SINGAPORE: US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff plans battered global markets again on Monday (Apr 7) after he said foreign governments would have to pay “a lot of money” to get the levies removed, while US stocks got a brief lift on hints of a pause, only to slide again.
Asian and European shares plunged and oil prices plummeted as investors feared the duties Trump likened to “medicine to fix something” could lead to higher prices, weaker demand and potentially a global recession.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led the Asian stock plunge, plummeting more than 13 per cent on its worst day since the 1997 Asian financial crisis. European stocks also opened sharply in the red.
Trump warned he would impose an additional 50 per cent tariff on China if it did not remove its retaliatory 34 per cent tariff by Tuesday.
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