President Donald Trump of the United States on Monday warned against what he described as stupid panic as a global stock market rout deepened after China retaliated against his tariffs offensive.
DAILY POST reports that shares in New York joined the slump, with all three major US indices falling more than three percent in early trading.
European equities were deep in the red but Asia fared worse, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index crashing 13.2 percent, its biggest drop since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 falling an eye-watering 7.8 percent.
Recall that a 10-percent baseline tariff on imports from around the world took effect Saturday but a slew of countries will be hit by higher duties from Wednesday, with levies of 34 percent for Chinese goods and 20 percent for EU products.
Trump, a few minutes before the markets opened in New York, posted that his tariff reforms were a chance to do something that should have been done decades ago.
“Don’t be Weak! Don’t be Stupid!... Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!”; he urged.
DAILY POST reports that Beijing announced last week its own 34-percent tariff on US goods, which will come into effect on Thursday.
The move pushed Trump to chastise China for not heeding his warning for alleged abusing countries not to retaliate, calling Beijing “the biggest abuser of them all”; on tariffs.
However, Chinese vice commerce minister, Ling Ji said the tit-for-tat duties are aimed at bringing the United States back onto the right track of the multilateral trade system.
“The root cause of the tariff issue lies in the United States,”; Ling told representatives of US companies on Sunday.
EU trade ministers gathered in Luxembourg on Monday to discuss the bloc’s response, with Germany and France having advocated a tax targeting US tech giants.
“We must not exclude any option on goods, on services,”; said French Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin.
