U.S. President Donald Trump’s big raise in tariffs has triggered an escalating trade war and sent global markets plummeting.
The S&P 500 fell 6% Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 5.5% and the Nasdaq composite dropped 5.8%.
China announced Friday that it will impose a 34% tax on all U.S. imports next week, part of a flurry of retaliatory measures to Trump’s new tariffs.
Trump has doubled down on his commitment to tariffs, maintaining that his new levies will bring trillions of dollars of investment to the U.S. while also criticizing other countries’ retaliatory measures.
Here’s the latest:
Elon Musk says he hopes zero tariff zone with Europe someday.
Billionaire Elon Musk told Italy League leader Matteo Salvini on Saturday that he hoped in the future the U.S. and Europe could create “a very close, stronger partnership” and reach a “zero-tariff zone.”
Musk spoke to Salvini in a video conference during the League’s congress in Florence. Salvini is the leader of the far-right, anti-migrant League party and vice premier of the Italian conservative government led by Premier Giorgia Meloni.
He said that, ideally, there will be a “zero-tariff zone in the future with a free trade zone between Europe and North America.”
Musk, an adviser to President Donald Trump who owns Tesla, SpaceX and the social media platform X, has played a key role in government downsizing as the head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency.
British and French leaders discuss fallout from Trump’s tariffs
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed Saturday that a trade war was in no one’s interest as they discussed the fallout from the sweeping tariffs announced earlier this week by President Donald Trump.
Starmer and Macron discussed the global economic and security impact of the tariffs, particularly in Southeast Asia, Starmer’s office said in a statement released after a phone call between the two leaders.
“They agreed that a trade war was in nobody’s interests, but nothing should be off the table and that it was important to keep business updated on developments,” the statement said.
The leaders also discussed efforts to build a coalition of countries willing to support Ukraine in its war against Russia and provide peacekeeping forces in the event a ceasefire is reached.
“Following discussions between military planners in Ukraine this week, they discussed the good progress that has been made on the Coalition of the Willing,” the statement said.
Some of Trump’s new tariffs have taken effect
The baseline 10% levy announced by Trump this week kicked in at 12:01 a.m. Saturday ET (0401 GMT), triggering customs agents’ collections at ports of entry across the U.S.
Countries targeted by Trump for higher tariffs are due to go in effect on Wednesday. Those include assessments as high as 50% for Lesotho, 49% for Cambodia and 47% for Madagascar.
In an all-caps social media post Saturday, Trump insisted: “THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN.”
Public reaction hasn’t been so confident, with stock markets slumping since the tariff announcement.
China spokesman takes a jab at Trump administration
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun posted on his Facebook page a screen saving showing the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all declining by more than 5% on Friday, with the commentary, “The market has spoken.”
“The trade and tariff war started by the U.S. against the world is unprovoked and unjustified,” Guo wrote. “Now is the time for the U.S. to stop doing the wrong things and resolve the differences with trading partners through equal-footed consultation.”
China lashes out at US over tariffs, calling it a weapon to seek private interests
China on Saturday night heaped more criticism on the U.S. tariffs, saying they had “seriously infringed upon the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, seriously violated the rules of the World Trade Organization, seriously damaged the rules-based multilateral trading system, and severely impacted the stability of the global economic order.”
The U.S. “uses tariffs as a weapon to exert extreme pressure and seek private interests. This is a typical act of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying,” said the statement, attributed to the Chinese government and carried by the official Xinhua News Agency.
“The Chinese people believe in treating others with sincerity and taking trust as the basis. We do not provoke trouble, but we are not afraid of trouble. Pressure and threats are not the right way to deal with China. China has and will continue to take firm measures to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests,” the statement said.
It said China would continue to promote “high-level opening-up” rather than closing its economy with even higher tariffs.
“Economic globalization is the inevitable path for the development of human society,” it said.“ “The world needs justice, not tyranny!”
Jaguar and Land Rover pause shipments to US
The British maker of Jaguar and Land Rover cars is pausing shipments to the U.S. as it works to mitigate the impact of a 25% tax on vehicle imports imposed by the Trump administration.
Jaguar Land Rover Automotive, one of Britain’s biggest carmakers, said Saturday that the pause would take place this month.
“The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands,” the company said in a statement. “As we work to address the new trading terms with out business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid-to-longer term plans.”
The U.K. automotive industry is expected to be hard hit by the new tariffs, which come at a time when British carmakers are struggling with declining demand at home and the need to retool their plants for the transition to electric vehicles.
Trump says China has been hit harder by tariffs
President Donald Trump on Saturday morning posted on his Truth Social media site that China has been negatively impacted by tariffs “much harder than the USA, not even close.”
Newly announced U.S. tariffs on nations around the world, including 34% tariffs on China, have sent stock markets reeling for days. China has vowed to match the rate that Trump imposed.
On Saturday Trump was at his golf course in Jupiter, Florida. It’s his first time visiting the club since his second term started. Spotted in his motorcade, in his signature red MAGA hat and white polo shirt, Trump was reading a tabloid article about China’s response to U.S. tariffs.
“They, and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly,” Trump said on Truth Social. “We have been the dumb and helpless “whipping post,” but not any longer.”
Italy’s economy minister cautions against retaliatory tariffs
Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti warned that imposing retaliatory tariffs on the United States would be damaging for both Italy and Europe.
Speaking at a business forum in Cernobbio, near Milan, Giorgetti said Saturday that Italy is working for a “de-escalation” with the U.S. following Trump’s announcement of a general tariff of 20% on European Union countries.
“We should avoid launching a policy of counter-tariffs that could be damaging for everyone and especially for us,” Giorgetti said. “Our message is that we need to avoid pushing the panic button. … We are following a pragmatic and rational approach.”
Giorgetti proposed the EU allow member states to raise spending by relaxing the bloc’s fiscal rules.
Italy has a very limited budget leeway, as the government forecast its giant debt rising through 2026 to almost 138% of GDP.
“The Italian public debt means reduced budget room for our country, a constraint that must be taken into account in any decisions we make,” Giorgetti said, also referring to EU plans to increase defense spending.
Taiwan will provide support for industries hit by tariffs
Taiwan’s says it will provide a $2.65 billion fund to aid industries most affected by U.S. tariffs.
Taiwan has a trade surplus with the U.S., but much of it comes from Taiwanese industries trying to fulfill the U.S. demand for Taiwan’s information technology products. Officials say Taiwan plans to negotiate with the U.S. on how the new tariff rate of 32% was determined and try to get a better deal.
Premier Cho Jung-tai has been charged with working closely with industries that are impacted and to communicate the public about their plans to stabilize the economy. Cho said Friday that electronics and information technology, steel and metal, machinery, auto parts, construction materials and home appliances will feel “significant impacts.”
In the agricultural field, moth orchids, edamame and such fish as tilapia, common dolphinfish and bass will be hit the hardest, he said.
