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Violent storms and tornadoes tore through cities from Oklahoma to Indiana during what could be a record-setting period of deadly weather and flooding, destroying homes and sending debris nearly five miles (eight kilometers) into the air in one location.Dozens of tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings were issued Wednesday and early Thursday from Texas to West Virginia as storms hit those and other states. Forecasters attributed the violent weather to daytime heating combining with an unstable atmosphere, strong wind shear and abundant moisture streaming into the nation’s midsection from the Gulf.Sgt. Clark Parrott of the Missouri Highway Patrol said at least one person was killed in southeast Missouri, KFVS-TV reported, while part of a warehouse collapsed in a suburb of Indianapolis, temporarily trapping at least one person inside. In northeast Arkansas a rare tornado emergency was issued as debris flew thousands of feet in the air.The Tennessee Department of Health confirmed two weather-related fatalities, one in McNairy County and the other in Obion County, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency announced early Thursday.The coming days were also forecast to bring the risk of potentially deadly flash flooding to the South and Midwest as severe thunderstorms blowing eastward become supercharged. The potent storm system will bring “significant, life-threatening flash flooding” each day through Saturday, the National Weather Service said.With more than a foot (30 centimeters) of rain possible over the next four days, the prolonged deluge “is an event that happens once in a generation to once in a lifetime,” the weather service said. “Historic rainfall totals and impacts are possible.”More than 90 million people were at some risk of severe weather in a huge part of the nation stretching from Texas to Minnesota and Maine, according to the Oklahoma-based Storm Prediction Center. Tornadoes touch down, and more could be coming A tornado emergencythe weather service’s highest alertwas briefly declared around Blytheville, Arkansas, on Wednesday evening, with debris lofted at least 25,000 feet (7.6 kilometers), according to Chelly Amin, a meteorologist with the service.“It’s definitely going to be a really horrible situation here come sunrise in the morning in those areas,” Amin said.A tornado was also reported on the ground near Harrisburg, Arkansas, in the evening.The Arkansas Division of Emergency Management reported that there was damage in 22 counties due to tornadoes, wind gusts, hail, and flash flooding. At least four people were injured, but there were no reports of fatalities as of Wednesday evening.In Kentucky, a tornado touched down Wednesday night around Jeffersontown, a suburb of Louisville, passing the Interstate 64 and Interstate 265 interchange, according to the weather service.Four people were injured in Kentucky when a church was hit by debris from a suspected tornado, according to Ballard County Emergency Management. One person was in critical condition, while the others have non-life-threatening injuries. Warehouse collapse is part of damage in Indiana Two workers were injured at a Sur La Table distribution center in Brownsburg, Indiana, that was significantly damaged in the storm Wednesday, a company spokesperson said in a statement.Emergency crews worked for several hours to free a trapped worker at the distribution center, where the roof and a wall collapsed.“It was just heavy debris that had fallen on top of her,” Brownsburg Fire Department spokesperson Kamrick Holding told WTHR-TV. “She happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”The woman was conscious and talking to a doctor during the rescue and was taken to a hospital. Her condition was not immediately known.Five semitrucks were blown over on Interstate 65 near Lowell, Indiana, state police reported.Indianapolis Public Schools announced a remote learning day Thursday due to power outages at multiple buildings. At least 10 districts in Indiana have canceled or delayed in-person classes Thursday.The town of Delta, in southern Missouri, which has under 400 people, had downed powerlines and trees, and damaged buildings. Road entrances to the town were blocked off. School was canceled for the rest of the week as the Red Cross and an electric utility took over a parking lot at the high school.“There is too much damage in town,” Superintendent David Heeb posted online. “We need to give our families a chance to regroup and take care of the things they need to focus on right now.”A tornado touched down in the northeastern Oklahoma city of Owasso on Wednesday, according to the weather service. There were no immediate reports of injuries, but the twister heavily damaged the roofs of homes and knocked down power lines, trees, fences, and sheds.Power was knocked out to more than 330,000 customers in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois, and Tennessee as of Thursday morning, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide. Floods could inundate towns, sweep cars away A line of thunderstorms dropped heavy rain through parts of Indiana on Wednesday night. At least one street was flooded in Indianapolis, with water nearly reaching the windows of several cars, according to the city’s metropolitan police department. No one was in the vehicles.Additional rounds of heavy rain were expected in parts of Texas, the lower Mississippi Valley, and the Ohio Valley from midweek through Saturday. Forecasters warned that they could track over the same areas repeatedly, producing dangerous flash floods capable of sweeping cars away.Middle Tennessee was looking at severe storms followed by four days of heavy rains as the front stalls out and sticks around through the weekend, according to NWS meteorologist Mark Rose.“I don’t recall ever seeing one like this, and I’ve been here 30 years,” Rose said. “It’s not moving.”Rain totaling up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) was forecast over the next seven days in northeastern Arkansas, the southeast corner of Missouri, western Kentucky, and southern parts of Illinois and Indiana, the weather service warned, with some areas in Kentucky and Indiana at an especially high risk for flooding. Associated Press writers Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee; Seth Borenstein in Washington; Isabella O’Malley in Philadelphia; and Ed White in Detroit. Jeff Martin and Hallie Golden, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
Sweeping new tariffs announced Wednesday by U.S. President Donald Trump provoked dismay, threats of countermeasures and calls for further negotiations to make trade rules fairer.But responses were measured, highlighting a lack of appetite among key trading partners for an outright trade war with the world’s biggest economy.Trump said the import taxes, ranging from 10% to 49%, would do to U.S. trading partners what they have long done to the U.S. He maintains they will draw factories and jobs back to the United States.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said they are a “major blow to the world economy,” while Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said they will have a “great impact” on U.S.-Japan relations and Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo called for emergency measures to support industries affected by the tariffs.Asian markets fell in Thursday trading and U.S. futures tumbled. Here’s the latest: Norway’s foreign minister says tariffs hurt NATO allies Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said the new U.S. tariffs may violate NATO’s Article 2, which stresses the importance of economic cooperation among allies to avoid conflict.“If you want a strong NATO, you should ensure that there is as much economic growth as possible in the NATO countries. That was the insight of those who established NATO, that economic cooperation would be good for the entire alliance,” Eide said during a visit to Brussels for a NATO meeting, according to the NRK broadcaster.Eide told NRK that he will raise the tariff war with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the meeting. Polish prime minister says tariffs may shave off 0.4% of GDP Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the new U.S. tariffs many reduce Poland’s GDP by 0.4%.He said it was “a severe and unpleasant blow, because it comes from the closest ally, but we will survive it.” The Polish-U.S. friendship, he added, “must also survive this test.” Spanish PM announces measures to mitigate US tariffs Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Thursday that his government will implement a $15.6 billion (14.1 billion euro) spending package to mitigate the effects of U.S. tariffs on the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy.The Spanish leader called the tariffs “19th-century protectionism,” against which the European Union and Spain had to act proactively and diversify their economic ties with the rest of the world.Sánchez also called for a negotiated solution with the U.S. “We’re once again asking President Trump to reconsider, to sit down at the negotiating table with the European Union and also with the rest of the world.” Australia puzzled by tariffs on remote islands The local government leader of Christmas Island, one of several Australian external island territories that like Australia have been assigned a 10% U.S. tariff, said his Indian Ocean atoll exported nothing to the United States.The Australian outpost of fewer than 2,000 people 360 kilometers (225 miles) south of the Indonesian capital Jakarta has used U.S. heavy machinery to mine phosphate for decades, Christmas Island Shire President Gordon Thomson said.The uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands in the remote Antarctic are another Australian territory included in the 10% tariff. The mostly barren islands include two active volcanoes and can only be reached by sea.Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia imposes no tariffs on U.S. imports. The U.S. and Australia have a free trade agreement. Hong Kong urges US to withdraw tariffs Hong Kong strongly opposed the extra tariffs announced by Trump and urged the U.S. to withdraw them. It said Hong Kong, as a free port, always practices free trade and doesn’t impose tariffs on imported goods, including those from the U.S.It said the U.S. had a trade surplus of $271.5 billion with the semiautonomous Chinese territory over the past decade, the highest among its global trading partners.“The U.S. imposing tariffs on Hong Kong products as so-called reciprocal tariffs defies logic,” Hong Kong’s government said in a statement, adding that it would take measures including filing complaints with the WTO.Hong Kong, a former British colony returned to China in 1997, has a different economic and political system from mainland China that allows it to set its own policies most of the time. India wants to expedite trade talks with US India’s Trade Ministry is assessing the latest U.S. tariffs announced by President Donald Trump. It said the Indian government strives to expedite the negotiations for a trade agreement with the U.S. to potentially garner some concessions and offset the impact of higher import taxes.The agreement, first tranche of which is expected to be in place by the fall, would focus on enabling both nations to boost trade, investments and technology transfers in addition to deepening supply chain integrations, it said.“We remain in touch with the Trump administration and expect to take them forward in the coming days,” it said.The U.S was New Delhi’s biggest trading partner in 2024 with trade estimated at $129 billion. The countries have now set an ambitious target of more than doubling their bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. Stock market in Vietnam plunges and people rush to buy gold Vietnam’s stock market plunged Thursday while gold prices reached a record high after U.S. President Donald Trump slapped 46% tariffs on Vietnam’s exports. Meanwhile people lined up to buy gold in Hanoi despite the high prices.“Investing in gold would be at lower risk because the economy is very uncertain at the moment,” said Nguyen Trung, a buyer.Vietnam has long realized that it was too reliant on the U.S. and has been diversifying its trade relations by signing free trade agreements with over a dozen countries, said Dan Martin, international business adviser of Dezan Shira & Associates.“The lesson is clear now, the reliance that Vietnam had as a U.S. export market, it’s not safe,” he said.Especially hard-hit will be the garments and sportswear section, including household names like Adidas and Nike. Nike made of its shoes and about a third of its clothes in Vietnam last year, while factories in Vietnam made 39% of Adidas’s shoes and 18% of its clothes. US tariffs on goods from Vietnam among the highest on any country Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that the country still hoped to reach its economic growth target of at least 8% despite the Trump administration imposing 46% tariffs on its exports.Chinh chaired a Cabinet meeting Thursday to assess the impact of the tariffs, among the highest imposed on any country, and said that Vietnam hoped that U.S. policy would be “consistent with the good relations between the two countries.” He added that Vietnam was still overcoming the consequences of the long war between the two nations.The tariffs will deal a severe blow to Vietnam since the U.S. is its largest export market. Exports to the U.S., valued at $142 billion, in 2021 made up a third of the country’s GDP. Ukrainian minister says her country can get better tariff conditions from US Ukraine is working to get better tariff conditions from the United States, Ukrainian Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko wrote on her X account.Svyrydenko says Ukrainian tariffs on U.S. goods are “quite low” and that Ukraine imported more goods from the U.S. in 2024 than exported to the country.She said the 10% tariff Trump imposed on Ukrainian goods will mainly impact small producers. “Ukraine has something to offer the United States as a reliable ally and partner. Both our countries will benefit from fair tariffs,” she wrote. Japan PM regrets US tariffs and says ready to negotiate with Trump Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said it was “extremely regrettable” that the United States slapped the 25% auto tariff on Japan despite its huge contribution to the U.S. economy.Japanese companies have been the world’s biggest investors in the U.S. since 2019, especially automakers, creating jobs for millions of Americans, Ishiba said.Ishiba said Japan will continue to strongly request the United States to reconsider its tariffs measures and that he will directly negotiate with Trump, whenever it is considered appropriate. “I will do so at a most appropriate time and method without hesitation.” Germany’s Scholz says tariffs are an ‘attack’ on global trade German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says the tariffs are an “attack” on a trading system that brought global prosperity and that America itself helped design.Scholz said Thursday “the whole global economy will suffer from these decisions that haven’t been thought through.” He added that “the U.S. administration is setting off on a road at the end of which there will only be losers.”Scholz said in Berlin that “this is an attack on a trading order that has created prosperity across the globe a trading order that is also to a very significant extent the result of American efforts.” Fiji criticizes tariffs as ‘disproportionate’ and ‘unfair’ Among the small island nations of the South Pacific Ocean, a few were singled out for higher tariff rates than the 10% baseline. Fiji’s Deputy Prime Minister Biman Prasad on Thursday criticized as “disproportionate” and “unfair” the 32% tariffs announced on Fiji’s exports to the U.S.The U.S. is a major trading partner for the nation of 924,000 people, accounting for 10% of total imports and exports, Prasad said Thursday on social media. Fiji’s biggest export to the U.S. is bottled water, with its most famous brand Fiji Water owned by a U.S. conglomerate.The U.S. administration justified Fiji’s higher tariffs with a claim that the Pacific nation imposes 63% tariffs on American goods arriving on its shores. Prasad rejected that figure, telling reporters that Fiji does not impose such tariff rates on any country. ‘There are no winners in trade wars,’ China’s Foreign Ministry says A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson says “there are no winners in trade wars and tariff wars, and protectionism is not a way out. What the U.S. should do is to correct its wrong practices and resolve trade disputes with all countries, including China, through consultations based on equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit.”Guo Jiakun added that the tariffs violate WTO rules, “harm the common interests of people of all countries, and do not help solve the problems of the U.S. itself. It is clear to everyone that more and more countries are opposing the U.S.’s unilateral bullying actions, such as imposing tariffs.” Israeli finance minister says his office is ‘analyzing’ tariff implications Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says his office is studying Trump’s tariff order and “analyzing its implications for the economy,” in the country’s first reaction to Trump’s announcement of a 17% tariff on imports from Israel.On Wednesday, ahead of Trump’s announcement, Israel cancelled all remaining tariffs on imports from the U.S. The Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement the move would go into effect after final approval by the economy minister and the parliament’s finance committee.Smotrich said in a statement on X he was talking with industry leaders about Trump’s new order and would meet Thursday with the Finance Ministry leadership to decide on “courses of action” in response to it. Spain’s economy minister says negotiations with US essential Spain’s Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said a negotiated solution with the United States was essential for the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy, but that Spain was prepared to take steps to protect its companies and industries.“We have a lot at stake. We have to protect the very important trade and economic relationship we have between the planet’s two biggest partners,” Cuerpo said in an interview Thursday with the RNE radio station after the U.S. announced 20% tariffs against the European Union. German economy minister says this day will become US Inflation Day “This day is not going to become Liberation Day for consumers in the U.S., but Inflation Day,” said Germany’s vice chancellor and economy minister, Robert Habeck. “The U.S. mania for tariffs could set off a spiral that could also pull countries into recession and cause massive damage worldwide.”“We have always pushed for negotiations, not confrontation. That remains right,” Habeck said. “So it is good that the European Commission still aims for a negotiated solution with the U.S. There is still some time for that. But if the U.S. doesn’t want a negotiated solution, the EU will give a balanced, clear and determined answer. We have prepared for this.” Germany’s main industry federation calls for a coordinated reaction to tariffs Germany’s main industry lobby group, the Federation of German Industries, sai that “the EU must now strengthen its alliances with other major trading partners and should coordinate its reaction with them. A coordinated reaction is also necessary to counter diversionary effects in international trade.”The group, known by its German acronym BDI, said that the tariffs are “an unprecedented attack on the international trade system, free trade and global supply chains. The reasoning for this protectionist escalation is incomprehensible.”The United States was Germany’s biggest single trading partner last year for the first time since 2015, displacing China. UK’s Starmer vows to act with ‘cool and calm heads’ to Trump’s tariffs Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the U.K. government would react with “cool and calm heads” to Trump’s announcement of a 10% tariff on imports from Britain.Starmer told business leaders gathered in 10 Downing St. that “clearly there will be an economic impact,” but that he still hoped to get tariffs lifted through a trade deal with Washington.“Negotiations on an economic prosperity deal one that strengthens our existing trading relationship they continue and we will fight for the best deal for Britain,” Starmer said.“Nobody wins in a trade war. That is not in our national interest,” he added. Honda CEO says company will take some time to determine how to respond to tariffs Honda Chief Executive Toshihiro Mibe says the Japanese automaker will take some time to look at the market situation and other factors to determine the right way to respond to Trump’s tariffs.“Sudden changes like this are tough as it’s hard to respond speedily,” he told reporters on Thursday. Taiwan calls US tariffs ‘strongly unreasonable’ Taiwan responded to the imposition of a 32% tariff on its high-tech economy by calling it “strongly unreasonable and highly regrettable,” adding it would “lodge solemn representations with the United States.”“The proposed tax rate does not reflect the actual economic and trade situation between Taiwan and the United States (and) is unfair to Taiwan,” Cabinet spokesperson Lee Hui-chih said in an official news release.Lee said the tariff calculation method was unscientific and unclear and “cannot reflect the high degree of complementarity in the trade structure between Taiwan and the U.S. and the actual trade relationship.”Taiwan’s exports to the U.S. and corresponding trade surplus have risen significantly in recent years, mainly reflecting the surge in demand from U.S. customers for semiconductors and related products, especially AI products, Lee said. British officials say they will push to secure a free trade deal with US The British government says it will push to secure a free trade deal with the United States rather than retaliate after Trump slapped a 10% tariff on U.K. goods.Labelling the announcement a “disappointment,” Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said “I’m pleased the U.K. is in a better position than other countries, but I’m not satisfied.”Reynolds told Sky News that the message he was hearing from businesses was “remain at the table, don’t overreact.”Britain argues that it has a broadly balanced trade relationship with the U.S., and has been negotiating with Washington on a trade deal in hope of escaping import taxes. Japan’s prime minister says tariffs will have a ‘great impact’ on U.S.-Japan relations Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba says the tariffs are a matter of great concern and stressed that Japan’s contributions to the American economy are significant both in terms of investment and jobs.He said he repeatedly made his case with the Trump administration not to move ahead with the tariffs.“They will have a great impact not only on U.S.-Japanese economic relations but also on the global economy and various trade relations overall,” Ishiba told reporters Thursday.“We as the government will work as one to decisively protect people’s lives, jobs and industries,” he added. Thailand says it is ready to negotiate with US over trade balance The Thai prime minister says her country is ready to negotiate with the U.S. to find a fair trade balance for both sides, after Trump announced 36% tariffs on Thailand.Paetongtarn Shinawatra said Thursday that Thailand is committed to working with the U.S. to achieve sustainable economic growth.She added that Thai exporters should also look for additional markets for their products to reduce their risk of relying on one main market. Indian analysts see opportunity in supply chain realignments Indian exporters and analysts say Trump’s new tariffs are a mixed bag for the country.Trump announced a reciprocal tariff of 26% for India, as compared to 34% for China, 46% for Vietnam, 37% for Bangladesh and 36% for Thailand.Observers said Thursday the move will likely impact Indian industry and pressure jobs, but that there is room for new business to come in since India is in a lower band than its Asian peers.“These tariffs do present challenges, but India’s position remains comparatively favorable,” said S.C Ralhan, president of the Federation of Indian Exports Organisations.Ajay Srivastava, a former Indian trade official and founder of the New Delhi-based think tank Global Trade Research Initiative, said the protectionist tariff regime could be a catalyst for India to gain from global supply chain realignments.South and Southeast Asia are targeted with some of the highest tariff ratesVietnam, Sri Lanka and other countries across South and Southeast Asia are the targets of some of the highest tariff rates.Trump imposed 46% “reciprocal” duties on goods from Vietnam, 49% on products from Cambodia, 37% on Bangladesh and 44% on Sri Lanka.The duties will affect domestic exporters to the U.S. but also Chinese, Japanese and South Korean companies that have over the past few years shifted production to Southeast Asian nations to escape the trade frictions during Trump’s first term in office. Automaker Stellantis will shut down its assembly plant in Windsor, Canada, for 2 weeks Automaker Stellantis will shut down its assembly plant in Windsor, Canada, for two weeks from April 7, the local union said late Wednesday.The president of Unifor Local 444, James Stewart, said more scheduling changes were expected in coming weeks.“The company said there are multiple factors at play, with the primary driver behind the final decision being this afternoon’s announcement from U.S. President Donald Trump of the U.S. tariffs,” Stewart said. “This has and continues to create uncertainty across the entire autoindustry. This is not just affecting our plantit’s impacting facilities in the U.S. and Mexico as well.” EU leader says tariffs are a major blow to the world economy European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the tariffs are a “major blow to the world economy.”“The consequences will be dire for millions of people around the globe,” von der Leyen said. Groceries, transport and medicines will cost more, she said, “And this is hurting, in particular, the most vulnerable citizens.”Von der Leyen acknowledged that the world trading system has “serious deficiencies” and said the EU was ready to negotiate with the U.S. Japan’s chief cabinet secretary calls tariffs ‘extremely regrettable’ Japan’s chief cabinet secretary has called the tariffs “extremely regrettable,” saying officials thought the country deserved an exemption, after Trump slapped 24% additional tariffs on Japan.Yoshimasa Hayashi on Thursday also questioned whether the tariffs are compatible with Japan-U.S. bilateral trade agreements and said the move would likely impact their economic ties, as well as the global economy and multilateral trade system.He said Japanese officials are continuing to negotiate with Washington seeking an exemption. Asked if Japan would consider retaliatory tariffs or file complaints with the World Trade Organization, Hayashi declined to comment. Asian markets tumble following Trump’s tariff announcement Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index dipped more than 3.4%, while the Kospi in South Korea dropped 1.8%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 also sank 1.8%.U.S. stocks whipped through another dizzying day before Trump’s unveiled the tariffs Wednesday. The S&P 500 rose 0.7%, and the Dow gained 0.6%. The Nasdaq composite surged 0.9%.Tesla swung from a sharp loss in the morning to a gain later in the day to help pull the market higher. Treasury yields also veered from lower to higher following a better-than-expected report on the job market. Read more about markets’ reaction to the tariffs House majority whip praises Trump’s actions, including tariffs, during town hall House Majority Whip Tom Emmer fielded mostly friendly questions during an hourlong telephone town hall with constituents in Minnesota.House Speaker Mike Johnson has encouraged Republican lawmakers to avoid holding in-person town halls where they’d run the risk of hostile questioning and protesters.Emmer extensively praised the actions that Trump has been taking in his first months back in office, including the tariffs he announced earlier Wednesday.“How about we give this guy some grace while he tried to actually do what he’s been campaigning on for years and his mission to protect American companies and workers?” Emmer said. “There’s still going to be some choppy waters, but when we come out the other side, it’s going to be much better than it was beforehand, and certainly much better than it was the last four years.” South Korea prime minister calls for emergency measures to support industries affected by tariffs South Korea’s acting leader called for swift emergency measures to support the auto industry and other businesses potentially affected by the Trump administration’s new tariffs, pledging full government efforts to address what he described as a looming “global tariff war.”During an emergency government meeting, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo also instructed officials to work with business groups to analyze the impact of the U.S. tariff increases and actively engage in negotiations with Washington to “minimize damage” to South Korea’s economy, the trade ministry said.Han, serving as South Korea’s acting leader while President Yoon Suk Yeol remains impeached over his December imposition of martial law, convened the meeting with trade and foreign policy officials after Trump announced a 25% tariff on South Korea.
Category:
E-Commerce
Yesterday, President Donald Trump announced a slew of tariffs on nearly every country in the worldover 180 of them, notes CNBC. The tariffs Trump announced are higher than most economists and business leaders feared. Trump chose to hold off on announcing the tariffs until after the markets closed yesterday, and after seeing how those markets have since reacted, it’s easy to understand why. Individual stocks and the markets as a whole plummeted after the tariffs were revealed, and in premarket trading, those markets and stocks remain greatly depressed. Major American companies like Apple, Amazon, Nike, Tesla, and Walmart are seeing their share prices decline this morning, while Nasdaq, Dow, and S&P futures have fallen significantly. President Trumps tariffs explained Trumps tariffs were announced yesterday on a day the president coined Liberation Day. Business leaders, economists, and global heads of state were on edge before the announcements, fearing just how high the tariffs would be. It turns out, in many cases, they were worse than expected. President Trump announced a minimum 10% tariff on nearly every country worldwide. That means that nearly every good that is imported into the United States will be slapped with a default 10% levya levy which will then either have to be absorbed by the U.S. company importing the product, leading to reduced profits, or passed on to American consumers, leading to increased prices. However, countries that were only hit with a 10% tariff could count themselves relatively lucky. Thats because Trump levied much higher tariffs against dozens of countries, which are also the countries from which American companies import most of their goods and parts. Here are some of the countries that got hit the hardest with high tariff rates: China: 54% Cambodia: 49% Vietnam: 46% Bangladesh: 37% Thailand: 36% Taiwan: 32% South Africa: 30% India: 26% Japan: 24% European Union (27 member states): 20% There are two big omissions from the list of key trading partners above: Canada and Mexico. Trump did not announce new tariffs on either country yesterday, but previous tariffs imposed on both nations remain in place, notes Reuters. Reactions from global leaders to the swatch of new tariffs have been vocal and swift. Many condemned Trumps tariffs and vowed to retaliate in kind, leading to fears that an all-out global tariff war is about to begin. Foreign stock markets have already fallen today, but the worst fall may be yet to come when U.S. markets open in just a few hours. American stock marketsand tech sharessink American investors are already not taking the news of Trumps tariffs well. As of the time of this writing, Americas three largest stock markets are down a significant amount, according to data from Yahoo Finance: S&P 500 Futures: down 3.23% Dow Futures: down 2.57% Nasdaq Futures: down 3.6% But things are even worse for many big-name tech stocks. Here is how many of Americas largest tech giants’ shares have reacted as of the time of this writing: Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG): down 2.76% Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN): down 5.7% Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL): down 7.4% Meta Platforms, Inc. (Nasdaq: META): down 4.23% Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq: MSFT): down 2.27% NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA): down 4.46% Shopify Inc. (Nasdaq: SHOP): down 10.13% Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE: TSM): down 4.84% Tesla, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA): down 4.86% As you can see, some tech stocks are being hit worse than others. Apples shares are among the worst hit. A significant reason for that is that Apple manufactures most of its products in China, Vietnam, and Indiaall countries that got hit with some of the most considerable tariffs. That means that Apple will either need to absorb those costs or increase prices for consumers. If Apple does the former, it will reduce the companys margins and profitability. If it does the latter, fewer people may buy its products, reducing the companys profitability. Likewise, NVIDIA and TSMC shares are among the biggest tech losers since their products rely on supplies from some of the hardest-hit countries, including China and Taiwan. As for Amazon, many of the goods the company sellsfrom tech to clothingcome from a number of the hardest-hit countries, including China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and more. Shopify is one of the hardest hit tech companies this morning, because many of the goods sellers on its platform offers originate from the countries that are hardest hit by Trumps tariffs. As for Tesla, many of the components that go into its electric vehicles are sourced from overseas. Even tech giants that dont generate too much of their revenue from selling physical goods imported from overseaslike Meta and Googleare seeing their share prices fall, because those companies rely on infrastructure made overseas, like servers, to keep their businesses going. Physical retailers and apparel makers see stock prices get hit, too But its not just Americas tech stocks that are getting hammered. Here is how many of Americas largest retailers and apparel makers shares are reacting: Costco Wholesale Corporation (Nasdaq: COST): down 3.4% Lululemon Athletica Inc. (LULU): down 12.48% NIKE, Inc. (NYSE: NKE): down 9.6% Target Corporation (TGT): down 5.12% Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT): down 4.96% Much of the apparel Americans buy comes from countries like China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Indiaall of which were hit hard by Trumps tariffs. Its no wonder then that apparel makers, including Lululemon and Nike, are seeing some of the biggest share price drops today. And just as Amazon and Shopify are seeing large declines in their stock prices, Americas brick-and-mortar retailers are as wellagain, due to the fact that they import many of their goods from the countries hit hardest by Trumps tariffs. Thse retailers include Costco, Target, and Walmart. How will the tariffs affect me? Every American will likely be affected by Trumps tariffs. This will primarily happen in two ways. First, Americans will likely see most of the goods they buyfrom gadgets to food to clothing to carsjump in price over the next days and weeks. This means Americans money will be able to buy less, and Americans with lower incomes will be hit harder than those with higher incomes because they already have less discretionary spending power. Second, as of this morning, many Americans who invest directly or indirectly in the stock marketwhether through a brokerage account, 401 (k), or pension planwill likely see their investments be hit. Those who dont need to tap into these funds for years or decades may be able to ride out the tariff storm. But those older Americans who are or will be tapping into their investments in the coming weeks will, if the stock price declines today hold, see that their investments are worth less than they were before the tariffs went into effect. However, as poorly as the markets have already reacted after Trumps tariff announcements yesterday, things could get even worse in the days ahead. Thats because we do not yet know how, exactly, other countries will respond. If they respond as strongly in kindand its likely many will, including trading powerhouse Chinathen many experts fear that Trumps tariff wars could lead to another global recession like the one the world has not seen since 2008.
Category:
E-Commerce
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