U.S. stocks slid down further on Friday while China reacted to President Donald Trump’s new trade tariffs with a 34 percent charge on all American imports into the country.
Trump, who has pledged to start a new era of return to massive manufacturing after the “Liberation Day” levies, has said he would continue to stick to tariffs on imports into America.
After Thursday’s tumble, the worst in five years, the American stock market extended the spiral down and by Friday noon the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1,300 points, or 3.25% , the S&P 500 shed 3.5% of its value while Nasdaq went down by 4%.
Thursday saw the stocks plummeting to their lowest since the June 2020 nosedive when the Covid-19 sent markets crashing.
Among the companies that have lost their shares include corporate giants, tech firms including Meta, Chipmaker Nvidia and electric carmaker Tesla.
In response to Beijing’s retaliatory trade charges, Trump said he would not back down on his policy in the face of challenges, which he has described as fixing the unfair treatment of the U.S. by its partners and foes.
“TO THE MANY INVESTORS COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES AND INVESTING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF MONEY, MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE,” the U.S. President wrote in a Truth Social post.
Japanese and European stocks also fared negatively after the sweeping tariff announcement that includes a baseline 10% tariff on all imports in the United States and reciprocal or corresponding levies on imports from countries that are seen as exploiting the U.S. policies in the system for years.
Trump also cited the March job statistics, saying his policies are working.
A White House post on X platform said:
“The March jobs report exceeds expectations with 228,000 jobs added.
The Golden Age has begun!”
Meanwhile, experts say once the tariffs come into effect an average American consumer could be hit with higher prices of everyday items and could end up paying in thousands of extra dollars on affording life’s necessities.
