Asian shares slipped on Wednesday as the latest set of U.S. tariffs, including a massive 104% levy on Chinese imports, went into effect. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index initially lost nearly 4% and other markets in the region also declined.
The sharply higher tariffs kicked in after midnight Eastern time in the U.S., even as investors have no idea what to make of President Donald Trump’s trade war.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 dropped 1.6% after wiping out an early gain of 4.1%. That took it nearly 19% below its record set in February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8%, while the Nasdaq composite lost 2.1%. Uncertainty is still high about what President Donald Trump will do with his trade war.
More swings up and down for financial markets are excepted given the uncertainty over how long Trump will keep the stiff tariffs on imports, which will raise prices for U.S. shoppers and slow the economy. If they last a long time, economists and investors expect them to cause a recession. If Trump lowers them through negotiations relatively quickly, the worst-case scenario might be avoided.
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Garment manufacturers and exporters in Bangladesh, the world’s second largest after China, are worried about losing its share in the apparel market of the United States, which is imposing new tariffs of 37%.
The U.S. is Bangladesh’s largest market as a single destination where the country’s nearly $39 billion industry exported apparel goods worth $7.34 billion in 2024.
Now, Bangladesh’s manufacturers say their U.S. buyers are halting orders, which could help competitors like India and Pakistan overtake Bangladesh in the U.S. market.
Bangladesh has already sought postponement of the application of the new tariff for three months to help the country assess the situation and smoothly implement its initiatives.
Asif Ashraf, managing director of Urmi Group, says they are worried about the U.S. market “because it will change the global equilibrium.†The sector employed about 4 million workers, mostly women from rural areas, and the industry accounts for about 80% of the country’s total annual exports.
South Korea has launched an emergency funding program worth 3 trillion won ($2 billion) to help its automobile industry cope with the impact of increased tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.
The government package announced on Wednesday includes expanded low-cost financing from state-run lenders, as well as a new financing program backed by auto giants Hyundai and Kia, along with financial institutions, aimed at supporting struggling carmakers and auto parts manufacturers. The government will also expand subsidies for electric vehicle purchases.
Cars and auto parts stand as South Korea’s top export items to the United States, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, which raised concerns that the Trump administration’s imposition of a 25% tariff on these products will have a “significant shock†on the industry. The ministry says South Korea’s exports of automobiles to the United States totaled $34.7 billion last year, while exports of auto parts amounted to $8.2 billion.
President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs went into full effect just after midnight Wednesday.
When Trump announced the latest round of tariffs on April 2, he declared that the U.S. would now tax nearly all of America’s trading partners at a minimum of 10% — and impose steeper rates for countries that he says run trade surpluses with the U.S.
The 10% baseline already went into effect Saturday. Trump’s higher import tax rates on dozens of countries and territories took hold at midnight.
The steeper levies run as high as 50% — with that biggest rate landing on small economies that trade little with the U.S., including the African kingdom of Lesotho. Some other rates include a tax of 47% on imports from Madagascar, 46% on Vietnam, 32% on Taiwan, 25% on South Korea, 24% on Japan and 20% on the European Union.
Some of these new tariffs build on previous trade measures. Trump last week announced a tariff of 34% on China, for example, which would come on top of 20% levies he imposed on the country earlier this year. Trump has since threatened to add an another 50% levy on Chinese goods in response to Beijing’s recently promised retaliation. That would bring the combined total to 104% against China.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index initially lost nearly 4% and markets in South Korea, New Zealand and Australia also declined.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 dropped 1.6% after wiping out an early gain of 4.1%. That took it nearly 19% below its record set in February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8%, while the Nasdaq composite lost 2.1%. Uncertainty is still high about what President Donald Trump will do with his trade war.
The sharply higher tariffs were scheduled to kick in after midnight Eastern time in the U.S., and investors have no idea what to make of President Donald Trump’s trade war.
The retreat overnight and into early Wednesday in Asia followed rallies for stocks globally earlier in the day, with indexes up 6% in Tokyo, 2.5% in Paris and 1.6% in Shanghai.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo fell more than 3.9% before leveling off. About an hour after the market opened it was down 3.5% at 31,847.40.
South Korea’s Kospi lost 1% to 2,315.27, while the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia declined 2% to 7,359.30. Shares in New Zealand also fell.
In response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, Canada says it’s implementing retaliatory tariffs of its own just after midnight on Wednesday.
Canada will put a 25% tariff on auto imports from the United States that do not comply with the USMCA, the 2019 North American trade pact put into place during Trump’s first term.
The Canadian government is also putting in a framework to bolster auto production and investment in its country as well as providing a special exception on tariff countermeasures for residents of Campobello Island, New Brunswick.
