Tariffs: Global markets brace as US confirms China to be hit with 104% levies overnight
Trump’s total new levies climb to 104% on Chinese goods imported into US this year
The White House has confirmed China will be hit with a 104 per cent tariff rate from 12:01am ET on Wednesday.
Donald Trump’s press secretary confirmed that the measures will come into place after Beijing did not lift its retaliatory tariffs on US goods by a Tuesday noon deadline.
Earlier, the US president threatened to impose an extra 50 per cent levy on top of the existing 54 per cent tariff on Chinese imports, bringing the total levies on Chinese products imported to the US to over 100 per cent.
The Chinese foreign ministry vowed its country would “fight till the end”, amid reports it is preparing for a US imports block, as it accused America of “typical unilateralism and protectionist economic bullying”.
It is not yet clear what counter-measures Beijing is planning to impose, although the BBC reported, citing state media, that the US agricultural sector could be impacted, including a potential total ban on poultry.
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FTSE 100 on track for best day in more than three years
The FTSE 100 is on track to having its best day in more than three years.
The gains are set to bring some relief to investors after stock prices around the world plunged in value since US President Donald Trump's tariffs announcement last Wednesday.
What happens next on the stock market after ‘bloodbath’ of Trump’s tariffs?
After what has seemed like non-stop falls in the global stock markets since Donald Trump announced his tariff plan last week, the first signs of green were on show again on Tuesday.
Overnight, both China’s Hang Seng and Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended in positive territory, the latter as much as six per cent up. In the UK, the FTSE 100 was up more than two per cent after two hours of morning trading, while in Europe the CAC 40, the DAX and the Euronext were all up between 1.3 to 1.7 per cent.
Even Stateside, where the stock market rout has been so pronounced following the escalation of Trump’s potential trade war, S&P 500 futures were showing a rise of more than 1.3 per cent.
Investors were finally getting some relief from the sharp drops and some were even cautiously looking to buy back in. But is this really the end of the stock market’s reaction to the tariffs? Business and money editor Karl Matchett reports:
What happens next on the stock market after ‘bloodbath’ of Trump’s tariffs?
Labour sister party calls for focus on communities in response to Trump tariffs
Labour’s hugely influential sister party has called for the government to ramp up its focus on communities in response to Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The Co-op Party, represented by 41 Labour MPs including business secretary Jonathan Reynolds, said community and member-owned businesses must be central to the government’s response to the unfolding trade war.
Labour committed in its manifesto to doubling the size of the co-operative sector. But Co-op general secretary Joe Fortune said Mr Trump’s tariffs are an opportunity for a “new economic settlement for communities”.
“Now is the time for the Government to back what works: putting power and resources in the hands of communities to shape their own future,” Mr Fortune said.
He added: “Co-operative businesses keep wealth local - they are more resilient, more long-lasting and more equitable. And crucially, they put both power and wealth in the hands of working people.”
Trump has been clear he won't do tariff exemptions in near term, Greer says
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has said Donald Trump has been clear that he will not do tariff exemptions in the near term.
Starmer reiterates plan to maintain digital service tax in talks with US
The prime minister has said he wants the maintain a digital service tax, after reports suggested it could be abolished as part of trade deal talks with the US.
Sir Keir told the Liaison Committee that AI and other technology companies were "very powerful".
He added: "In relation to trade talks, obviously there are questions about the appropriate way to tax digital services, etc. There are questions about how technology impacts with free speech.
"I've been very clear in my view that we need to have arrangements for a digital tax of some sort, and equally we need to be pioneers of free speech, which we have been for very many years in this country.
"But at the same time, we rightly protect under the Online Safety Act - further provisions of which are coming into force pretty quickly - and when it comes to dealing with paedophiles and protecting children, I take a pretty strong line that we take the necessary measures in order to do so."
Trump tariffs: Who will be hit hardest by China-US trade war as president threatens 104% levy?
Last week China retaliated with 34 per cent counter-tariffs on imported US goods, in the wake of President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” trade war.
On April 2, Mr Trump announced an extra 34 per cent tariff on all Chinese goods imported to the US, on top of an existing 20 per cent levy; bringing tariffs to 54 per cent.
Now, Mr Trump is threatening an extra 50 per cent tariff on Chinese goods if Beijing does not scrap retaliatory measures by today, Tuesday 8 April - taking tariffs to an unprecedented 104 per cent on Chinese imports, a White House official confirmed.
As Trump threatens 104% tariffs on China, Alicja Hagopian and Millie Cooke look at what industries will be hardest hit:
Who will be hit hardest by China-US trade war as Trump threatens 104% tariff?
What has Donald Trump threatened China with?
Donald Trump has threatened to impose an extra 50 per cent levy on top of the existing 54 per cent tariff on Chinese imports.
The US president said he would introduce the measures if Beijing does not withdraw the 34 per cent tariffs it had imposed on US products last week.
This means the total new levies could climb to 104 per cent on Chinese goods imported into the US this year.
The US president said China would need to back down on Tuesday, if it did not want to see the measures imposed on Wednesday.
|If China does not withdraw its 34 per cent increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50 per cent, effective April 9th,” he wrote on Truth Social.
US' top trade representative "doesn't trust economists predictions'
The nation's top trade representative has said he does not trust economists’ warnings, as major banks warn of recession or inflation.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said he did not trust the predictions as there was no inflation during Trump’s first term.
FTSE100 climbs higher after days of plummeting
London’s FTSE 100 index climbed firmly higher as global markets recovered ground on hopes for potential trade deals between the US and other countries.
The index was up 2.71%, or 208.45 points, to 7,910.53 at the close of trading.
In the US, the Dow Jones index was up 2.45%, while the S&P 500 finished 2.36% higher.
Meloni to visit Trump next week
Italy’s prime minister has said she will visit Washington later this month to discuss tariffs with Trump.
Giorgia Meloni said she will meet the US president on April 17, after the Italian government unveiled plans to use 11 billion euros in cohesion funds to offset the impact of the tariff policy.
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