LiveThe Latest: China retaliates as Trump’s tariffs affect world markets

World shares slid further and U.S. futures also fell Friday as investors counted the potential costs of U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest set of tariffs, even as China retaliated by announcing a 34% tariff on imports of all U.S. products and other retaliatory moves.

The new Chinese tariff matched the rate of the U.S. “reciprocal” tariff imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump this week. The Dow Jones on Friday fell 1,200 points, almost 3%. The growth and tech focused Nasdaq fell harder.

Trump announced a minimum tariff of 10% on global imports, with the tax rate running much higher on products from certain countries like China and those from the European Union. Smaller, poorer countries in Asia were slapped with tariffs as high as 49%.

Everything from crude oil to Big Tech stocks to the value of the U.S. dollar against other currencies has fallen. Even gold, a traditional safe haven that recently hit record highs, pulled lower after Trump announced his “Liberation Day” set of tariffs,’ which economists say carries the risk of a potentially toxic mix of weakening economic growth and higher inflation.

U.S. benchmark crude oil shed $2.70 to $64.25 a barrel after major oil producers announced they plan to increase production. Brent crude, the international standard, was down $2.63 at $67.51 a barrel.

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’s 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.

Here’s the latest:

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’s diversification strategy would focus on increasing its exports to Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

“This diversification supports South Africa’s industrial strategy and reduces dependency on single destination markets for our exports or single sources for our intermediate input requirements,” said Lamola.

The U.S. is South Africa’s second largest trading partner after China, accounting for 7.45% of the country’s 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.

Major US indexes are down

Major U.S. indexes, which had already plunged sharply before Friday’s opening bell, doubled their losses after the announcement from China. The Dow Jones fell 1,200 points, almost 3%. The growth and tech focused Nasdaq fell harder.

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 “not standard economics” 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’s 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 — or imbalance — with a specific country, divided by imports from that country, “and that, divided by two, gives us the reciprocal tariff” imposed by the U.S.

“This is not standard economics,” Spies told reporters by video to a U.N. briefing in Geneva.

The U.S. calculation included countries’ tariffs on American exports plus other regulations and policies in those countries, like currency manipulation, sanitary measures, and technical barriers to trade, and “all of that led to this – what they call ‘tariffs’.”

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’s “Liberation Day” slate of double-digit tariffs.

The new tariff matches the rate of the U.S. “reciprocal” 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.

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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’s 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 “dual-use” 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’s 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’s 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’s sell-offs in Asia.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 2.8% to 33,780.58, while South Korea’s Kospi sank 0.9% to 2,465.42.

The two U.S. allies said they were focused on negotiating lower tariffs with Trump’s administration.

Australia’s 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’s 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 “correct its wrong actions.” It said the tariffs “will further raise car prices, and impose additional burdens on consumers in various countries including Americans and have a negative impact on global economic recovery.”

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.

“America’s 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,” 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 cutting into the U.S. retail market.

“We call on the international community to jointly resist this trade bullying, and firmly safeguard an equal and mutually beneficial international trade system.”

The China National Textile and Apparel Council chimed in as well, with a statement Friday saying they “supported the Chinese government’s forceful measures” as the U.S. has “Damaged the resilience of the global textile industry’s 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,

“We believe that the decision is not in line with the reality of mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation between the two countries,” Pham Thu Hang, the spokesperson for Vietnam’s 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 “bitter past” of the Vietnam War.

“If enforced, would negatively impact bilateral economic and trade relations as well as the interests of businesses and people in both countries,” 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 “find practical solutions” 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’s total export turnover.

Taiwan’s president will support impacted industries, says tariffs ‘unreasonable’

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said he will offer the “greatest support” 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’s information technology products.

“We feel that this is unreasonable and are also worried about the subsequent impact these measures may have on the global economy,” 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.