Trump tariff: Wall Street drops 4% despite pause on US levies
Trump tariff news: While Trump's 90-day pause on his levies for most countries helped global markets, the tiff between China and the US over the reciprocal tariffs continued to escalate throughout the day.

Trump tariff: US President Donald Trump late on Wednesday announced a 90-day tariff pause for most nations after his reciprocal levies triggered a massive trade war, with tensions escalating each passing day. However, Trump said that China wouldn't be exempted from the tariffs despite the pause. Trump raised the tariff rate for China to 145%, from the previously announced 104% tariff that had kicked off earlier on Wednesday. This came after China imposed an additional import levy on American goods, imposing an 84% tariff from Thursday.
...Read MoreThe US president said in a post on Truth Social that he was pausing his “reciprocal tariffs” on many other trading partners because they had responded by reaching out for talks rather than retaliating, blaming China for having a “lack of respect”.
Meanwhile, the 90-day halt on Trump's tariffs led the US stocks to surge to one of their biggest gains since World War II. The S&P 500 soared 9.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average flew nearly 3,000 points higher, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 12.2%.
Trump tariff's | Key Points
- Donald Trump announced sweeping reciprocal tariffs on countries across the globe last week, with levies ranging from 10 per cent to 49 per cent. His move rattled global markets and sparked the start of a massive tariff and trade war.
- Trump's 26 per cent tariff on India came into effect on Wednesday, with authorities in New Delhi assessing the impact of the US levies.
- The trade war between China and the US has triggered fears among people as the two have hit each other with additional and retaliatory tariffs. China first retaliated with 34 per cent tariffs on US goods, following which Trump hit back with 104 per cent levies on Beijing. Again, in a tit-for-tat move, China upped the tariff rate on US goods to 84 per cent, prompting the US president to announce a 125 per cent tariff on Beijing effective immediately.
- The European Union on Wednesday also announced the approval of tariffs to hit around $23.2 billion of US goods in response to the 25 per cent duties on its steel and aluminium exports.
- Late on Wednesday, Trump announced a 90-day pause on all his reciprocal and global 10 per cent tariffs for most countries. The move led the US markets to witness one of their biggest gain days.
India dealing with Trump tariffs wisely to hike trade with US by 2.5 times, says Commerce minister
Indian Commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said that India is dealing with the issue of Trump tariffs wisely, with an intent to increase trade with the US by two and a half times.
Goyal assured that India is already ahead in this race, adding that the discussions were making good progress.
Apple airlifts 600 tons of iPhones from India 'to beat' Trump tariffs, says report
Tech giant Apple airlifted 600 tons of iPhones to the United States from India after it stepped up production there in an effort to beat the tariffs imposed by US president Donald Trump, Reuters reported, citing sources.
This hints at the smartphone company's private strategy to navigate around the Trump tariffs and build inventory of its popular iPhones in the US, which is one its biggest markets.
Apple "wanted to beat the tariff," said one of the sources familiar with the planning.
Trump tariff news live: UK will continue to negotiate 'coolly, calmly'
Downing Street on Wednesday said that the United Kingdom will continue to negotiate with the US "coolly and calmly" after Donald Trump announced a 90-day tariff pause for most nations.
However, the US treasury secretary had said that Trump will keep his 10 per cent baseline tariffs on most countries, meaning that it does not change anything for the UK.
A UK spokesperson said, "A trade war is in nobody’s interests. We don’t want any tariffs at all, so for jobs and livelihoods across the UK, we will coolly and calmly continue to negotiate in Britain’s interests."
US Treasury Secretary says this was Trump's 'strategy all along'
Minutes after President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on his reciprocal tariff for most countries, the US stock market as well the global shares saw a massive uptick.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explained to reporters that Trump created a maximum negotiating leverage for himself, adding that "this was his strategy all along".
Trump tariff news live: China says 'threats, blackmail not the right way to deal with us'
Amid the escalating tensions over the tariff war between China and the US, the Chinese commerce ministry has warned that "pressure, threats and blackmail" are not the right way to deal with the country.
The Chinese ministry's spokesperson He Yongqian told reporters during a regular press briefing that China is open to dialogue with the US, provided it is on the basis of mutual respect and equality.
China will "follow through to the end" if the US insists on its own way", he added.
Trump tariff news live: UK to continue negotiations ‘coolly and calmly’
Trump tariff news live: Downing Street says that the UK will “coolly and calmly” continue its negotiations after Donald Trump announced a 90-day tariff pause for most nations, PA Media reports.
“A trade war is in nobody’s interests. We don’t want any tariffs at all, so for jobs and livelihoods across the UK, we will coolly and calmly continue to negotiate in Britain’s interests,” a No. 10 spokeswoman said.
Trump tariff news live: China responds to America's 125% tariff move
Trump tariff news live: China has warned that it would not “sit back” after US President Donald Trump raised levies on China to 125%.
Beijing said that American tariffs go “against the whole world” and would “seriously damage the rules-based multilateral trading system”.
"The U.S. cause doesn't win the support of the people and will end in failure," ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular press conference, according to Reuters.
Trump tariff news live: European stocks jump after reprieve
Trump tariff news live: European stock futures rallied after US President Donald Trump paused plans to implement higher reciprocal tariffs on several trade partners.
Futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 were up 8.6% as of 8:43am. Thursday in Hong Kong. Contracts on Germany’s DAX jumped 8%. The underlying Stoxx Europe 600 Index has dropped 12% over the past five sessions, to the lowest since January 2024, according to Bloomberg.
Trump tariff news live: Tariff pause 'important step' to stabilise world economy, says European Commission
Trump tariff news live: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has welcomed US President Donald Trump's decision to pause planned tariff increases as an "important step towards stabilising the global economy".
"Clear, predictable conditions are essential for trade and supply chains to function," von der Leyen said in a statement, according to Reuters. “The European Union remains committed to constructive negotiations with the United States.”
Trump tariff news live: China censors hashtags mentioning ‘tariff, 104' as trade war with US intensifies
As the trade war between the United States and China intensifies, Beijing has started censoring some tariff-related content on social media. Hashtags and searches for "tariff" or "104" (the tariff amount in percentage) have been blocked on the social media platform Weibo, with pages showing an error message.
Trump tariff news live: Japan to keep pressing for tariff relief
Trump tariff news live: Japan will continue to urge the US to rethink its tariff plans in hopes of winning a longer-term reprieve from higher rates, Bloomberg reported, citing the nation’s top trade representative.
“There is no change in Japan’s policy,” said Ryosei Akazawa, who was this week appointed the country’s top negotiator on the US levies. “We will pursue Japan’s national interests to the maximum extent without panicking or making a fuss.”
Trump tariff news live: What could be China's next step?
China has repeatedly vowed to "fight to the end" in the escalating trade war between the world's top two economies.
According to a report by Sky News, China could further control the export of rare earth minerals. These minerals are used in high-tech products such as computer chips and electric vehicle batteries. It could also hike tariffs on high-impact products such as agricultural goods and target high-profile American companies such as Apple and Tesla.
Trump tariff news live: How major US stock indexes fared
Trump tariff news live: Here's how major US stock indexes fared after Donald Trump announced a 90-day tariff pause for most nations:
* The S&P 500 rose 474.13 points, or 9.5%, to 5,456.90.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2,962.86 points, or 7.9%, to 40,608.45.
* The Nasdaq composite rose 1,857.06 points, or 12.2%, to 17,124.97.
* The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 152.45 points, or 8.7%, to 1,913.16.
Trump tariff news live: China's retaliatory 84% tariffs on US imports come into effect
Trump tariff news live: China's retaliatory 84% tariffs on imports by United States have come into effect. The Trump administration has taken particular aim at China over its trade practices and its combative approach to the president’s tariff plans, reports Bloomberg.
Trump tariff news live: Gold prices climb over 1%
Trump tariff news live: Gold rose more than 1% as investors flocked to safe-haven bullion after the US hiked tariffs on China, reports Reuters. Spot gold was up 1.2% at $3,119.18 an ounce, as of 0300 GMT. In the previous session, bullion recorded its best day since October 2023. US gold futures climbed 1.8% to $3,135.50.
Trump tariff news live: Taiwan stocks soar to record high
Trump tariff news live: Taiwan’s stock market soared to a record high on Thursday, following a global rally sparked by US President Donald Trump’s decision to pause reciprocal tariffs for 90 days. The Taiex index surged 9.3 per cent, led by gains in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and MediaTek Inc., both hitting their 10 per cent daily limit. The Taiwan dollar also rose sharply, climbing as much as 0.6 per cent against the US dollar — its biggest intraday gain since November.
Trump tariff news live: Why did Trump raise US tariffs on China to 125% and hit pause elsewhere?
Trump tariff news live: US President Donald Trump has announced a 90-day pause on higher tariffs on trade partners, but raised duties on China to 125%.
He said in a social media post that he is pausing his so-called “reciprocal tariffs” on many other trading partners because they had responded by reaching out for talks rather than retaliating and blamed China for “lack of respect”.
“Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump tariff news live: Vietnam stocks surge most since 2001
Trump tariff news live: The stock market in Vietnam also soared after US President Donald Trump paused most of his reciprocal tariffs, reports Bloomberg.
The VN Index surged 6.6% as of 9:17am Thursday, the most since October 2001. Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam and Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam were among the main drivers.
Trump tariff news live: Japan 'strongly' demands US reviews other tariffs
Trump tariff news live: Japan has said that it received "positively" US Donald Trump's pause on new tariffs but still "strongly" demands that Washington reconsider other levies.
"We received the latest US announcement positively," chief government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a briefing, according to AFP. "We continue to strongly demand that the United States reviews measures on its reciprocal tariffs, tariffs on steel and aluminium, and tariffs on vehicles and auto parts."
Trump tariff news live: Chinese yuan hits 18-year-low amid trade war with US
Trump tariff news live: China's onshore Yuan has weakened 7.35 per dollar amid the raging trade war between Washington and Beijing. This is the weakest level for the Chinese currency since December 26, 2007, according to Reuters.
Trump tariff news live: Oil prices fall as US-China trade war escalates
Trump tariff news live: Oil prices fell around 1% on Thursday as Donald Trump ramped up a trade war with China, even as he announced a 90-day pause on tariffs at other countries.
Brent futures fell 73 cents, 1.1%, to $64.73 a barrel by 01:08 a.m. GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures lost 49 cents, or 0.8%, to $61.86, according to Bloomberg.
Trump tariff news live: US president denies he backtracked
Trump tariff news live: US President Donald Trump has denied that he had backtracked on the tariffs, telling reporters at the White House that "you have to be flexible."
"People were jumping a little bit out of line, they were getting yippy, a little bit afraid," Trump said, according to AFP.
Trump tariff news live: Goldman Sachs drops recession call
Trump tariff news live: Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists have rescinded their forecast for a US recession after Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on most of his previously announced tariffs, reports Bloomberg.
“Earlier today, before President Trump’s announcement, we had shifted to a recession baseline in response to the additional country-specific tariffs that went into effect this morning,” the Goldman Sachs team, led by Jan Hatzius, said in a note. “We are now reverting to our previous non-recession baseline forecast.”
Trump tariff news live: S&P 500 soars 9.5%
Trump tariff news live: US stocks surged to one of their biggest gains since World War II after Trump paused his tariffs against most other nations.
The S&P 500 soared 9.5%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average flew nearly 3,000 points higher, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 12.2%.
Trump tariff news live: US tariff shock reduced to some extent, says South Korean's finance minister
South Korea's finance minister Choi Sang-mok says that the economic shock of US reciprocal tariffs had been reduced to some extent for the time being, reports Reuters.
Trump has suspended higher reciprocal tariffs, including 25% duties on imports from South Korea, for 90 days, less than a day after they came into effect.

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