Importance Score: 68 / 100 🔴
Key events
South Korea has announced emergency support measures for its auto sector, seeking to reduce the blow of Donald Trump’s tariffs on a sector that has seen years of sharply rising exports to the US.
The measures include financial support for the auto industry as well as tax cuts and subsidies to boost domestic demand, while the government also vowed efforts to negotiate with the U.S. and help expand markets, Reuters reports.
Trump has announced a 25% tariff on imported cars and light trucks starting on Thursday. Manufacturers are expected to bear some of the tariff costs in the first year, but will eventually alter production and possibly cease importing certain low-volume models into the US market.
The South Korean government said in a statement:
Given the (lower) proportion of South Korean automakers’ local production in the United States, our industry is comparably at a disadvantage.
The tariff was expected to cause “significant” damage to South Korean automakers and auto parts manufacturers, though it was difficult to come up with numerical estimates at the moment, the government said.
To help prevent any liquidity issues, the government will raise policy financing support for the auto industry to 15tn won ($10.18bn) in 2025 from the 13tn won previously planned, according to the statement.
Speaking at a dinner for House Republicans, Donald Trump has been seeking to soothe fears about the economic impacts of his tariffs.
“Companies are pouring back into our country,” Trump said at the National Republican congressional committee dinner. “I know what the hell I’m doing. I know what I’m doing, and you know what I’m doing, too. That’s why you vote for me.”
He added that after years of countries ripping off the United States, “now it’s our turn to do the ripping”.
Vietnam’s government said it would buy more US goods including security and defence products as it seeks a last-minute delay to the huge tariffs imposed by Washington.
The south-east Asian manufacturing powerhouse counted the US as its biggest export market in the first three months of the year but its key customer has now hit it with 46% duties, Agence France-Presse reports.
Vietnam has asked Donald Trump to delay the implementation by at least 45 days to give time for talks.
The prime minister, Pham Minh Chinh, said Vietnam would “approach and negotiate with the US side to reach a bilateral agreement, moving towards a sustainable trade balance”, according to a statement published on the government’s news portal late on Monday.
It would also “continue to buy more US products that are strong and Vietnam has demand for, including products related to security and defence; promote early delivery of aircraft trade contracts”, the statement added.
Donald Trump says his administration is planning to announce a “major” tariff on pharmaceuticals “very shortly”. The president discussed the tariff at an event with the National Republican congressional committee, Reuters reports, saying such a duty would incentivize drug companies to relocate to the United States.
“We’re going to tariff our pharmaceuticals and once we do that they’re going to come rushing back into our country because we’re the big market,” he said.
“So we’re going to be announcing very shortly a major tariff on pharmaceuticals and when they hear that, they will leave China, they will leave other places because they have to – most of their product is sold here and they’re going to be opening up their plants all over our country.”
China, Hong Kong and Taiwan stocks fall
Shares in Shanghai, Taiwan and Hong Kong fell at the open today as the US-China trade war escalated.
China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index opened down 1.2%, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.1%. China’s SmallCap 1000 Index was down more than 4%, Reuters reports, following the US decision to impose 104% tariffs on Chinese goods starting later on Wednesday.
Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng dropped 3.1%.
Taiwan’s share market fell 1.8% in early trade.
Chinese state holding companies continued to support the stock market by increasing share investment, while a slew of listed firms announced share buybacks.
Shanghai’s composite index is set to open down 1.1% today, while China’s Beijing stock exchange 50 index is set to open more than 2% down, Reuters is reporting
Here’s a broad wrap of the buffeting across markets as Asian share losses deepened after another Wall Street retreat in the face of the latest set of US tariffs.
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%.
The sharply higher tariffs were scheduled to kick in after midnight Eastern time in the US.
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 levelling 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.
The Bank of Japan’s governor has said the central bank will carefully analyse how US tariffs could affect the economy in making monetary policy decisions.
“Domestic and overseas economic uncertainties have heightened due to US auto and reciprocal tariffs,” Kazuo Ueda told parliament on Wednesday.
We will continue to carefully analyse how the tariffs could affect Japan’s economy and prices through various channels.
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) exited a radical stimulus program last year and raised interest rates to 0.5% in January on the view Japan was on the cusp of sustainably achieving its 2% inflation target, Reuters reports.
Trump’s decision to impose sweeping tariffs worldwide, including on Japan, has complicated the BOJ’s plan to continue raising interest rates from still-low levels.
Photograph: Yoshio Tsunoda/AFLO/REX/Shutterstock
Ueda said the BOJ’s past decisions to raise interest rates were made with a focus on underlying inflation, which has gradually accelerated toward 2%. The decisions were also based on the view that removing excessive monetary support now would help the BOJ avoid raising rates sharply later to combat a too-high inflation rate, and ensure Japan’s economy achieves sustainable growth, he added.
When asked by a legislator to deliver stronger language committing to combat economic headwind from Trump’s tariffs, Ueda said only that there was still uncertainty about how US trade policy would unfold.
We will scrutinise developments, analyse how they affect the economy, prices and markets to come up with solid projections.
Australian shares plunge 2%
More here from Jonathan Barrett on Australia’s stock market tumble today:
Australian shares fell by a steep 2% in the opening minutes of trading this morning, erasing yesterday’s bounce as hopes deteriorate that the world’s two largest economies will strike a trade deal.
The sharp price moves come shortly before the US is scheduled to hit China with additional tariffs, due to come into effect just after 2pm (Australian eastern standard time).
Taking into account past announcements, Chinese goods entering the US will face a 104% tariff as part of Donald Trump’s new trade regime. Analysts at IG warned on Wednesday that the Australian economy would be hit by the trade barrier, saying:
If China does dig in, tariffs on its imports to the US will rise to a staggering 104%, a dire outcome for Australia’s trade-dependent economy and a potential catalyst for another round of broader risk aversion.
Australia’s benchmark share index fell to below 7,350 points in the opening minutes of trading today, taking it back to the level it closed at on Monday, which was the worst trading day in almost five years.
Today’s tariffs follow Trump’s 10% tariff on all imports from many countries, including Australia, which came into effect at the weekend.
US customs agents began collecting the unilateral tariff at US seaports, airports and customs warehouses on Saturday. Today’s measures are higher levies on goods from 57 larger trading partners.
Nikkei plummets 3% as South Korean won falls
Japan’s main Nikkei index of shares fell in early trade on Wednesday as worries about a US-China trade war killed off a rebound rally on Wall Street.
South Korea’s currency, meanwhile, fell to its lowest level against the dollar since 2009, while oil prices slumped 3% in early Asian trade, AFP is reporting.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was down just over 3% and the broader Topix index was off 3.1%.
More from Australia now: the country’s top economic and financial regulators are about to hold a snap meeting to talk through the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The high-powered meeting convened by the Australian treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will reportedly take place on Wednesday and include the heads of the central bank and the banking, business and consumer watchdogs, according to Nine media, cited by Australian Associated Press.
Arthur Sinodinos, a former Australian ambassador to the US, told a Nine TV program.
It’s a confidence-building measure with the electorate to say, ‘Look, we’re getting our best brains together to work out how we diversify our markets, how we adjust our economy, how we get ready for this’.
It’s the sort of thing you’d expect any government to do.
New modelling from Australia’s Treasury department suggests a global trade war will not drive the country’s economy into recession. But Chalmers says he is realistic about “substantial” risks to growth from the US tariffs, while also saying the country is “better placed and better prepared” than others to weather the coming storm.
Amy Hawkins
If you have ever bought a Christmas decoration, a button, an electric shaver or any other cheap manufactured product, there is a good chance it came from Yiwu, a city in east China’s Zhejiang province that is home to the world’s largest wholesale market.
Covering more than 4m square metres, tens of thousands of suppliers have booths in Yiwu International Trade City.
As the US and China exchange increasingly hysterical rhetoric and threaten ever-higher tariffs, it is vendors at places like Yiwu who are at the frontline of the new trade war. And while the sellers have reduced their exposure to the US, they fear the repercussions of a global economic shock.
Read the full story here:
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index has fallen 2.1% to 7,351.20 points this morning, Reuters is reporting.
Australian stock market set to plunge amid tariff tensions
Jonathan Barrett
Australian shares are poised to fall sharply today as Donald Trump presses ahead with plans to hit China with huge retaliatory tariffs.
Futures prices were pointing towards a steep 2% loss when the S&P/ASX 200 opened a short while ago, erasing yesterday’s rebound.
The anticipated price move would push the benchmark back under 7,350 points, the level it closed at on Monday after the market suffered its worst trading day in five years.
Trump tariffs could slice developing Asia growth – report
The full implementation of US tariffs could cut developing Asia’s growth by about a third of a percentage point this year and nearly a full percentage point in 2026, the Asian Development Bank said on Wednesday.
In its Asian Development Outlook report, the ADB projected that growth in developing Asia will ease slightly to 4.9% in 2025 – the slowest pace since 2022 – and slow further to 4.7% in 2026, from 5.0% in 2024, Reuters reports.
The forecasts were finalised before the US unveiled sweeping new import tariffs last week, the ADB said at a press conference for the report’s release.
“The elephant in the room is clearly whether the U.S. tariffs will be fully implemented, which would lead to lower growth in our baseline forecast,” ADB chief economist Albert Park said.
Developing Asia, as defined by the ADB, is made up of 46 Asia-Pacific countries stretching from Georgia to Samoa – and excludes countries such as Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Park said the eventual effects of the US tariffs remained uncertain, as their scope and timing could change due to negotiations, delays, or exemptions being granted.
On the flip side, stronger retaliation and further escalation could result in bigger impacts. Additionally, the size and speed of policy changes under the new US administration could reduce investment globally and in the region, while rising trade tensions and fragmentation would boost trade costs and disrupt global supply chains.
Japan’s Nikkei average futures are down 3.4% in early trade, reports say.
Here’s a quick recap of some of the other latest developments as the global upheaval from Donald Trump’s tariffs continues.
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Canada’s retaliatory 25% tariffs on some American cars will go into effect at 12.01 ET tonight, the Canadian prime minister said. “President Trump caused this trade crisis – and Canada is responding with purpose and with force,” Mark Carney said in a social media post on Tuesday. The tariffs apply only to vehicles not already covered by the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement.
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Trump dismissed criticism of tariffs at a White House event to boost US coal production, claiming the US was making $2bn a day from tariffs. “America is going to be very rich again very soon,” he said.
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The Trump administration claims “the phones have been ringing off the hook” as countries seek to negotiate with the US on tariffs and trade. Nearly 70 countries have reached out looking to begin negotiations, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed. Earlier on Tuesday, Trump held a “great call” with South Korea’s acting president, Han Duck-soo, and said they discussed more than just trade issues. It was also confirmed that the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, will travel to the US next week for talks on tariffs with Trump on 17 April.
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The Trump administration has made it clear it is not just interested in talking to other countries about tariffs in order to “level the playing field” for US companies trading overseas. US trade representative Jamieson Greer told Congress on Tuesday that countries must also lower their standards, tests and regulations the US sees as obstructive – for example, against beef and pork exports to Australia, shellfish to the EU, and its limited access to Japan’s agricultural market.
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Elon Musk reportedly made several pushes to try to get the president to back down on his tariff agenda. His failure to get Trump to listen, however, is evidence to some observers of a growing rift between the US president and the world’s richest person. Asked about the growing insult-heavy feud between Musk and top trade adviser and tariff plan architect Peter Navarro (the latest is Musk called Navarro a “moron”), Leavitt said: “Boys will be boys.”
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Trump’s billionaire adviser Elon Musk reportedly made several pushes to try to get the president to back down on his tariff agenda. His failure to get Trump to listen, however, is evidence to some observers of a growing rift between the US president and the world’s richest person. Asked about the growing insult-heavy feud between Musk and top trade adviser and tariff plan architect Peter Navarro (the latest is Musk called Navarro a “moron”), Leavitt said: “Boys will be boys.”
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to our live business blog, with Donald Trump’s global tariffs due to take effect on Wednesday.
The US president appears poised to push on with measures against imports to the US from almost every country in the world. The US will also go ahead with imposing a staggering 104% tariff on China from 12.01am ET (12.01pm China Standard Time) on Wednesday, the White House confirmed after Beijing did not lift its retaliatory tariffs on US goods by Trump’s Tuesday noon deadline.
Trump’s tariffs are due to take effect at 2pm Australia time so Asian markets can give us some indication of how things are likely to be received.
After early rallies on global stock markets, Wall Street closed down after another session of sharp losses as investors’ hopes for US delays or concessions on tariffs ahead of a midnight ET deadline turned to despair.
The S&P 500 fell 1.6% after wiping out an early gain of 4.1%, which had it on track for its best day in years. That brought the index nearly 19% below its record set in February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 683 points, or 1.8%, after giving up an earlier surge of 1,460 points. The Nasdaq composite was down 3.2%.
We’re likely to see another bumpy day on stock markets around the world. Stick with us to follow all the latest news, reaction and analysis.