Asian markets set to open as world reels from Trump tariff announcement – business live

US president has announced aggressive tariffs targeting US allies on what he has dubbed ‘Liberation Day’Full report: Trump announces sweeping new tariffs, upending decades of US trade policyAnalysis: Trump’s wall of tariffs is likely to raise prices and cause chaos for businessHello and welcome to our live coverage of reaction to the latest Trump tariffs, which were more aggressive than expected against major US trading partners and which sent shockwaves through global markets.“This is the worst-case scenario that the market was expecting and that’s enough to potentially send the US into a recession,” said Jay Hatfield, CEO at Infrastructure Capital Advisors.The 10% universal tariff will go into effect on 5 April while the reciprocal tariffs will begin on 9 April.Special exceptions were made for Canada and Mexico, though the countries were previously targets of proposed broad tariffs. The White House said that goods covered by an existing trade deal with Canada and Mexico will continue to see no tariffs.Trump said the US would charge half of the fees he feels trading partners unfairly impose on the US because the US people are “very kind”.Trump zeroed in on the industry-specific tariffs countries have placed on American exports. In his speech, Trump criticized policies like the EU’s ban on imported chicken, Canadian tariffs on dairy and Japan’s levies on rice.The new tariffs come on top of a lineup of levies that Trump has already implemented: an additional 20% tariff on all Chinese imports and a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports. There is also a 10% tariff on energy imports from Canada.Sweeping auto tariffs of 25% that Trump announced last week are also due to take effect at 12:01 am (0401 GMT) on Thursday.US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned nations not to impose countermeasures, saying on Fox News: “If you retaliate, there will be escalation.”Leaders around the world criticised the tariffs, with Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese calling them “totally unwarranted” and his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, a close Trump ally, saying they were “wrong”. Continue reading...