Wall Street experienced a substantial decline in response to President Donald Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs targeting more than 180 countries. Trump declared a baseline tariff of at least 10 percent on all imports and also identified around 60 countries that would face “discounted reciprocal tariffs” due to what he perceived as unfair trade policies. Global markets reacted negatively to the news, with U.S. stock futures plummeting and Asian and European markets also falling sharply. Economists, analysts, and investors expressed concern about the potential devastating impact of Trump’s tariffs on the worldwide economy.
The S&P 500 index closed down 4.84 percent on Thursday, marking its worst day since June 2020, as a result of Trump’s tariffs triggering a global sell-off. The Nasdaq also experienced a significant drop of 5.97 percent, its most substantial decline since March 2020, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day with a 3.98 percent decrease. The Trump administration’s tariffs encompassed a wide range of countries, including a 34 percent tariff on Chinese imports, a 20 percent tariff on the European Union, a 25 percent tariff on South Korea, a 24 percent tariff on Japan, a 32 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods, and a 26 percent tariff on Indian imports.
On Wednesday, Trump did not disclose how the White House came to determine the “reciprocal” tariff calculations. However, the administration later clarified that the rates were established by dividing the U.S.’s trade deficit with a foreign country by that country’s exports. The White House then halved the resulting number to determine Trump’s “discounted reciprocal” tariff for each country, with the president claiming he was being “kind” in his approach. The situation is ongoing and will be updated as additional information becomes available.
