"Be Strong, Courageous": Trump To Americans As US Stocks Join Global Selloff

Stock markets across Asia and Europe crashed, recalling the mayhem markets witnessed in the past. This time, the trigger was Trump's trade tariffs, which were announced last week. The US President assured Americans and doubled down on his stance, saying, "Oil prices are down...there is no Inflation" as experts have warned of a high risk of recession.

Mr Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social and said, "Oil prices are down, interest rates are down (the slow moving Fed should cut rates!), food prices are down, there is NO INFLATION, and the long time abused USA is bringing in Billions of Dollars a week from the abusing countries on Tariffs that are already in place."

He also called China the "biggest abuser of them all" on tariffs after Beijing retaliated with counter tariffs. 

The US President said, "This is despite the fact that the biggest abuser of them all, China, whose markets are crashing, just raised its Tariffs by 34%, on top of its long-term ridiculously high Tariffs (Plus!), not acknowledging my warning for abusing countries not to retaliate. They've made enough, for decades, taking advantage of the Good OL' USA! Our past "leaders" are to blame for allowing this, and so much else, to happen to our Country. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" 

The US's economic rival, China, retaliated against Trump tariffs by announcing new 34-per-cent tariffs on US imports starting April 10.

China said it would sue Washington at the World Trade Organization and restrict the export of rare earth elements used in high-end medical and electronics technology.

Beijing responded to tariffs and Trump's constant remarks today, and said, "threats and pressure are not the right way to deal with us."

The tariffs are "typical unilateralism and protectionism, and economic bullying", spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular press conference, adding that U.S. tariffs in the name of reciprocity only serve its own interest at the expense of other countries.

Minutes before the New York Stock Exchange opened amid a worldwide selloff, in a separate post, he also asked Americans to "be strong, courageous, and patient". "The United States has a chance to do something that should have been done DECADES AGO," Trump said in reference to his tariff reforms that have upended the global economy. "Don't be Weak! Don't be Stupid!... Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!" 

Wall Street was not untouched by the global stock market decline. All three major US indices were down more than three percent in early trading. S&P 500 opened 3.2 per cent lower.

They Played It Wrong, Panicked

After China announced retaliatory tariffs, which sparked a trade war between Beijing and Washington, Mr Trump said, "China played it wrong, they panicked -- the one thing they cannot afford to do!" in full caps, his trademark style of writing on social media platforms.

Mr Trump, who is a real estate mogul and a billionaire businessman, is relying on the theory that it would force countries to re-negotiate trade deals and bring foreign companies to manufacture in the US rather than to import goods. 

In one of his posts, Mr Trump said, "ONLY THE WEAK WILL FAIL!" insisting that "Big business is not worried about the Tariffs, because they know they are here to stay."

Cut Interest Rates

Meanwhile, US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that US tariffs will likely cause inflation to rise and growth to slow, with an "elevated" risk of high unemployment.

"It is now becoming clear that the tariff increases will be significantly larger than expected," Jerome Powell told an event in Virginia.

"The same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth," he said, adding that it was "too soon" to consider changes to US monetary policy.

Trump has been insisting that the US Federal Reserve Chief immediately cut interest rates and accused him of playing politics while running the US central bank.

Trump in all-caps wrote, "This would be a PERFECT time for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to cut Interest Rates," he wrote. "He is always 'late,' but he could now change his image, and quickly."

"CUT INTEREST RATES, JEROME, AND STOP PLAYING POLITICS!" added Trump, who first nominated Powell to run the Fed, before turning against him during his first term.

However, reports say that Powell's comment suggests that the Federal Reserve is in no rush to cut its lending rate from its current level between 4.25 and 4.50, even though it continues to bring down inflation to its two-per-cent target.

Stocks Crash Across Asia And Europe

European stock markets dropped significantly at the start of trading. Indices were in freefall, with Paris diving more than six percent, London sliding nearly six percent, losses of more than five percent in Amsterdam and Oslo, and Milan down over three percent.

Asian markets took a big hit too, as sell-offs dominated early trading sessions. Exchange operators in Japan and Taiwan had to briefly call a halt to trading to pause panic selling as investors.

In Japan, the "circuit breaker" system paused trading for 10 minutes when the widely traded Nikkei 225 futures product was poised to fall more than 8 per cent. The circuit breaker was kicked in at 8:45 am Tokyo time for the Nikkei 225 and several other futures contracts, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

The Bombay Stock Exchange witnessed a significant drop during the day, with the Sensex and Nifty crashing about 5 per cent in early trade. 

Sensex, a pack of India's top 30 companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, lost 3,939.68 points or 5.22 per cent to 71,425.01, while Nifty, the National Stock Exchange index, dropped 1,160.8 points or 5.06 per cent to 21,743.65. 

The collapse reportedly wiped out investors' wealth worth Rs 20.16 lakh crore in early trade.