HONG KONG, China — Equity markets suffered a bloodbath Thursday after Donald Trump delivered a „haymaker“ blow with sweeping tariffs against US partners and rivals, fanning a global
A specialist works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Equity markets suffered a bloodbath Thursday after Donald Trump delivered a “haymaker” blow with sweeping tariffs against US partners and rivals, fanning a global trade war that many fear will spark recessions and ramp up inflation.
Tokyo’s Nikkei led an Asian selloff, collapsing more than four percent, while US futures plunged, safe haven gold hit a record high and the yen jumped 1 percent.
The panic came after the US president unveiled a blitz of levies aimed at correcting trade deficits with other countries following what he says has been years of the United States being “ripped off”.
Against a White House backdrop of US flags, Trump announced that “for decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike”.
Trump reserved some of the heaviest blows for what he called the “nations that treat us badly,” including 34 percent in new levies on rival China, 20 percent on key ally the European Union and 24 percent on Japan.
A number of other countries will face specifically tailored tariff levels, and for the rest, Trump said he would impose a “baseline” tariff of 10 percent.
