US President Donald Trump declared a 90-day tariff relief under global outcry, but China was excluded from the reprieve and the tariff rate was increased to 125% instead. Asian markets regained ground after President Trump’s tariff relief announcement. Early trading saw a 5% rise in Australia’s ASX 200, a 5% rise in South Korea’s Kospi index, and an 8% rise in Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index.
Beijing announced “countermeasures” and declined to succumb to the US administration’s “tax blackmail” after Donald Trump imposed a 125% tariff on Chinese imports. US-China trade tensions have escalated after China announced that it will be charging an 84% tax on American imports. Trump has claimed that foreign countries are “plundering” the US economy by charging high tariffs on American exports.
The US equity market surged sharply, reversing previous nerves induced by President Donald Trump’s increasing trade war. As of early morning IST, the Dow Jones surged 2,962.97 points, or 7.87%, at 40,608.56. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1,867.06 points, or 12.16%, to 17,124.97, and the S&P 500 rose 474.93 points, or 9.53%, to 5,456.20. The recovery followed Trump’s announcement of 90-day tariff pause for all nations except China. Massive whipsaws have become the norm for global financial markets lately, not only day to day but hour to hour, as traders try to anticipate what Trump’s trade war will do to the economy.