Reactions & Backlash to US Tariffs Continue
Nations, firms, and markets are continuing to react to the United States’ new tariffs Friday.
The following announcements and moves have been made in the last 24 hours:
JP Morgan has raised its odds of a global recession to 60% by the end of the year, up from a previous estimate of 40%.
Most markets across the globe dropped dramatically Thursday and continued to fall Friday.
US stocks fell dramatically Thursday, marking one of the largest single-day declines in history for the S&P 500. Stocks also started the day Friday deep in the red.
Ratings firm S&P Global announced it will review all its macro economic forecasts and will publish revised data next week as a result of tariffs and severe market declines.
China announced additional tariffs of 34% on US goods, while accusing the US of “bullying” behavior. It also added 11 firms to its “unreliable entities” list, which allows the country to impose additional restrictions on them.
A statement by China’s Commerce Ministry said "China firmly opposes this and will take countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests. There are no winners in trade wars, and there is no way out for protectionism. China urges the U.S. to immediately lift unilateral tariffs and properly resolve differences with its trading partners through dialogue on an equal footing."
China placed additional export restrictions on rare earth elements as part of its response.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said the new tariffs would create a “national crisis” for the country, as Japan’s stock market plunged.
"We are going to fight these tariffs with countermeasures, we are going to protect our workers, and we are going to build the strongest economy in the G7,” Canada’s Prime Minster Mark Carney declared.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the tariffs would be a “major blow to the world economy” but did not announce countermeasures.
France’s President Emmanual Macron called on companies to halt investment in the US.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told state TV that she hoped to work for the removal of tariffs, and did not expect to respond in kind.
The UK’s Prime Minister Kier Starmer told business leaders in London that he hoped to work with the US to lessen or remove tariffs. The UK will respond with “cool and calm heads,” he said. "Nobody wins in a trade war," he added.
Taiwan’s government announced $2.67 billion in aid to companies affected by the new tariffs. US tariffs on Taiwan do not include semiconductors.
US Senator Chuck Grassley introduced a bill that would require Congressional approval of new tariffs.
Olu Sonola, the head of US economic research at Fitch Ratings, wrote in a note "this is a game changer, not only for the US economy but for the global economy. Many countries will likely end up in a recession.”
The World Trade Organization said that the tariffs would likely cause a drop of about 1% in global trade volumes this year. “I’m deeply concerned about this decline and the potential for escalation into a tariff war with a cycle of retaliatory measures that lead to further declines in trade,” said WTO Director-General Ngozi Iweala-Okonjo.
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