On April 2, 2025, President Donald Trump declared a tariff of 10% on all imports, in force on April 5, with additional prices specific to the country which started on April 9.
The announcement sent shock waves to the world economy, triggering the worst loss of two days in the United States stock market history. Only Thursday and Friday, only 6.6 billions of dollars of value was destroyed before the market closed for the weekend.
After a slight recovery on Tuesday, the actions fell again on Wednesday while the new prices of President Trump on imports from dozens of countries came into force, in particular a rate of less than 104% on goods from China – considerably degenerating the fears of a world trade war.
How many country will each country be?
The White House has published a list of 57 countries, territories and commercial blocks which will be subject to increased prices, as detailed in the table below. In addition to these 57s, Trump also imposed a flat rate at 10% of imports from almost all other American business partners.
A price is a tax imposed by the government on imported goods and services, paid by the companies that introduce them to the country. Prices are intended to protect local industries, but often make foreign products more expensive for consumers.
How much money has been lost?
According to Bloomberg, three days of market loss – Thursday, Friday and Monday – wiped around 10 billions of dollars in equity. This represents around 10% of the global gross domestic product, and more than the combined GDP of 150 countries.
The S&P 500, a stock market index that follows the performance of 500 of the largest listed companies in the United States, has undergone its deepest loss over four days since the reference in the 1950s.
Investors often use it to assess the health of the stock market and the wider American economy.
He now approaches a lower market, which is defined as 20% below its last summit.
On the market closed on April 8:
- The S&P 500 closed 79.48 points, or 1.6%, at 4,982.77
- The DOW closed 320.01 points, or 0.8%, to 37,645.59
- Nasdaq closed 335.35 points, or 2.2%, at 15,267.91
What happened to gold, oil and bitcoin?
Aside from the stock market, the price of gold, crude oil and bitcoin all fell during last week in the middle of increasing uncertainty.
GoldGenerally considered to be a safe asset in times of uncertainty, has experienced increased demand in recent months.
The gold market initially jumped after the price announcement, reaching a summit of $ 3,167 per ounce. However, he dropped by 2% on April 7 to $ 2,977, before climbing slightly to $ 2,984 Tuesday.
Oil Prices plunged 7% in response to the pricing announcement, followed by an additional drop of 2% on April 5. On Tuesday, oil had stabilized around $ 60 per barrel, but has since dropped below $ 57, the lowest it has been since 2021.
As a rule, oil prices fall in times of recession due to the reduction of demand and fears of a recession caused by the trade conflict between the United States and China – the two largest economies in the world – have contributed to this drop.
BitcoinWhich was to flourish under the new government, also slipped in last week. The cryptocurrency fell 30% since the inauguration of Trump on January 20, from $ 109,000 to $ 77,000 today.
What about global currencies?
Countries that are large business partners with the United States, as well as other emerging market currencies, have replied with mixed signals.
According to Reuters, the US dollar has weakened against large currencies, including the Yen and the Euro, while the Chinese Yuan reached a lower 19 months on Tuesday, caught in the cross fires of the commercial tariff war.
Euro: The European currency increased by 0.1% to $ 1.09, against an earlier increase of more than 0.7%, after falling for the previous two days.
British book Sterling: Lost approximately 1% in last week, from a dollar costing £ 1.30 on April 2 at £ 1.28 on April 8.
Russian red: Experienced a slight drop of 84.2 rubles in the dollar from April 2 to 86.1 on April 8.
Chinese Yuan: Weakened at a 19 -month hollow compared to the US dollar, China Populaire Banque fixing the reference rate at 7.2038 yuan per dollar.
Indian Ruel: Should depreciate more and Monday, South Asian power dropped by 0.7%, its biggest shift in three months. The currency closed 86.44 rupees against the dollar, a slight loss compared to the day before.
Yen Japanese: Trained, investors looked for a volatility refuge, closing at 146.41 for a dollar, against 150.36 on April 2.
Real Brazilian: Also weakened in last week, from 5.67 reais to the dollar to 6.00 while the markets closed on Tuesday.
Mexican peso: The largest trading partner in the United States has also dropped, the closing of the peso at 20.89 for a dollar, compared to 20.34 on April 2.
South African rand: Weakened by 4.4% in last week, reaching 19.75 r, its lowest level in two years.
What does this mean for a global recession?
A recession is a significant period of economic decline, generally defined as two consecutive quarters (six months) of negative growth in the GDP of a country.
Since 1950, the United States has experienced 11 recession. Some of the most notable include the oil crisis (1973-1975), the double dip recession (1980-1982), the Dot-Com Bubble (2001), the global financial crisis (2007-2009) and COVID-19 (2020).
JPMorgan analysts estimated a probability of 60% of recession, while Goldman Sachs and Morningstar were likely between 40 and 50%.
