US stock market plummets on opening in wake of Trump's worldwide tariffs
3 April 2025, 14:47 | Updated: 3 April 2025, 15:35
The US stock market has plummeted on opening in the wake of Trump's worldwide tariffs.
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The bell sounded on Wall Street to reveal the Dow Jones had fallen 2.8%, the S&P 500 3.3% and the Nasdaq a whopping 4.4%.
Trump announced a wave of tariffs on almost all countries on Earth on Wednesday, as he pledged to "make America wealthy again."
Britain will see a 10% levy imposed on its exports to America - but some countries like China will see a 54% tax.
Read more: Full list of countries hit by Donald Trump's tariff announcement
World reacts to Trump tariffs as a trade war sends shockwaves through markets
The FTSE 100 stock dropped more than 1.4% at the open this morning after Trump's tariff announcement. Asian and European markets also fell sharply on the back of the announcement.
This morning, Sir Keir Starmer warned against "jumping straight into a trade war" in response to Donald Trump's trade tariffs but insisted "nothing is off the table" to protect Britain's national interest.
Putting the White House on notice, Downing Street launched a four-week “request for input” from businesses on hitting the US with retaliatory tariffs.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told MPs: "To enable the UK to have every option open to us in future, I am today launching a request for input on the implications for British businesses of possible retaliatory action. This is a formal step necessary for us to keep all options on the table.
James O'Brien reacts to Donald Trump's tariff announcement
"We will seek the views of UK stakeholders over four weeks until 1 May 2025 on products that could potentially be included in any UK tariff response. This exercise will also give businesses the chance to have their say and influence the design of any possible UK action."
The UK's tariffs will be less stringent than others, sitting at the baseline of what Mr Trump announced in the Rose Garden.
China will face blanket tariffs of 34%, the EU 20%, and other countries even more. Vietnam will have 46% tariffs, Thailand 72% and Cambodia 39%. Madagascar will face 95%.
British officials have been working behind the scenes ahead of the announcement with the US in a bid to minimise the tariffs to be imposed on the UK.
A Downing Street source told LBC immediately after the announcement that the 10% figure vindicated the government's approach.
"No tariffs are good but this is lower than others," they said.
But Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, said that the government should work with the EU and the Commonwealth to impose retaliatory sanctions where possible and sign their own trade deals to circumvent the US.
"If the Government gives in to Trump's threats, it will only encourage him to use the same bullying tactics again and again," Davey said.
Mr Trump said that soon he would be getting calls from foreign leaders asking for tariffs to be dropped. He said his message was: "Terminate your own tariffs, drop your barriers, don't manipulate your currencies.. and start buying tens of billions of dollars of American goods."
Trump hits UK with 10% tariff and sets blanket 25% rate for foreign cars
The president said that companies building products in the US would not face tariffs.
Explaining his rationale for imposing tariffs, Mr Trump claimed in his speech that the US had been "looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike".
He added: "Our taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years, but it is not going to happen anymore," he adds.
Mr Trump said: “For years, hard-working American citizens were forced to sit on the sidelines as other nations got rich and powerful, much of it at our expense. But now it’s our turn to prosper.”
He said earlier in his speech that he will sign a executive order implementing "reciprocal tariffs on countries throughout the world".
He described it as a "declaration of economic independence".