Trump posted that "if China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th. Additionally, all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated! Negotiations with other countries, which have also requested meetings, will begin taking place immediately."
In terms of negotiations with other countries, it's unclear how any deal would conflict with US assertions that Trump's tariff policy is creating "a new Made in America revolution."
"You can't both revive the [domestic] manufacturing base and negotiate with a foreign country," Jeanne Sheehan Zaino, an expert at the nonpartisan Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress, told Bloomberg. "And so that is the conundrum that Donald Trump has himself in: What are the goals of this tariff policy?"
Trump and his top advisers retrenched over the weekend, with the president suggesting that equity markets may need to "take medicine" and posting that the new tariffs are "already in effect, and a beautiful thing to behold."
Trump also reiterated that the impetus behind the tariff policy is trade deficits: "I spoke to a lot of leaders ... from all over the world. ... I said 'we're not going to have deficits with your country' ... to me a deficit is a loss. We're going to have surpluses or, at worst, we're going to be breaking even."
On April 2, Trump announced a blanket 10% tariff on all goods coming into the US. He also added new duties on goods from 185 countries, which the president described as the "worst offenders" in terms of perceived unfairness on trade, slated to kick in on April 9.
American customs officials began collecting the new 10% tariff on imports from many countries on Saturday morning after the US stock market saw its worst week since 2020.
Various countries are still deciding how to respond (or not), and companies have begun adjusting to the new reality — largely by raising prices. Some countries responded with new tariffs of their own: Canada announced new duties on certain vehicles imported from the US, and China announced that it would impose countermeasures against the US starting April 10, including a 34% tariff on US goods.
The European Union is preparing an initial set of countermeasures. The tariff rate applied to the 27-nation bloc of EU countries under the policy is 20%, and about 70% of the EU's exports to the US are covered. Trump adviser and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, appearing at an event on Saturday, said that "Europe and the United States should move, ideally, in my view, to a zero-tariff situation."
"This is the single biggest trade action of our lifetime," Kelly Ann Shaw, a trade lawyer and former White House trade adviser during Trump's first term, told Reuters.
Here are the latest updates as the policy reverberates around the world.
LIVE457 updates
Grace O'Donnell
Trump: 'We're not looking at' a tariff pause
President Trump shot down rumors that the US could pause the higher reciprocal tariffs set to go into effect on Wednesday, but he said that many countries were looking to negotiate deals on trade and "things ... beyond tariffs"
"Well, we're not looking at that [90-day pause]," Trump told reporters after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. "We have many, many countries that are coming to negotiate deals with us, and they're going to be fair deals, and in certain cases, they're going to be paying substantial tariffs."
Earlier in the day, stocks briefly spiked on a false headline suggesting the Trump administration was considering a 90-day delay in implementing the higher levels of global reciprocal tariffs. The White House called that report "fake news."
Watch Trump's comments live below:
Grace O'Donnell
Auto tariffs threaten to decimate sales
Auto stocks continued to slide on Monday as analysts estimated the damage to sales from new 25% US tariffs on vehicles and trucks.
Bessent: Trump instructed trade officials to 'open negotiations' with Japan
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US and Japan will begin negotiating President Trump's tariff policy after Trump had a "constructive phone discussion" with the government of Japan.
Starting April 9, Trump has instructed that a 24% tariff on all Japanese imports be imposed.
Grace O'Donnell
Trump’s economic team faces flood of tariff critiques — even from top White House allies
Document: EU commission proposes 25% counter-tariffs on some US imports
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission proposed counter-tariffs of 25% on a range of U.S. goods on Monday in response to President Donald Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminium, a document seen by Reuters showed.
The tariffs on some goods will come into effect May 16 and other later in the year, on December 1, the document said.
Is the US open to negotiations with other countries on tariffs or not?
American officials have contradicted themselves on this point. On Sunday, trade adviser Peter Navarro asserted: “This is not a negotiation." On Monday, President Trump stated: "Negotiations with other countries ... will begin taking place immediately."
In any case, observers are noting that the concept of negotiating lower tariffs would conflict with the stated plan to create "a new Made in America revolution."
"You can't both revive the [domestic] manufacturing base and negotiate with a foreign country," Jeanne Sheehan Zaino, an expert at the nonpartisan Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress, told Bloomberg. "And so that is the conundrum that Donald Trump has himself in: What are the goals of this tariff policy?"
Grace O'Donnell
BlackRock's Larry Fink: Economy probably already in recession amid tariff turmoil
The leader of the world's largest asset manager warned that the US economy has weakened under the Trump administration's new tariff policy and has probably already fallen into a recession, Reuters reported.
Speaking at the Economic Club of New York, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said there may be more inflationary pressure than the market realizes and that the stock market could decline 20% further.
However, the current market meltdown doesn't post any systemic risks, he said. In fact, Fink argued the market declines represent "more of a buying opportunity than a selling opportunity" in the long run.
Trump threatens to impose additional 50% tariff on China
President Trump doubled down on tough trade talk with China Monday, stating that he is prepared to nearly double the duties on China if it does not remove retaliatory measures immediately.
Trump posted on social media: "... if China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th."
Trump's new threat, added to existing tariff plans, would put the US tariff rate at 104%
Trump also said that his administration would close the door to further trade talks with China, stating "their requested meetings with us will be terminated!" But negotiations with other countries will begin immediately, Trump added.
Grace O'Donnell
Stocks whipsaw after 'pause' headline triggers short-lived spike
US stocks swung wildly on Monday morning after speculation of a 90-day pause in reciprocal tariffs.
National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett's remarks in an interview with Fox News that some countries had approached the US with some "great" deals appeared to be the catalyst.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) popped on the news after opening in the red. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) spiked as much as 4%.
The White House quickly moved to shut down that headline, claiming that the pause rumors were "fake news." That, in turn, sent stocks into negative territory once again.
The incident highlighted that investors were keen for a reprieve in the tariffs, which have fueled an intense stock market rout over the past three days. At last check, the major indexes remained choppy but were trading below the flat line.
Frustrated world leaders wonder if Trump even wants a deal
Global markets are plunging amid the new US tariff policy, and world leaders are wondering what President Donald Trump would need in negotiations to relieve the pressure.
Trump: We're engaging in 'tough but fair' trade talks with world's nations
President Trump said the US is speaking with countries worldwide as global trade reordering sets in.
"Countries from all over the World are talking to us," Trump posted on social media. "Tough but fair parameters are being set."
The president also stated that Japan is sending a "top team" to negotiate a new trade agreement and called out trade with China as a major sticking point.
Markets in Asia retreated sharply on Monday as Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 (^N225) slid into a bear market, as did the Hang Seng (^HSI) in Hong Kong.
EU set to drop bourbon from retaliatory tariffs list against US
According to reports in the Financial Times on Monday, the EU has decided to drop bourbon from its retaliatory tariff list against the US This move follows heavy lobbying from France, Italy, and Ireland, which aimed to protect their alcohol industries amid the escalating trade war.
Jenny McCall
EU Commission head talks tariff response with auto, steel, and pharma leaders
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke with metals industry representatives on Monday and planned a follow-up discussion with the automobile sector. The calls focused on strategizing responses to US tariffs.
Tariffs jolt Wall Street into ditching bold S&P 500 calls
Wall Street analysts are scrambling to dial back their optimism on US stocks, as Trump’s broad tariff plans send shockwaves through global markets and stir fears of a major economic shakeup.
Ishiba to talk with Trump as Japan’s Nikkei enters bear market
Japan’s PM Shigeru Ishiba is set to speak with President Trump Monday, making a final push to soften a looming 24% tariff. The high-stakes call comes as Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbles into bear market territory, rattled by fears of a deepening trade war.
Trump says sometimes you have to 'take medicine' as markets crater again
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, President Trump said sometimes you have to "take medicine" when asked about the market's recent sell-off, according to Reuters.
"I don't want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something," Trump said.
The president added that his policies were not intentionally trying to engineer a market sell-off.
Trump's comments come as markets appeared set to begin the week where they left off Friday, with US stock futures down sharply across the board with Nasdaq 100 futures off more than 4% and futures tied to the Dow and S&P 500 both off more than 3.4%.
Last week, the Nasdaq closed in a bear market and the S&P 500's losses reached 17% from the benchmark index's record high hit back in February.
This weekend, Trump's economic surrogates attempted to make clear in media appearances that the president's shock tariff announcements last week were not a negotiation tactic.
Speaking Sunday evening, the president said no deal on tariffs with China would be forthcoming unless the US' trade deficit with China was fixed. The US trade deficit with China reached $295 billion last year.
Trump added that he has spoken to leaders in Europe and Asia regarding his tariffs unveiled last week.
Michael B. Kelley
Trump calls tariff policy "a beautiful thing to behold."
After US stock market futures plunged on Sunday evening, President Trump posted:
