement, responding to Trump’s decision to adjust sweeping global tariffs for a second time in a week.
Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, argued that imposing steep tariffs on countries like Germany or France – high-wage nations with little outsourcing to the US – would only raise prices for American consumers and damage US alliances. “Corporations are not shutting down plants in America and moving them to Switzerland,” he said.
He also warned that the constant shifts in Trump’s trade policy were destabilizing the economy.
“How can you plan for next week, let alone next year, when the rules might change tomorrow?” Sanders said. “Trump’s chaotic across-the-board tariffs are not the way to do it.”
Sanders further warned that Trump’s broader economic agenda – combining tariffs with tax cuts for the wealthy – would leave working families paying the price. “Enough is enough. We need a coherent trade policy that puts working people first,” he said.
09 April 2025
Trump’s decision to delay further tariff hikes triggered a historic rally on US stock markets. The S&P 500 closed up 9.5 percent – its biggest gain since 2008. The Dow Jones rose 7.9 percent, marking its best day since 2020, while the Nasdaq soared 12 percent, its largest single-day increase in 24 years.
While Wednesday’s surge added over $5 trillion in market value, US markets have yet to fully recover losses sustained since the president launched the tariff war last week.
Asked whether certain American importers could be granted exemptions during the 90-day period, Trump said the administration would evaluate requests on a case-by-case basis.
“Some [companies] get hit a little bit harder, and we’ll take a look at that – just instinctively, more than anything else,” he said. “You almost can’t take a pencil to paper. It’s really more of an instinct.”
Asked about the prospect of raising tariffs on Chinese goods even further to pressure Beijing into negotiations, President Trump said the current 125% levy is already a “significant number,” and he can’t imagine increasing it any more.
“I can’t imagine it. I don’t think I’ll have to do it,” Trump told journalists in the Oval Office. “I don’t think we’ll have to go higher – you know, we calculated it very carefully.”
US President Donald Trump has expressed a readiness to negotiate with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to resolve the tariff standoff.
“Sure, he is a friend of mine. I like Xi Jinping, I respect him... I would talk to or meet with Xi Jinping,” he stated at the Oval Office. Earlier in the day, Trump claimed Beijing had been seeking to strike a “deal” with the US but “but doesn’t know where to start.”
Trump has promised to consider exempting from the tariffs altogether some larger companies that have been hit “hard” in the markets. The US president did not elaborate which companies could qualify, stating he would determine them “instinctively.”
“We’re going to take a look at it, there are some that have been hit hard, there are some that by the nature of the company get hit a little bit harder,” he told reporters.
Explaining the reasons behind the 90-day pause on tariffs, Trump claimed he has to be “flexible” and calm down the public a bit, apparently referring to the market turmoil of the past few days.
“Well, I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line. They were getting yippy. They were getting a little bit afraid,” he told reporters outside the White House.
The US president appeared to somewhat contradict a statement made by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who claimed shortly after the announcement that the pause was part of Trump’s “strategy.”
“This was his strategy all along,” Bessent stated. “You might even say he goaded China into a bad position.”
Bitcoin soared above $82,000 on the announcement of the “pause” on US tariffs. The cryptocurrency had been declining over the past few days on expectations of the tariffs taking effect, dropping below $75,000 before the White House made its latest move.
Trump has announced a “90 day pause” on tariffs for 75 countries excluding China, lowering the “reciprocal tariffs” to a baseline 10%. Countries that do not retaliate against the US measures will be “rewarded,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said while speaking to reporters outside the White House after the president’s announcement.
“Do not retaliate, and you will be rewarded,” he said, adding that Beijing was targeted with higher tariffs “due to their insistence on escalation.”
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has warned that escalating trade tensions between the US and China pose a “significant risk of a sharp contraction” in bilateral trade, with preliminary projections suggesting an 80% drop in the flow of goods.
The tit-for-tat measures between the world’s two largest economies, which together account for about 3% of global trade, could “severely damage” the global economic outlook, the WTO said.
Trump has announced a 90-day pause or reduction in tariffs on imports from more than 75 countries that have not retaliated against the US – excluding China.
Markets reacted positively to the news, with the Dow surging 2,700 points in its biggest rally in five years.
Trump has raised tariffs on Chinese goods to 125% in response to retaliatory measures imposed by Beijing earlier on Wednesday.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the move was a response to what he called China’s “lack of respect” for global markets. The new levies take effect immediately.
Are Trump’s tariffs really just economic nonsense – or part of a bigger, calculated strategy? In this sharp and provocative analysis, economist Igor Makarov challenges the conventional wisdom on trade policy and makes the case that there’s more behind Trump’s actions than meets the eye.
Following Bessent’s remark, Spanish Agriculture Minister Luis Planas has struck a defiant tone, stating that Madrid has “excellent trade relations with China, which we intend to not only continue having, but expanding.”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned that countries considering closer economic ties with China amid Washington’s recent draconian tariff policies “would be cutting [their] own throat.” The official expressed confidence that the US would eventually secure deals with allies, and then “approach China as a group.”
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said that his country is voting against the European Commission’s proposal to impose counter-tariffs on the US. The diplomat argued that “escalation is not the answer,” calling for negotiations instead.
The trade war between the US and China could have an adverse effect on Christmas celebrations stateside, Reuters has reported, citing festive decoration manufacturers. The media outlet estimates that 87% of such goods are imported into the US from China, with fears that orders will sag considerably this year.
China’s Tourism Ministry has urged the country’s citizens to “fully assess the risks of traveling to the United States and be cautious” in light of the “deterioration of China-US economic and trade relations and the domestic security situation in the United States.”
George Saravelos, head Forex researcher at Deutsche Bank, has warned that “we are entering unchartered territory [sic] in the global financial system” amid a “simultaneous collapse in the price of all US assets, including equities, the dollar versus alternative reserve FX and the bond market.”
The US stock market has opened slightly higher than expected, with the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all edging up despite concerns over a potential market meltdown, following China’s and the EU’s announcements of retaliatory tariffs.
Global markets have been reacting sharply to the escalating tariff war since last Thursday, when a selloff wiped nearly $5 trillion from the value of US stocks.
US recession is “probably” a “likely outcome” of Trump’s tariff war, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has told Fox Business. He said he has heard “recessionary talk” in conversations with “just everybody,” referring to other financiers.
“We haven’t had any slowdown or real recession... in so long,” Dimon stated, adding that he expects “more credit problems than people have seen in a long time.”
JPMorgan economists raised the risk of a US and global recession this year to 60% after Trump unveiled the tariff hike last week.
Donald Trump has invited global manufacturers to move their business to the US.
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The US stock market looks headed for a sharp drop at opening. Dow futures have dropped 410 points, or 1.1%, while S&P 500 futures have slid 0.7% and Nasdaq futures are down 0.2%.
EU member states have agreed to introduce “trade countermeasures” against the US tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium from the bloc, the European Commission has announced. The measures will include retaliatory tariffs of 10% to 25% on US imports and will come into effect on April 15, according to media reports.
The US has “violated” global trade rules with its recent tariff hikes, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
“The situation is all the more serious when it comes to the two largest global economies, one of which is the Chinese economy, our long-term largest foreign trade partner,” Zakharova said during a press briefing.
Russia opposes all unilateral trade restrictions, including “illegitimate sanctions” and other forms of unfair competition that undermine global trade, Zakharova said. Moscow will assess the potential impact of the measures and take steps to minimize any economic damage, she added.
“China never deliberately pursues a trade surplus,” the country’s State Council Information Office said in a white paper on China-US trade relations released on Wednesday.
According to the document, the US is China’s largest export destination and second-largest source of imports, accounting for 14.7% of Chinese exports and 6.3% of imports. China is the US’ third-largest export destination and second-largest import source, making up 7% of American exports and 13.8% of imports.
China filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Tuesday over Washington’s latest tariff hike, the Commerce Ministry announced. Beijing has asked the WTO to intervene through its dispute settlement mechanism, over what it earlier called “economic bullying.”
China said it would hike its tariffs on all American goods to a total of 84%: an additional 50% tariff, due to take effect on Thursday, will come on top of the 34% duty imposed last week. The announcement, made by the Finance Ministry in Beijing on Wednesday, came after US President Donald Trump increased duties on all Chinese imports to a staggering 104% a day prior.