World shares slid downward, U.S. futures fell and Wall Street appeared on track for another day of crushing losses Friday as investors counted the potential costs of U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 latest set of tariffs 鈥 including China's retaliatory match of a 34% tariff on imports of all U.S. products.
Everything from crude oil to Big Tech stocks to the value of the U.S. dollar against other currencies . Even gold, a traditional safe haven that recently hit , pulled lower after Trump announced his 鈥淟iberation Day鈥 which economists say carries the risk of a potentially toxic mix of weakening economic growth and higher inflation.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested Friday interest rates will remain unchanged because the tariffs and their likely are 鈥渟ignificantly larger than expected鈥 and are 鈥渉ighly likely鈥 to lead to 鈥渁t least a temporary rise in inflation.鈥 Trump then sought to pressure the independent agency with a social media post saying: 鈥淐UT INTEREST RATES, JEROME, AND STOP PLAYING POLITICS!鈥
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Federal Reserve chair says Trump tariffs likely to raise inflation and slow US economic growth
Jerome Powell said the tariffs and their likely are 鈥渟ignificantly larger than expected鈥 and are 鈥渉ighly likely鈥 to lead to 鈥渁t least a temporary rise in inflation.鈥
鈥淥ur obligation is to ... make certain that a one-time increase in the price level does not become ,鈥 Powell said in remarks delivered in Arlington, Virginia.
Powell鈥檚 focus on inflation suggests that the Fed will likely at about 4.3% in the coming months. He emphasized that the Fed will likely stay on the sidelines until the full impact of the tariffs on the economy become clear.
鈥淭hat just seems like the right thing to do in this period of uncertainty,鈥 Powell said.
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Federal labor unions sue Trump over union-busting executive order
The federal lawsuit filed in Oakland, California on Thursday challenges his order to end collective bargaining in agencies with national security missions.
The unions say Trump鈥檚 March 27 order applies the national security exemption too broadly and for speaking out against his agenda.
鈥淎FGE is not going to be intimidated by a bully who is throwing a temper tantrum because our union is beating them in the court of law and in the court of public opinion,鈥 said Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees.
The 春色直播 Treasury Employees Union is challenging the same order in Washington, D.C. federal court, and the Justice Department has a pending suit in the Western District of Texas on behalf of eight federal agencies that want to end their collective bargaining agreements.
Trump pressures Fed chair Powell to cut interest rates
Trump suggested that the stock market turmoil caused by worldwide tariffs makes it the 鈥淧ERFECT time鈥 for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to cut interest rates.
鈥淗e is always 鈥檒ate, but he could now change his image, and quickly,鈥 Trump wrote on his social media platform.
Presidents of both political parties have respected the Federal Reserve鈥檚 status as an independent agency, but Trump continues to pressure Powell. Trump nominated Powell in 2017 to serve as chair.
鈥淐UT INTEREST RATES, JEROME, AND STOP PLAYING POLITICS!鈥 he wrote.
US attorney general on MS-13 arrests: 鈥榃e鈥檙e coming after you鈥
announced federal charges Friday against three men arrested last month in the 2015 killing of a man who was stabbed about 100 times and shot. The cases were reopened in 2020 after going cold.
Bondi joined law enforcement officials in Fort Lauderdale to promote the Justice Department鈥檚 efforts to go after the MS-13 gang, which the Trump administration has labeled a to justify deportations.
鈥淢ore arrests are coming,鈥 Bondi said. 鈥淚f you are a gang member living in this country, I鈥檇 self-deport right now.鈥
The announcement comes a week after Bondi of the alleged East Coast leader of the MS-13 gang.
Trump tariff threatens Madagascar鈥檚 vanilla industry
Madagascar鈥檚 export-dependent economy now faces one of the Trump administration鈥檚 highest tariffs, at 47%. This threatens the Indian Ocean nation鈥檚 vital vanilla industry, which exports 70% of its produce to the U.S.
The country鈥檚 textile sector, which exports 40% of its total production to US markets, is also bracing for challenging times.
Madagascan ministers are feverishly trying to limit the harm, meeting with U.S. ambassador Claire Pierangelo this week as they try to mobilize 鈥渁ll diplomatic and commercial levers to guarantee fair access鈥 for the nation鈥檚 products.
Judge rebukes Wisconsin Democrat鈥檚 rapid response to Musk鈥檚 millions
The state鈥檚 Attorney General Josh Kaul had sued in a last-minute effort to stop from handing out $1 million checks to voters before the state鈥檚 , which was ultimately won by candidate Susan Crawford.
Columbia County Circuit Judge Andrew Voigt鈥檚 order dismissed Kaul鈥檚 lawsuit as 鈥渨oefully deficient鈥 and said 鈥渋t is this Court鈥檚 opinion that Wisconsin鈥檚 system of justice was abused by this case.鈥
The judge at Kaul鈥檚 request after the state Supreme Court rejected it without comment. Musk then , declaring them spokespeople for his political group after Kaul accused him of violating state law by inducing voters with money.
Kaul鈥檚 statement Friday says he鈥檚 proud of his 鈥渞apid action鈥 to 鈥渉elp protect the integrity of the recent election.鈥
College officials worry crackdown tactics will turn foreign students away
The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities is requesting a meeting with the State Department, alarmed that will persuade sought-after foreign students to stay away from the United States.
College officials say the new, harsher tactics and vague justifications being used to push some students out of the country will have .
America鈥檚 universities have long been seen as a top destination for the world鈥檚 brightest minds 鈥 and they鈥檝e brought important tuition revenue and research breakthroughs to U.S. colleges. But international students also have other options, said Fanta Aw, CEO of NAFSA, an association of international educators.
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春色直播 Endowment for the Humanities staff getting forced leave notices, sources say
Staff members at the NEH have begun receiving notices that they have been placed on administrative leave, The Associated Press has learned. Just how many employees receiving the notices has yet to be determined, according to two officials with knowledge of the NEH鈥檚 operations. The officials were not authorized to discuss the notices and asked not to be identified.
The NEH did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment.
The NEH, which each year provides hundreds of millions of dollars for educational and cultural projects, has also been sending notices to grant recipients informing them that their funding has been cancelled. The cutbacks follow other Trump administration moves against cultural organizations, including the Kennedy Center, the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Smithsonian Institution.
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Dow drops another 1,000 points amid global selloff as China matches Trump's tariffs
The S&P 500 dropped 2.7% early Friday, coming off its worst day since COVID wrecked the global economy in 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,000 points, and the Nasdaq composite tumbled 3%.
Not even a better-than-expected report on the U.S. job market was enough to stop the slide.
European stocks saw some of the day鈥檚 biggest losses, and the price of crude oil tumbled to its lowest level since 2021 on worries about how a trade war could cause a recession.
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Harvard gets list of demands as feds threaten billions in funding
The letter asserts that Harvard University has 鈥渇undamentally failed to protect American students and faculty from antisemitic violence and harassment鈥 and must take immediate action to keep receiving almost $9 billion in federal grants and contracts.
Officials at three federal agencies outlined in the letter to Harvard鈥檚 president Thursday demands including a mask ban on campus, clarified restrictions on protests and firmer enforcement of discipline policies, among others. A Harvard spokesperson said the university received the letter.
It鈥檚 similar to a demand letter that recently at Columbia University under threat of billions of dollars in cuts.
Trump defends tariff moves on social media
Although experts have harshly criticized the president鈥檚 economic policies, he鈥檚 finding support on TikTok.
He shared a video on Friday morning that said 鈥淭rump is crashing the stock market鈥 and 鈥渉e鈥檚 doing it on purpose鈥 as part of 鈥渟ecret game he鈥檚 playing, and it could make you rich.鈥
Trump is at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Florida, for the weekend. In another all-caps post, Trump said he would stay the course despite fears about .
鈥淭O THE MANY INVESTORS COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES AND INVESTING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF MONEY, MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE. THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO GET RICH, RICHER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!鈥 he wrote.
Later Friday morning, Trump criticized China's decision to match his tariffs with a 34% tariff on U.S. imports.
鈥淐HINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED - THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO!鈥 he wrote in a social media post
Wall Street appears on track for another day of crushing losses
Major U.S. indexes plunged sharply before Friday鈥檚 opening bell, then doubled their losses after
Futures for the S&P 500 fell 3.6% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 3.4%, falling below the 40,000 mark. Nasdaq futures tumbled 4%. That follows Thursday鈥檚 wipeout, Wall Street鈥檚 worst day in five years.
Markets in Europe were having an even rougher time 鈥 by midday Friday, Germany鈥檚 DAX had lost 5%, the CAC 40 in Paris slipped 4.2% and Britain鈥檚 FTSE 100 gave up 3.8%.
Oil prices fell as much as 8%.
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South Africa plans to diversify exports
South Africa's government said it intends to diversify exports to cushion its economy from unilateral tariff hikes such as the 30% imposed by the U.S. this week.
International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola said the country鈥檚 diversification strategy would focus on increasing its exports to Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
鈥淭his diversification supports South Africa鈥檚 industrial strategy and reduces dependency on single destination markets for our exports or single sources for our intermediate input requirements,鈥 said Lamola.
The U.S. is South Africa鈥檚 second largest trading partner after China, accounting for 7.45% of the country鈥檚 total exports last year, while South Africa accounted for 0.4% of total U.S. exports. South Africa has also questioned the U.S. calculations that resulted in the 30% tariff.
The tariff announcement follows the freezing of all financial assistance to South Africa through an executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump in February this year.
US tariffs calculations are not based on standard economics, analyst says
A top trade analyst says the Trump administration's calculations that led to the tariffs are 鈥渘ot standard economics鈥 and in many cases impose rates far higher than those that the targeted countries apply to U.S. goods.
Julia Spies, chief of trade and market intelligence at the International Trade Center, said uncertainties remain about the exact way the U.S. Trade Representative鈥檚 office and other U.S. officials came up with the tariffs.
She said the figures presented by Trump roughly match the U.S. trade balance 鈥 or imbalance 鈥 with a specific country, divided by imports from that country, 鈥渁nd that, divided by two, gives us the reciprocal tariff鈥 imposed by the U.S.
鈥淭his is not standard economics,鈥 Spies told reporters by video to a U.N. briefing in Geneva.
The U.S. calculation included countries鈥 tariffs on American exports plus other regulations and policies in those countries, like currency manipulation, sanitary measures, and technical barriers to trade, and 鈥渁ll of that led to this 鈥 what they call 鈥榯ariffs鈥.鈥
The ITC, based in Geneva, is a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization that aims to help small businesses in the developing world to trade.
China retaliates and announces a 34% tariff on imports of all U.S. products
China announced Friday that it will impose a 34% tariff on imports of all U.S. products beginning April 10, part of a flurry of retaliatory measures following U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 鈥淟iberation Day鈥 slate of double-digit tariffs.
The new tariff matches the rate of the U.S. 鈥渞eciprocal鈥 tariff of 34% on Chinese exports Trump ordered this week.
The Commerce Ministry in Beijing also said in a notice that it will impose more export controls on rare earths, which are materials used in high-tech products such as computer chips and electric vehicle batteries.
Included in the list of minerals subject to controls was samarium and its compounds, which are used in aerospace manufacturing and the defense sector. Another element called gadolinium is used in MRI scans.
China鈥檚 customs administration said it had suspended imports of chicken from two U.S. suppliers, Mountaire Farms of Delaware and Coastal Processing. It said Chinese customs had repeatedly detected furazolidone, a drug banned in China, in shipments from those companies.
Additionally, the Chinese government said it has added 27 firms to lists of companies subject to trade sanctions or export controls.
Among them, 16 are subject to a ban on the export of 鈥渄ual-use鈥 goods. High Point Aerotechnologies, a defense tech company, and Universal Logistics Holding, a publicly traded transportation and logistics company, were among those listed.
Beijing also announced it filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization over the tariffs issue.
Asian and European shares slide further, US dollar takes a hit
In European trading, Germany鈥檚 DAX lost 2% to 21,289.53 after the country reported factory orders were unchanged in February as manufacturers prepared for steeper duties on their exports.
The CAC 40 in Paris slipped 1.6% to 7,478.17 while Britain鈥檚 FTSE 100 gave up 1.7% to 8,331.44.
Markets in Shanghai, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Indonesia were closed for holidays, limiting the scope of Friday鈥檚 sell-offs in Asia.
Tokyo鈥檚 Nikkei 225 lost 2.8% to 33,780.58, while South Korea鈥檚 Kospi sank 0.9% to 2,465.42.
The two U.S. allies said they were focused on negotiating lower tariffs with Trump鈥檚 administration.
Australia鈥檚 S&P/ASX 200 dropped 2.4%, closing at 7,667.80.
In other trading early Friday, the U.S. dollar rose to 146.46 Japanese yen from 146.06. The yen is often used as a refuge in uncertain times, while Trump鈥檚 policies are meant in part to weaken the dollar to make goods made in the U.S. more price competitive overseas. The euro edged lower, to $1.0976 from $1.1055.
China car association says prices will go up
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers called on the U.S. to 鈥渃orrect its wrong actions.鈥 It said the tariffs 鈥渨ill further raise car prices, and impose additional burdens on consumers in various countries including Americans and have a negative impact on global economic recovery.鈥
China is one of the major exporters of car parts, many used in car repairs. For example, about 6 in every 10 auto replacement parts used in U.S. auto shop repairs are imported from Mexico, Canada and China. The new taxes are also estimated to make cars imported into the U.S. thousands of dollars more expensive.
Chinese industry groups say new tariffs destroyed normal order of trade with US
Chinese industry groups on Friday sharply criticized the U.S. tariffs as well as the closing of the de minimis loophole which had allowed low value goods to be imported tax-free.
鈥淎merica鈥檚 action crudely destroyed the normal order of trade between the U.S. and China, severely impacted cooperation between global industries, and greatly harmed the rights of consumers, including American citizens,鈥 said a statement from the China Light Industry Association, which represents the interests of light manufacturing businesses.
The tax exemption, which applies to packages valued at $800 or less, has helped China-founded e-commerce companies like Shein and Temu to thrive while the U.S. retail market.
鈥淲e call on the international community to jointly resist this trade bullying, and firmly safeguard an equal and mutually beneficial international trade system.鈥
The China 春色直播 Textile and Apparel Council chimed in as well, with a statement Friday saying they 鈥渟upported the Chinese government鈥檚 forceful measures鈥 as the U.S. has 鈥淒amaged the resilience of the global textile industry鈥檚 supply chain."
Vietnam says tariffs fail to reflect the spirit of the comprehensive strategic partnership
Vietnam said it regretted the U.S. decision to impose reciprocal tariff of 46% on its exports to America,
鈥淲e believe that the decision is not in line with the reality of mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation between the two countries,鈥 Pham Thu Hang, the spokesperson for Vietnam鈥檚 foreign ministry said Friday in a statement reported by state media.
She said Vietnam had actively engaged with the U.S. to address concerns, promote ties on trade and work towards fair, mutually beneficial trade. She added that it failed to reflect the spirit of the comprehensive strategic partnership that the two countries had signed in 2023.
Former President Joe Biden visited Hanoi when the southeast Asian nation elevated the U.S. to its highest diplomatic status, comprehensive strategic partner. At the time, Biden stressed this showed how far the relationship has evolved from what he described as the 鈥渂itter past鈥 of the Vietnam War.
鈥淚f enforced, would negatively impact bilateral economic and trade relations as well as the interests of businesses and people in both countries,鈥 said Hang.
The tariffs imposed on Vietnam are among the highest of any country, more than competitors like Thailand and Malaysia. Analysts say that the tariffs will harm Vietnamese export sectors like electronics, textiles, footwear and seafood.
Vietnam will continue discussions with the U.S. to 鈥渇ind practical solutions鈥 for developing sustainable bilateral economic relations that ensure the interest of businesses and people in both countries.
Deputy Prime Minister and former finance minister Ho Duc Phoc is scheduled to visit the U.S. and Cuba from April 6 to 14 to discuss and negotiate on trade matters.
Vietnamese exports to the U.S. in 2024 totally nearly $120 billion, making up nearly a third of the country鈥檚 total export turnover.
Taiwan's president will support impacted industries, says tariffs 鈥榰nreasonable鈥
Taiwan鈥檚 President Lai Ching-te said he will offer the 鈥済reatest support鈥 to industries impacted by the new tariffs. Lai acknowledged that Taiwan had a trade surplus with the U.S., but that much of it came from Taiwanese industries trying to fulfill the U.S. demand for Taiwan鈥檚 information technology products.
鈥淲e feel that this is unreasonable and are also worried about the subsequent impact these measures may have on the global economy,鈥 Lai said in a statement on his Facebook page Thursday night.
Lai said he instructed Premier Cho Jung-tai to work closely with industries that are impacted and to communicate with the public about their plans to stabilize the economy.
