Asia markets index of Japan, South Korea and Australia is seen on a display screen as a forex dealer works on the overseas trade dealing room of the KEB Hana Financial institution headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 9, 2025.
Ahn Younger-joon/AP
disguise caption
toggle caption
Ahn Younger-joon/AP
HONG KONG – World markets continued to fall on Wednesday as President Donald Trump’s newest spherical of tariffs went into impact, together with a 104% levy on Chinese language items.
Markets throughout Asia slumped, with Japan’s Nikkei closing down practically 4%. South Korea’s KOSPI fell 1.74% and Taiwan’s composite index shed 5.79%. Hong Kong’s benchmark Dangle Seng Index opened down greater than 3% earlier than recovering to shut up about 1%.
In mainland China, key indexes closed up greater than 1%, regardless of Chinese language items being the toughest hit. The steep new levy was a response to Beijing issuing reciprocal tariffs of 34% on American items final week.
China’s overseas ministry warned that it was prepared to reply.
“We will not let anyone take away the Chinese peoples’ legitimate right to development,” overseas ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated on Wednesday.
“We will not tolerate any attempt to harm China’s sovereignty, security and development interests. We will continue to take resolute and strong measures to safeguard our legitimate rights and interests.
Beijing has, for now, not announced further retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods.
There had been rising hopes amongst investors that the U.S. would strike trade deals to lower the tariffs over time.
Trump has signaled he is willing to negotiate, posting Tuesday on Truth Social that China “needs to make a deal, badly.”
But analysts remain cautious.
“China’s management does not appear to be in any rush to make a deal,” Julian Evans-Pritchard, head of China economics at Capital Economics, said in a statement.
“They seem to have concluded that they’ll afford to climate the influence of U.S. tariffs and that Trump shall be in a weakened place additional down the road because the financial and political fallout from the tariffs mounts.”
South Korean officials are currently in talks with the White House. The country’s industry minister said on Wednesday that retaliatory tariffs would damage its export-heavy economy.
India additionally stated the nation is partaking with the US. India’s exterior affairs minister stated on Wednesday that the 2 nations are hammering out a bilateral commerce settlement, which may conclude by the autumn of this 12 months.
John Ruwitch, Se Eun Gong, and Diaa Hadid contributed to this report.
