No Script

Please Wait...

Ramadan Kareem...

Trade War Thumps Global Stocks with US Tariff Move on China

Trade War Thumps Global Stocks with US Tariff Move on China
folder_openAsia-Pacific... access_time4 years ago
starAdd to favorites

By Staff, Agencies

Equity trading screens were awash in red on Friday after US President Donald Trump stunned investors by slapping new tariffs on China, cranking up trade tensions between the world's top two economies.

Trump’s Thursday announcement that Washington would impose 10 percent tariffs on another $300 billion in Chinese goods sparked a broad-based sell-off on Wall Street that was echoed in Asia and Europe on Friday.

News that demand for US exports had weakened across the board underscored concern that trade could become a trouble spot for economies around the world.

The announcement means virtually all of the $660 billion in annual trade of goods between the world's two biggest economies will have tariffs on them, with the new duties to take effect September 1.

The US decision came after trade negotiators held talks in Shanghai this week, the first face-to-face discussions since Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a truce in June.

China warned Friday it would take "countermeasures" if the US followed through on its threat, with the commerce ministry calling the decision a "serious violation" of the June truce.

"Trump sent the market into a tailspin," remarked Alfonso Esparza, senior market analyst at online currency trading platform OANDA.

"So far, the US consumer has been spared from the tariffs on Chinese goods, but as Trump's threats grow in scope, so does the potential impact [as] higher costs will have to be passed down from American companies", he added.

As trading began on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average down by 0.5 percent.

Earlier in the day both Hong Kong and Tokyo had given up more than 2.0 percent.

Comments