Here’s the latest.

 

 Ana Swanson Eshe Nelson and Joe Rennison

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/04/10/business/trump-tariffs-stocks

 

Here’s the latest.

• The S&P 500 tumbled 3.5 percent on Thursday, signaling renewed investor concern about the worsening trade war with China and the destabilizing effects of President Trump’s tariff policies.
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• One day after the stock market had its best day since 2008 as it reacted to Mr. Trump’s decision to postpone many of his tariff plans for three months, Thursday saw a significant portion of those gains wiped away. Early Thursday, the president clarified that he had raised tariffs on Chinese goods by a total of 145 percent since taking office.
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• There were other alarming signs: In the government bond market, U.S. Treasuries started to sell off again, with the yield on 10-year Treasuries climbing to around 4.4 percent, the highest since February. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite index dropped more than 4 percent, with shares in Apple, Nvidia and other tech giants falling. And oil prices fell, trading below $64 a barrel.
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• The Trump administration appeared unmoved. “I don’t see anything unusual,” Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, told reporters, referring to recent market activity.
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• On Thursday, the White House put out a statement making it clear the 125 percent import tax on China announced on Wednesday was in addition to a 20 percent tariff Mr. Trump had already imposed on China for its role in supplying fentanyl and its precursors in the United States. He also left in place new tariffs on automobiles, steel and aluminum.
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• While tensions between Beijing and Washington showed no signs of easing, the European Union responded to Mr. Trump’s decision to put off implementing a hefty import tax on its goods by announcing it would also delay its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports for 90 days.
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• The three-month delay on most country-specific tariffs did not temper the worries of many economists who cautioned that the full repercussions from the trade war between Washington and Beijing would not be felt for weeks.
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• A report released on Thursday showed that U.S. inflation eased more than expected in March, providing what economists say is likely to be only a temporary reprieve before Mr. Trump’s tariffs are expected to reignite price pressures. Despite the reprieve for some nations, economists have been warning that the tariffs now in place will still prove costly, not only leading to slower growth but also higher inflation.
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Here’s what else to know:

 

• U.S.-China tensions: Mr. Trump suggested on Wednesday that he was waiting to hear from China’s leader, Xi Jinping, so the two could broker a deal. China has said it is willing to hold talks, but not under duress. “China wants to make a deal,” Mr. Trump said. “They just don’t know quite how to go about it.”
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• E.U. pause: Mr. Trump’s reversal prompted the European Union to put its new tariffs on hold in order “to give negotiations a chance,” said Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, though she warned that the tariffs would take effect if talks “are not satisfactory.”
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• Farmers react: The loss of China as an export market will deal a particularly hard economic blow to agricultural workers in many red states, hitting many of the voters who helped Mr. Trump win the presidential election. “If this lasts long term, we’re going to have a significant number of farmers going out of business,” said Caleb Ragland, a Kentucky farmer who is president of the American Soybean Association.
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• Inflation report: The Consumer Price Index climbed 2.4 percent last month from a year earlier. That data covered a period before the majority of Mr. Trump’s tariffs — including the most recent ones on China — went into effect.
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• Republican nerves: Some Republican lawmakers, caught between their deep opposition to tariffs and fear of criticizing Mr. Trump, have cheered his 90-day reprieve on higher tariffs for most countries.
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• Relief in Asia: Stocks in Asia and Europe followed the lead of U.S. markets and rallied on Thursday. The biggest winners were Taiwan and Japan, each up more than 9 percent.