The US market suffered a strong decline after US President Donald Trump announced the introduction of new tariffs.
This was reported by CNN, citing stock market data after the close of stock trading in the US.
The Dow Jones index lost 1679 points (3.98%), the S&P 500 lost 4.84%, and the Nasdaq fell by 5.97%. This marked the worst day for the markets since 2020. Companies with international supply chains were hit hardest, with Apple shares down 9.3%, Nike down 14.5%, Best Buy down 17.8% and Ralph Lauren down 16.3%.
Apple's market capitalization fell by almost $300 billion in one trading session. Analysts attributed the collapse to concerns that Trump's new tariffs will disrupt global trade flows.
Trading on Asia's largest stock exchange in Tokyo began for the second consecutive day with a significant drop in quotes in light of the import tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump, which will amount to 24% for Japan.
The key Nikkei index, which reflects fluctuations in the share prices of 225 leading Japanese companies, fell 2.6% in early trading and is below 34 thousand points. The last time the Nikkei fell below this level was in August 2024, when global markets collapsed due to fears of a recession in the United States.
One of the leaders in the decline are auto companies. Thus, Toyota shares fell by 4.96%, Nissan - by 4.15%, Honda - by 5.45%, Subaru - by 4.16%, and Mazda - by 4.99%.
On April 2, Trump announced that his country would set a minimum tariff on imported goods of 10%. He set individual tariffs for individual countries. A 20% tariff will be applied to the EU. In addition, the US government is imposing a 25% tariff on all imported cars from April 3.
The US tariffs announced on Wednesday on the principle of reciprocity pose a significant risk to the development of the global economy. This was stated by the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva in a written statement.
"We are still assessing the macroeconomic impact of the announced tariff measures, but they clearly pose a significant risk to the prospects for the global economy at a time of slow growth. It is important to avoid steps that could further harm the global economy," she said.
„We encourage the US and its trading partners to work constructively to resolve trade tensions and reduce uncertainty,“ the head of the fund added. She said the IMF's study on the effects of tariffs would be published in its World Economic Outlook report at the end of the month.
US President Donald Trump said he was open to considering a potential deal to ease US tariffs on Chinese goods if Beijing approved the TikTok sale.
"There is a situation with TikTok where China could say, "We will approve the deal, but are you going to do something about the tariffs?" Tariffs give us a lot of negotiating power. And they always have," the US leader stressed, answering questions from reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Miami, Florida.
"We can use tariffs to get something in return," he added. At the same time, the head of state stressed that "there is no confidence" that Beijing would accept such an approach. Trump said his administration is "very close" to finalizing a deal to acquire TikTok, which includes several US investors.
According to Bloomberg, the head of state reviewed a proposal on Wednesday from a group of US investors, including Oracle, Blackstone and Andreessen Horowitz, who have emerged as the main contenders to acquire TikTok. Vice President J.D. Vance is looking for a buyer for the social network, the agency notes. According to its sources, discussions have not yet reached the final stage, but the deadline for completing the deal expires on Saturday, April 5. Trump recently made it clear that he is ready to extend this deadline.
According to the agency's sources, in accordance with the proposal considered by Trump, new outside investors would own 50% of TikTok in a unit that would be separated from owner ByteDance. Current investors would own about 30% of the business. ByteDance’s stake in the new U.S. venture would be just under 20%, allowing it to comply with U.S. legislation passed last year. The proposal calls for TikTok’s algorithm itself to be initially retained by ByteDance and then licensed to a new U.S. entity. Oracle will take a small stake in the venture.
European regulators are considering imposing a fine of more than $1 billion on Elon Musk's social network X, The New York Times reported, citing sources.
The European Union is expected to announce measures against X this summer. According to the newspaper, the EU and X could still reach an agreement if the social network agrees to the necessary changes from Brussels.
The EU is also conducting another investigation into X. It is noted that the social network is considered a center for illegal incitement to hatred and disinformation in the EU due to X's lack of interference in user content.
On January 24, the Handelsblatt newspaper, citing senior EU officials, reported that the European Commission had concluded an investigation into X and the network faces a fine of more than $100 million.
The EU investigation into X began in December 2023. The EC suspects the company of violating the Digital Services Act (DSA), which obliges internet resource operators to remove content marked as prohibited in the European Union without court orders.
The Argentine government is already working to remove obstacles to bilateral trade with the United States and is looking forward to Washington reviewing tariffs on Argentine goods.
This was stated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the South American country after a meeting between the head of the department, Gerardo Vertein, and US Secretary of Commerce, Howard Latnick.
“The minister noted the importance of creating conditions that would subsequently allow the measures taken to be reviewed, and at the same time stressed the readiness to work on an agenda aimed at strengthening trade flows between the countries,“ the statement said.
The agency said that Argentina had reviewed the report of the Ministry of Commerce of the US on bilateral trade and “is already in the process of implementing appropriate adjustments“.
Argentina was included in the group of countries for which 10% tariffs were imposed.
Argentine President Javier Miel, who took office on December 10, 2023, has repeatedly said that he considers liberal democracies and Western countries, especially the United States and Israel, to be Argentina's priority partners. The president has announced his desire to sign a free trade agreement with Washington.