Asia markets open down to Trump's reciprocal tariffs which expert warns will ‘hurt America’

Record ID: 1987893

  • Title: Asia markets open down to Trump's reciprocal tariffs which expert warns will ‘hurt America’
  • Date: 3rd April 2025
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (APRIL 3, 2025) (REUTERS) SCREEN AT TOKYO STOCK EXCHANGE, SHOWING NIKKEI OPENING AT 35041.67 VARIOUS OF STOCK BOARDS SCREEN SHOWING STOCKS FALLING, INCLUDE A FEW JAPANESE AUTOMAKERS JOURNALISTS FILMING SCREENS VARIOUS OF STOCK BOARDS VARIOUS OF TICKER SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (APRIL 3, 2025) (REUTERS) DEALING ROOM AT HANA BANK SCREEN SHOWING KOREA COMPOSITE STOCK PR
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Australia Hang Seng Hong Kong KOSPI Nikkei Seoul Shanghai South Korea Tariffs Tim Harcourt Tokyo Trump
  • Location: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA / SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / TOKYO, JAPAN / HONG KONG AND SHANGHAI, CHINA
  • City: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA / SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA / TOKYO, JAPAN / HONG KONG AND SHANGHAI, CHINA
  • Country: Various
  • Topics: Government/Politics,International Trade
  • Reuters ID: LVA001377403042025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Asian markets dived on Thursday (April 3) as U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a bigger-than-expected wall of tariffs around the world's largest economy, upending trade and supply chains.
    Trump announced a baseline 10% tariff on imports with far higher levies on some trading partners, particularly in Asia. Besides China's 34% tax, Japan got a 24% tariff, Vietnam 46% and South Korea 25%.
    Japan's Nikkei share average slumped to an eight-month low. The Nikkei fell as much as 4.6% in early trading, dropping to 34,102.00 for the first time since August 7.
    In South Korea, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was down 36.57 points, or 1.46%, at 2,469.29 as of 0128 GMT, after falling as much as 2.7% to its lowest level since early January.
    China's stock markets slumped and yuan dropped to its lowest levels in seven weeks. The escalating trade spat risks denting sentiment towards the world's second-largest economy.
    The high-flying tech sector was pummelled as manufacturing hubs in China and Taiwan faced new tariffs above 30%, bringing the total new levy to an eye-watering 54% on imports from China.
    Countries in China's supply chain were hardest hit, with Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos getting slapped with tariffs between 46% and 49%.
    Tim Harcourt, a Sydney-based chief economist of University of Technology said "no one wins with trade wars" and putting tariffs on is "like putting rocks in your own harbour", warning that it could "hurt America and ultimately Trump’s popularity".
    "The economic impact of the tariff uncertainty is almost bigger than the tariffs themselves," Harcourt added.
    (Production: Daewoung Kim, Hyunyoung Yi, Stefica Nicol Bikes, Irene Wang, Tyrone Siue, Angie Teo, Nicoco Chan, Xiaoyu Yin)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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