Donald Trump has declared that his sweeping global tariff agenda is “going very well” despiteabout $3.1 trillion in market value being wiped from Wall Street in its largest one-day decline since the Covid pandemic.
On a historically bad day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 4 percent. The S&P 500 fell 4.8 percent, and the tech-focused Nasdaq had dipped 6 percent — dragged down by declines from Amazon, Apple and Nvidia.
JPMorgan’s Chief Economist Bruce Kasman said the investment bank now sees a 60 percent chance of the global economy entering recession in 2025, up from 40 percent.
If follows the president unveiled his blanket 10 percent tariffs that would be imposed on all nations — bar Russia — Wednesday afternoon. About 60 countries deemed the “worst offenders” — including China, Vietnam, and Japan — face vastly higher reciprocal levies. The baseline tariffs go into effect on Saturday, and reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday.
After being probed by a reporter at the White House about “how it’s going” amidst the market decline, Trump responded: “I think it’s going very well. It was an operation. I like when a patient gets operated on and it’s a big thing.”
BREAKING: China strikes back with 34% counter tariff on all US goods
China has struck back with 34 percent tariffs on all U.S. goods Friday matching Donald Trump’s levies on Chinese goods.
The import taxes on U.S. goods would be imposed from April 10, according to China’s Finance Ministry.
China’s Ministry of Commerce also announced that it was adding 11 American companies to its “unreliable entities” list, essentially inhibiting them from doing business in the nation.
Watch: Trump hawks $5m gold cards for wealthy immigrants to gain U.S. residency
Amid a market meltdown following his dramatic announcement of worldwide tariffs, Trump took the time on Thursday to show off his “Gold Card” to reporters aboard Air Force One.
Wealthy immigrants can buy the card for $5 million to gain U.S. residency. It features Donald Trump’s face.
Tariffs and trade wars Q&A: Ask The Independent’s John Rentoul anything
Global markets are slumping, an international trade war may be brewing and, to top it off, analysts have raised their recession risks.
So, what does Trump’s latest move mean for the UK?
The Independent’s chief political commentator John Rentoul will tackle your questions live at 8 a.m. ET (1 p.m. BST).
Click the article below for more information about how to participate:
Trump: ‘FREE MARINE LE PEN!’
Donald Trump expressed support for Marine Le Pen, the French far-right politician and leader of the National Rally party, sniping the court’s decision to bar her from running as the nation’s president in 2027.
“The Witch Hunt against Marine Le Pen is another example of European Leftists using Lawfare to silence Free Speech, and censor their Political Opponent, this time going so far as to put that Opponent in prison,” he wrote on Turth Social on Thursday night.
Trump then reflected on his judicial battles and compared them to Le Pen’s trial after she was found guilty of embezzling European Parliament funds Monday.
“It is the same ‘playbook’ that was used against me by a group of Lunatics and Losers, like Norm Eisen, Andrew Weissmann, and Lisa Monaco. They spent the last nine years thinking of nothing else, and they FAILED, because the People of the United States realized that they were only Corrupt Lawyers and Politicians,” he continued.
The president concluded his rant with: “FREE MARINE LE PEN!”
NSA chief fired after president’s Laura Loomer meeting
Donald Trump has fired the director of the U.S. National Security Agency, according to a report from the Washington Post.
It marks the latest in a series of dismissals at the agency following the president’s meeting with far-right activist Laura Loomer Wednesday, whom he later called a “patriot.”
General Timothy Haugh, who also heads the U.S. Cyber Command, was dismissed with NSA deputy directory Wendy Noble on Thursday.
Following the news, Loomer posted on X: “NSA Director Tim Haugh and his deputy Wendy Noble have been disloyal to President Trump. That is why they have been fired.”
Steffie Banatvala has more.
Penguins, pay up: Trump slaps tariffs on uninhabited islands near Antarctica
President Donald Trump announced wide-reaching tariffs against many U.S. trade partners on Wednesday — but the list inexplicably includes a series of uninhabited islands near Antarctica.
The Trump administration has placed a 10 percent “reciprocal tariff” on the Heard and McDonald Islands, which are external territories of Australia near Antarctica, home to penguins, seals and glaciers.
The islands are entirely uninhabited by humans and only accessible via a two-week voyage from Perth via a boat.
Katie Hawkinson has the story.
A $2,300 iPhone?
Trump’s latest batch of tariffs could see Apple’s iPhone prices soar, analysts suggest.
The devices are largely made in China, which is expected to be hit with a 54 percent tariff next week. If those import taxes persist, Apple has a difficult choice to make: absorb the costs or pass them on to the consumer.
If the latter, iPhones could leave a larger dent in your wallet, with costs potentially increasing beyond 40 percent.
An iPhone 16 Pro Max, which currently retails at $1599, could cost almost $2300 if a 43 percent increase was passed to consumers, analysts told Reuters and USA Today.
Far-right activist Laura Loomer responds after Trump calls her a ‘patriot’
Laura Loomer has gushed over President Trump calling her a “patriot” on board Air Force One on Thursday.
Loomer, a conspiracy theorist known for her racist remarks, met with Trump Wednesday and pressed him to fire several members of the National Security Council — and reports indicate he has taken her advice.
After their meeting, the president described her as “a very good patriot and she is a very strong person.”
“It’s an honor, President Trump. Thank you. I will always have your back. I will be continuing my vetting audit of the Trump administration and will continue submitting my findings to President Trump for review,” she said.
“I’ve always said there is a vetting crisis, and I’m grateful President Trump acted on my concerns and investigative findings. I will keep working hard to support him and his administration. Loyalty matters. And so does vetting!”
Watch Trump give his remarks here:
El Salvador deportation flights: Judge considers holding Trump officials in contempt for defying court orders
Lawyers for Donald Trump’s administration are refusing to answer who gave the order to ignore a federal judge’s ruling that blocked the government from deporting dozens of immigrants under the president’s use of the Alien Enemies act.
District Judge James Boasberg grilled government lawyers at a hearing in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to determine whether the government intentionally defied his court orders to turn planes around before they were emptied out into a notorious prison in El Salvador last month.
The administration appeared to be acting in “bad faith” after his court orders, Boasberg said.
Alex Woodward is following the case.
JPMorgan increases chances of global recession in 2025 to 60%
Donald Trump’s new batch of global tariffs have triggered a wave of economic uncertainty.
JPMorgan’s Chief Economist Bruce Kasman said the investment bank now sees a 60 percent chance of the global economy entering recession in 2025, up from 40 percent.
“Disruptive U.S. policies has been recognized as the biggest risk to the global outlook all year,” Kasman wrote in a research note Thursday. “The effect of this tax hike is likely to be magnified — through retaliation, a slide in U.S. business sentiment, and supply chain disruptions.”
JPMorgan economists describe tariffs “at a basic level” as a functional tax increase on U.S. household and business purchases of foreign goods. They “view the full implementation of announced policies as a substantial macroeconomic shock,” per the note.
At a domestic level, investment banking firm Goldman Sachs has echoed JPMorgan’s concerns, earlier this week raising its U.S. recession probability in 2025 to 35 percent, from 20 percent.
“The increase in our recession probability reflects the sharp deterioration in household and business confidence in the outlook over the last month,” its report stated.
Other Wall Street brokerages — including Barclays and Deutsche Bank — also warned of an enhanced risk that the U.S. economy could slip into a recession this year.
Source: independent.co.uk