The dollar and equity markets tumbled Thursday after President Donald Trump's latest tariffs salvo against countries worldwide, fanning a trade war that many fear will spark recession and ramp up inflation.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Thursday that the sweeping new tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump were a "unilateral attack" by Washington against Europe.

(AFP)

Gold prices took a breather on Thursday after surging to yet another all-time high after U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of sweeping import tariffs drove investors to the safe-haven asset.

Spot gold was steady at $3,130.21 at 0834 GMT amid some profit-taking, after hitting a record peak of $3,167.57 earlier in the session.

U.S. gold futures were down 0.4% to $3,154.10.

Gold has continued to build on last year's rally, with prices rising 19% in 2025 as a combination of factors - including economic and geopolitical uncertainties, robust central bank purchases and increased flows into gold-backed exchange-traded funds - has supported the metal. (Reuters)

Essential and strategic items such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, copper, and energy products like oil, gas, coal and LNG are exempted from the 26 per cent import duty announced by the US on Wednesday, according to think tank GTRI.

US President Donald Trump has imposed retaliatory tariffs on almost all countries, including its allies, to protect and boost the American economy.

Thailand has a "strong plan" to handle swingeing new trade tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump and hopes to negotiate a reduction, the country's prime minister said Thursday. Paetongtarn Shinawatra said the government would take steps to mitigate the impact of the 36 percent levy announced by Washington as part of sweeping tariffs that have sent global markets tumbling.

Southeast Asian countries with a significant trade surplus with the United States came in for harsh treatment, with Vietnam being hit with a 46 percent levy and Cambodia 49 percent.

"We have a strong plan," Paetongtarn told reporters.

"We have prepared several steps, including sending our permanent secretary to talk with them... I think we can still negotiate."

After weeks of anticipation, US President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping new tariffs on trading partners Wednesday, calling it a "declaration of economic independence."

The Taiwanese government found the 32 percent levy "highly unreasonable and deeply regretted it" said cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee. 

She said Taiwan would "initiate serious negotiations with the United States".

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday the decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to impose a 10% tariff on its ally was "not the act of a friend," but ruled out reciprocal tariffs against the United States.

In comments outside the White House, Trump singled out Australian beef, which saw a surge in exports to the United States last year, reaching A$4 billion amid a slump in U.S. beef production.

"They won't take any of our beef. They don't want it because they don't want it to affect their farmers and you know, I don't blame them but we're doing the same thing right now," Trump said in an event in the White House Rose Garden announcing tariffs on a wide range of U.S. trading partners.

Australia banned U.S. fresh beef products in 2003 due to the detection of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, otherwise known as mad cow disease, in U.S. cattle. BSE poses a risk to human health and has never been detected in cattle in Australia. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday acted on his campaign promises to "build that wall" and announced a raft of tariffs targeting countries around the world, including some of America's closest trading partners, in a move that risks sparking a rui

Donald Trump has gone to war with the rest of the world, not with tanks, guns, ships, or fighter jets, but with tariffs.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described U.S. Donald Trump's universal tariffs as a major blow to the world economy and said the European Union was prepared to respond with countermeasures if talks with Washington failed.

"We are already finalising the first package of countermeasures in response to tariffs on steel," she said in a statement read out in Uzbek city Samarkand on Thursday, ahead of an EU-Central Asia partnership summit.

"And we're now preparing for further countermeasures to protect our interests and our businesses if negotiations fail."

She did not provide any details of future EU measures. The EU plans to impose counter tariffs on up to 26 billion euros ($28.4 billion) of U.S. goods this month in response to U.S. steel and aluminium tariffs that took effect on March 12.

Certain goods from key industries - including steel, aluminum, automobiles, copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and lumber - are exempt from these rates.

US President Donald Trump unveiled his "Liberation Day" tariffs on Wednesday, sending fears of a trade war ricocheting around the world.

After weeks of anticipation, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled his reciprocal tariffs plan by declaring a 10 per cent baseline tax on practically all goods imported to the United States.

The commerce ministry is analysing the impact of 26 per cent reciprocal tariffs or import duties imposed by the US on India, a senior government official said on Thursday.

Shares of Indian drugmakers surged 5 per cent on Thursday, in contrast to the drop in the broader stock market, after US President Donald Trump's administration exempted pharmaceutical products from the list of imports hit by reciprocal tariffs.

All 20 constituents of the pharma index were trading higher, with the index itself set for its best intra-day jump in over four years. The benchmark Nifty 50 was down 0.4 per cent.

The exemption is a positive sign for India's pharma sector given its large export exposure to the US, said Sonam Srivastava, founder and fund manager at Wright Research PMS.

The US imports nearly a third of Indian pharma products sold overseas. India's pharma exports to the US jumped 16 per cent to about $9 billion last fiscal year, according to data from government-backed trade body Pharmexcil. (Reuters)

Oil prices fell by as much as 3 per cent on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs that investors worry will spark a global trade war that will curtail economic growth and limit fuel demand.

Brent futures were down $1.60, or 2.13 per cent, to $73.35 a barrel by 0331 GMT after dropping by as much as 3.2 per cent earlier, its biggest daily percentage decline since March 5. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down $1.62, or 2.26 per cent, to $70.09 after slipping by as much as 3.4 per cent earlier.

"The US tariff announcement clearly caught markets off guard. Pre-announcement speculation suggested a flat 15-20% tariff, but the final decision was more hawkish," Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG, said in an email.

"For oil prices, the focus now shifts to the global growth outlook, which is likely to be revised downward due to these higher-than-expected tariffs," he added.

Imports of oil, gas and refined products were exempted from the new tariffs, the White House said on Wednesday. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump announced global reciprocal tariffs on trading partners on Wednesday (local time), calling it a "declaration of economic independence." A "baseline tariff" of 10 per cent will apply to economies globally and will take effect at 12:01 am on April 5, while higher rates will apply to those the White House considers "the worst offenders" and will kick in at 12:01 am on April 9.

China's commerce ministry called for Washington to "immediately cancel" sweeping new tariffs, warning they "endanger global economic development" and would hurt US interests and international supply chains.

"China urges the US to immediately cancel unilateral tariff measures and properly resolve differences with trade partners through equal dialogue," the ministry said, adding: "There is no winner in a trade war, and there is no way out for protectionism."

Stocks slumped, bonds surged, and gold hit a new high as markets braced for the impact of US President Donald Trump's sweeping reciprocal tariffs on Thursday. Trump announced a baseline 10 per cent tariff on all imports with far higher levies on some trading partners, particularly in Asia.

US stock futures were under pressure late on Wednesday following Trump's announcement. Australian blue-chip stocks opened in the red on Thursday, as one of the first global markets reacted to the development. Asia's markets were also set to slide as the bigger-than-expected wall of taxes was imposed around the world's largest economy, upending trade and supply chains. 

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday acted on his campaign promises to "build that wall" and announced a raft of tariffs targeting countries around the world, including some of America's closest trading partners, in a move that risks sparking a rui

During his speech at the White House Rose Garden, the 78-year-old Republican waved a chart with exact details on the sweeping additional duties impacting major US trading partners, including China, India, Japan and the European Union. However, missing from the list that virtually contained the entire world was Russia.

Later, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told Axios that Russia was not on Trump's tariff list because US sanctions already "preclude any meaningful trade." 

However, the United States still trades more with Russia than with countries like Mauritius or Brunei, which were part of the tariff list. In fact, even war-torn Ukraine was on the list and is set to face a 10 per cent retaliatory tariff in addition to many other former Soviet satellites.

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Trade groups reacted with dismay to the measures, which would see most goods imported from China, for example, facing an additional tariff totaling 34 percent on top of existing levies. 

"Applying new tariffs at this scale will create change and disruption that restaurant operators will have to navigate to keep their restaurants open," the National Restaurant Association said in a statement. 

"The stakes for manufacturers could not be higher," said Jay Timmons, the president of the National Association of Manufacturers. 

"The high costs of new tariffs threaten investment, jobs, supply chains and, in turn, America's ability to outcompete other nations and lead as the preeminent manufacturing superpower," he added. 

Following US President Donald Trump's announcement of tariffs, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor highlighted how the tariffs could affect the automobile sector, particularly the trade of automobile parts.

Speaking to ANI, Tharoor said, "We are not selling many automobiles in America, but automobile parts are a major factor and that would be affected, and the first victims are going to be American manufacturers who would be buying Indian parts. So that's not very good for us, that's not very good for them, and that's not very good for the American consumers."

He added, "I hope that in the negotiations over the next nine months, we have time till September-October for a trade agreement, I hope that our negotiators will do a good job in trying to get something better than this."

Outlining his vision of a tariff-driven industrial renaissance, President Donald Trump said immigrants would be let in to meet the needs of plants that would be opening up. "We need more people", he said. "We're going to let people come in. They want to come in, (but) we want them to come in legally," he said.

"We need people to run these plants, to help the auto workers and the teamsters and the non-union people and everybody else," he said.

"We want people, by the way, to come into our country, but we want them to come in through a legal process," he said.

Another criterion, he said, was that they should become patriots. "They have to have the capability of loving our country, not people that hate our country -- we don't want them in our country," he said.

New US tariffs announced Wednesday "will only create losers", said the German Automotive Industry Association (VDA), which called on the EU to respond with "force".

"The EU is now called upon to act together and with the necessary force, while continuing to signal its willingness to negotiate," said a statement from the body that represents the German auto industry, for which the US is a key export market.

After weeks of anticipation, US President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping new tariffs on trading partners Wednesday, calling it a "declaration of economic independence."

Donald Trump's 10-percent tariffs on close ally Australia are "not the act of a friend," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday, but added that his country will not retaliate with its own levies.

"These tariffs are not unexpected, but let me be clear, they are totally unwarranted," he said.

Brazil's Congress on Wednesday approved a law allowing the executive to respond to trade barriers, after US President Donald Trump announced a 10 percent tariff on exports from Latin America's biggest economy.

India's apex exporters' body, FIEO, stated on Thursday that the 26 per cent tariffs or import duties announced by US President Donald Trump on India will undoubtedly affect domestic players.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday vowed to "fight" against US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, which he said will "fundamentally change the global trading system."
The impact of Trump's latest tariff announcement for Canada was limited compared to other major US trading partners, but Carney said American levies on steel, aluminum and automobiles will "directly affect millions of Canadians."
"We are going to fight these tariffs with counter measures," Carney said in Ottawa.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday warned trading partners that any retaliation to the barrage of new tariffs from the White House would only result in further escalation.

"My advice to every country right now is, do not retaliate," Bessent told Fox News. "Sit back, take it in, let's see how it goes. Because if you retaliate, there will be escalation. If you don't retaliate, this is the high watermark."

The Swiss government on Wednesday underlined the importance of respecting international law after U.S. President Donald Trump put higher tariffs on the export-oriented Alpine country than the European Union in a major trade policy announcement.

Trump presented figures saying the United States would apply a 31% tariff on imports from Switzerland compared with 20% on goods from the European Union and 10% from Britain.

In a statement on X, Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter said her government took note of the U.S. tariff decisions and would quickly determine its next steps.

A tariff offensive, Donald Trump billed as key to America's long-term prosperity went down badly in markets, setting off declines of 2% or more in equity benchmarks that had rallied for three days on hopes the program would be less draconian

"India, very, very tough. Very, very tough. The Prime Minister just left. He is a great friend of mine, but I said you are not treating us right", Trump said while announcing new tariffs on India.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an aggressive "reciprocal tariff" policy against countries at the White House.

The dollar slid against the yen, while the euro held gains against the greenback on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump announced global reciprocal tariffs that look certain to escalate a trade war with global partners.

The UK remains committed to sealing an economic deal with the United States which could help "mitigate" a 10 percent tariff imposed on exports to the US, a minister said Wednesday.

"Our approach is to remain calm and committed to doing this deal, which we hope will mitigate the impact of what has been announced," business minister Jonathan Reynolds said after US President Donald Trump imposed sweeping new tariffs on US trading partners.

US President Donald Trump signed an order Wednesday to close a duty-free exemption for small parcels from China, in a move set to fuel fears of trade disruptions.

President Donald Trump's sweeping new tariffs on US trading partners are set to begin this weekend, said White House officials Wednesday, with a higher rate on "worst offenders" to take effect next week.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled global reciprocal tariffs during an event at the White House.

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he would impose a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the United States and higher duties on some of the country's biggest trading partners.

The US dollar on Wednesday fell one percent against the euro as President Donald Trump announced he is signing an order imposing retaliatory tariffs on US trading partners.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced huge new tariffs of 34 percent on imports from China and 20 percent on imports from the European Union -- two of the main US trade partners.

Trump said that a baseline tariff of 10 percent would be imposed on imports from a wide range of other countries, but that some would come under far harsher duties, also including 24 percent on Japan and 26 percent on India.

Wall Street stocks rose Wednesday, shrugging off early weakness ahead of President Trump's latest tariff announcement amid hopes that markets have oversold in anticipation of the plan.

Investors "might have gotten too defensive if what is released is less worse than feared," said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management.

Trump began announcing the tariff actions shortly after the market closed.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 42,225.32, up 0.6 percent and a rebound of almost 600 points from lows earlier in the day.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.7 percent to 5,670.97, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.9 percent to 17,601.05.

Trump: US charges a 2.4% tariff on imported motorcycles. Meanwhile Thailand and others are charging much higher prices, like 60%. India charges 70% and Vietnam charges 75%.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced he is signing an order imposing "reciprocal" -- or retaliatory -- tariffs on countries worldwide.

"I will sign a historic Executive Order instituting reciprocal tariffs on countries throughout the world. Reciprocal that means: they do it to us, and we do it to them," he said at the White House. "This is one of the most important days, in my opinion, in American history."

Trump said that jobs and local manufacturing will come roaring back to America and promises to "pry open foreign markets".

US President Donald Trump said US "taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years, but it is not going to happen anymore."
Trump also said that US has been taken advantage of by "cheaters" and has been "pillaged" by foreigners.

Donald Trump's new tariffs could significantly impact Indian exports, think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has warned. A uniform tariff could leave India facing an additional tax of 4.9% compared to the current 2.8%, impacting sectors like agriculture, electronics, and pharmaceuticals, according to the GTRI's "Reciprocal Tariffs and India" report.

"If the US imposes a single tariff on all products from India, it would be an additional 4.9%. Currently, US goods face a weighted average tariff of 7.7% in India, while Indian exports to the US face only 2.8%, leading to a 4.9% difference," the report explained.

Germany warned Wednesday that trade wars hurt "both sides" as Europe's biggest economy braces for US President Donald Trump to announce wide-ranging new "Liberation Day" tariffs.
"The costs of a trade war do not fall on one side but can become expensive for both sides," government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said, while adding that Berlin was "ready and willing to negotiate at the European level with the United States" to avoid such a dispute.

The American President is expected to shake up global markets and economies. It may also affect the lives of common Americans by further straining the family budgets as the next round of import taxes may raise the prices of several household commodities.

As dawn broke over the Mexican-US border on US President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day," Raul Hernandez steered his semi-trailer carrying Toyota pick-up trucks towards California, worried how tariffs would affect him.

US President Donald Trump is set to impose sweeping new  "Liberation Day" tariffs on Wednesday, a move that could spark a global trade war. Early Wednesday, Mr Trump posted a one-liner on his Truth Social platform: "It's Liberation Day in America!"