Trump tariffs: China levies 34% duties on US goods

US President Donald Trump claimed that big business was not worried about his wave of tariffs, because they know they are here to stay.

"They are focused on the BIG, BEAUTIFUL DEAL, which will SUPERCHARGE our economy," he wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.

Trump's new sweeping tariffs have sparked a trade war and fears of an impending recession.

With major economies poised to impose sweeping new tariffs, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) warns that the global trading system is entering a critical phase.

The resulting trade turbulence "hurts the vulnerable and the poor," UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan said in a statement.

"Trade must not become another source of instability. It should serve development and global growth," Grynspan said.

Many low-income economies now face a “perfect storm” of worsening external conditions, unsustainable debt levels, and slowing domestic growth, according to the agency.

UNCTAD stressed that the solution must come through dialogue and negotiation. "This is a time for cooperation — not escalation," Grynspan added.

US markets are facing their worst crisis since the COVID crash after China responded to US President Donald Trump's big tariff hike.

The broad-based S&P 500 took a major hit for a second day in a row. It was down 322.44 points, or 6%, to 5,074.08.

Shares of all but 14 of the 500 companies in the index fell. The decline capped the worst week for the index since March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the global economy.

Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 962.82 points, or 5.8%, to 15,587.79. The Dow Jones index dropped 2,231.07 points, or 5.5%, to 38,314.86.

Crude oil prices fell to the lowest level since the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2021.

Brent futures fell $4.53, or 6.46%, to $65.63 a barrel by 1841 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down $4.93, or 7.36%, at $62.02 a barrel.

Prices of other basic building blocks of economic growth, such as copper, also fell on concerns that the trade war will weaken the global economy.

EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic told his US colleagues on Friday that tariffs imposed on the European Union are "damaging" and "unjustified."

Slovakian Sefcovic described his two-hour long talks with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and trade envoy Jamieson Greer as "frank." 

"The [EU-US] trade relationship needs a fresh approach. The EU is committed to meaningful negotiations but also prepared to defend our interests," Sefcovic wrote in a social media post. "We stay in touch."

Sweeping global tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump will likely cause inflation and unemployment to rise while slowing economic growth, the chairman of the US Federal Reserve warned on Friday.

"It is now becoming clear that the tariff increases will be significantly larger than expected," Jerome Powell said in pre-prepared remarks delivered at an event in Arlington, Virginia.

"The same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth," he added.

Ahead of his speech, President Trump called on Powell to reduce interest rates (see last entry).

But Powell's comments suggest the Fed is in no rush to cut its benchmark lending rate from its current elevated level of between 4.25% 4.5%.

"Our obligation is to keep longer-term inflation expectations well anchored and to make certain that a one-time increase in the price level does not become an ongoing inflation problem," he said.

As international stock markets plunged on Friday (Germany's DAX lost 4.3%, France's CAC 40 dropped 3.7% and Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 2.8%), President Trump played golf and posted on social media, in capital letters: "THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO GET RICH."

US President Donald Trump has urged the chairman of the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates.

"This would be a PERFECT time for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to cut interest rates," he wrote on his Truth Social platform. "He is always late, but he could now change his image, and quickly."

Trump's remarks came just minutes before Powell was due to deliver a speech.

"CUT INTEREST RATES, JEROME, AND STOP PLAYING POLITICS!," Trump wrote.

The Federal Reserve System is the United States' central banking system, responsible among other things for setting interest rates.

France's Industry Minister Marc Ferracci said the tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump are unprecedented since the 1930s.

According to Ferracci, who spoke to reporters while visiting an Airbus factory, the move could destabilize the global economy and cost jobs. 

Talking about Europe's response to the levy, Ferracci called for a proportionate but firm response while also saying Europe remained open for negotiating a solution.

US markets fell again at opening on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average shedding 1,000 points as China's 34% tariffs on US  goods spooked investors.

 The S&P 500 fell 2.7% in early trading on Friday, a further decline after Thursday marked its worst day since COVID shook up the global economy in 2020. 

The tech-heavy Nasdaq index fell 3% and was down by more than 20% from the high it reached in December.

Markets in Europe were also down on Friday.

The leading German DAX stock market index was down more than 5% on Friday, following a drop of 3% on Thursday.

As an export economy, Germany is set to be hit particularly hard by the 20% tariffs on EU goods.

The EU's leading index, EURO STOXX 50, was not faring much better on Friday, having fallen 4.5%.

Investors were also fleeing oil, considered unreliable in the face of a possible global recession, and buying up government bonds.

 

President Trump continued to post on social media, this time taking a crack at China after it announced it would impose 34% retaliatory tariffs against the US in response to the 34% tariffs Trump announced earlier in the week.

"China played it wrong, they panicked — the one thing they cannot afford to do!" he wrote, again in all caps, on his social media platform.

In another all-caps post, he wrote his polices would "never change."

"To the many investors coming into the United States and investing massive amounts of money, my policies will never change. This is a great time to get rich, richer than ever before!!!"

US President Donald Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social on Friday to say that he would not be changing his policies despite the global fallout from his tariff announcements.

"To the many investors coming into the United States and investing massive amounts of money, my policies will never change. This is a great time to get rich, richer than ever before!!!" he wrote in all caps.

The landlocked southern African country of Lesotho is heavily dependent on the export of textiles and diamonds to the United States, but now that it has been hit with a 50% tariff on all goods imported into the US, there is concern over what might happen to the developing economy.

In an interview with DW, Lesotho's minister for trade, industry and business development, Mokhethi Shelile, said the 50% rate imposed by the US had not been arrived at based on "facts on the ground."

He also told DW that the tariffs would have a major impact on Lesotho's economy, saying: "We have in total about 11 factories that are supplying the American market … And those companies in total, they employ more than 12,000 people … which represent about 42% of their total employment in the textile industry in this country."

Tokyo's stock market looks set to be suffering its worst week in years after the announcement of sweeping tariffs by the Trump administration.

Japan is one of the US' major trade partners as well as a historically important ally in the Pacific region, however, this was not enough to spare it from Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff announcement on Thursday.

Watching the fallout on Friday, which included the key Nikkei 225 stock market index falling more than three points, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba described the tariffs as a "national crisis."

Global tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump will affect a range of industries, including car manufacturing. Some German automakers are among those hit the hardest, but will the tariffs work the way Trump wants? DW looks at Porsche as an example: 

Following the announcement of what the US called "reciprocal" tariffs against China, Beijing has increased its tariffs on US-imported goods.

The levies are set to come into effect on April 10.

US President Donald Trump announced a minimum of 10% on all imports into the United States on Thursday, but a custom rate was imposed on those countries Trump said were the worst offenders for trade imbalances with the US.

China was one of these, with Washington announcing 34% tariffs on Thursday, which, added to the previous 20% tariffs against Chinese goods, brings the total to 54%.

The Commerce Ministry in Beijing also said it would increase the export controls on key rare earth materials that are essential for high-tech industries that produce chips and electric vehicle batteries. It also announced export controls for 27 US companies.

On top of the retaliatory measures, the ministry said it was filing a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization (WTO).

"The United States' imposition of so-called 'reciprocal tariffs' seriously violates WTO rules, seriously damages the legitimate rights and interests of WTO members, and seriously undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system and international economic and trade order," the Commerce Ministry said.

"It is a typical unilateral bullying practice that endangers the stability of the global economic and trade order. China firmly opposes this," it added.

Thank you for joining us as we bring you the latest reporting on the fallout following US President Donald Trump's latest round of tariffs.

The new levies on imports into the world's biggest economy have already sent shockwaves, hitting global stock markets, including in the US itself.

Responses to the tariffs have included announcements of counter-tariffs as well as attempts to seek leniency from the White House.