Trump tariffs announcement LIVE: Japan PM Ishiba labels tariffs a ‘national crisis’ as markets panic

Trump tariffs announcement LIVE: President Donald Trump provided an optimistic outlook following a sharp stock market decline on Thursday due to his tariff announcement, stating, “I think it’s going very well.”

He added, “The markets are going to boom, the stock is going to boom, the country is going to boom,” as he left the White House for a flight to one of his Florida golf clubs.

On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted over 1,600 points, leading a global selloff after Trump’s announcement of tariffs on a wide range of imports. This sparked a market shock not seen since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump’s tariff plan, revealed on Wednesday, included a minimum 10% tax on imports, with higher rates for goods from countries like China and the European Union.

Although the market turmoil was significant, Trump shrugged it off, calling it expected. When asked about the stock market’s steepest drop in years, he likened the US economy to a sick patient in need of surgery.

Trump tariffs announcement LIVE: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba referred to U.S. tariffs as a “national crisis” ahead of an unusual meeting with opposition leaders to discuss a unified response, Bloomberg reported.

This came as stocks fell for the second consecutive day and the worsening economic outlook led to lower bond yields.

The shockwave from US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 24% tariff on Japanese imports also prompted Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda and his deputy to reassure the public as economists lowered their growth forecasts.

“This is a situation that should be called a national crisis,” Ishiba stated in parliament, adding that the government was evaluating potential countermeasures. “We would like to consider what is most effective, such as retaliatory tariffs or going through the World Trade Organization,” he said.

Trump tariffs announcement LIVE: Japanese stocks plunged on Friday, hitting their lowest levels since last August, as mounting fears of a global recession following U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs rattled investors, Reuters reported.

By 0420 GMT, the Nikkei had dropped 3.6% to 33,474.56 and was headed for a near 10% weekly decline — its sharpest in five years.

The broader Topix index slid 4.6% to 2,448.94, eyeing an 11% weekly loss. If these declines persist, both indexes will mark their steepest weekly drops since March 2020.

The market rout followed Trump’s announcement on Wednesday of the most aggressive U.S. trade barriers in over a century, prompting investors to flee to safe-haven assets like the yen. The strengthening yen further weighed on Japanese stocks, especially exporters.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba called the reciprocal tariffs announced by United States President Donald Trump a “national crisis”, reported AFP. The levies of 24 percent on Japanese imports “can be called a national crisis and the government is doing its best with all parties,” Ishiba said in the Parliament.

US President Donald Trump said he would consider easing the reciprocal tariffs he announced if countries offer him something “phenomenal”. He also said that the reciprocal tariffs have given the US an edge on the negotiating table.

“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate…every country has called us,” Trump was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. When asked if he would considering relenting, Trump said it “depends” on what the countries are offering. “If somebody said that we’re going to give you something that’s so phenomenal, as long as they’re giving us something that’s good,” he said.

After being hit by 46% reciprocal tariffs by the United States, Vietnam has urged the Trump administration halt the imposition of the order and engage in negotiations, reported Bloomberg. The request was made in a diplomatic note by Vietnam’s trade ministry soon after President Donald Trump made the announcement. The ministry has also sought a a phone call between the trade representatives of the two countries as soon as possible.

A small retail stationery business in Florida has sued US President Donald Trump over the reciprocal tariffs he imposed on China on April 2, claiming that it would suffer “severe” harm because of it, reported Bloomberg. The Pensacola-based Simplified, who has sued the President, depends on China to import products it sells. Being forced to pay extra to import products from China would inflict “competitive injury in the form of higher costs, competitive disadvantage and lost profits,” according to the complainant.

“He would be empowered to declare a national emergency based on some long-running national problem, then impose tariffs purportedly in the name of that emergency — thus sidestepping the detailed constraints Congress has placed on the tariff authority it has granted,” the complaint said.

US President Donald Trump offered a rosy assessment of the aftermath of his sweeping tariff announcement, even as the stock market dropped sharply on Thursday over the move.

“The markets are going to boom, the stock is going to boom, the country is going to boom,” the Associated Press quoted Trump as saying when asked about the market.

IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday said new US tariffs “clearly represent a significant risk to the global outlook” and urged Washington to work with its trade partners.

The tariffs, announced by President Donald Trump on Wednesday, “clearly represent a significant risk to the global outlook at a time of sluggish growth,” the head of the International Monetary Fund said in a statement, AFP reported.

“It is important to avoid steps that could further harm the world economy,” Georgieva added.

Roughly $2 trillion was erased from the S&P 500 Index on Thursday amid worries that President Donald Trump’s sweeping new round of tariffs could plunge the economy into a recession, Bloomberg reported.

The damage was heaviest in companies whose supply chains are most dependent on overseas manufacturing. Apple Inc., which makes the majority of its US-sold devices in China, fell as much as 9.5%. Lululemon Athletica and Nike, among companies with manufacturing ties to Vietnam, were both down more than 12%. Target and Dollar Tree, retailers whose stores are filled with products sourced outside of the US, were trading lower by more than 10%.

Italy’s prime minister said on Thursday that any talks with the US on tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump should aim to eliminate the levies.

“We must open a frank discussion on substance with the Americans with the objective, in my opinion, of removing tariffs, not multiplying them,” Giorgia Meloni told public television Rai1, in reference to the EU’s eventual response.

In a sharp response to US President Donald Trump’s newly imposed ‘reciprocal’ tariffs, Canada on Thursday announced that it would impose a 25% tariff on some US auto imports. READ MORE

French President Emmanuel Macron urged companies to pause investments in the US after President Donald Trump announced tariffs on the European Union and other regions.

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram on Thursday said that the US administration’s imposition of 26 per cent reciprocal tariffs on India, will definitely have implications for India’s exports, and the government needs to analyse how this will affect the country’s economic growth.

New tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on goods from the UK being sold to America are “not good news”, Scotland’s First Minister said. But John Swinney pledged he would “stand shoulder to shoulder with Scottish industry” amid concerns the new charges could impact businesses.

The Bangladeshi garment industry was shaken after Trump’s 37% tariff on the country’s exports, endangering an apparel hub already reeling from domestic political upheaval, Reuters reported.

Suppliers in Bangladesh’s garment industry, which counts Gap Inc and Vans parent VF Corp as clients, told Reuters they began seeking government support hours after Trump’s lightning bolt.

Some companies in the impoverished South Asian country are pressing government officials to negotiate further on tariffs with the U.S. to prevent foreign buyers from bolting to save costs.

France and Germany are pushing for a more robust reaction to US President Donald Trump’s tariff measures, advocating for a forceful retaliation that could strengthen the EU’s negotiating position, Bloomberg reported.

European farmers urged the EU on Thursday to prioritise negotiations over retaliation against US President Donald Trump’s tariffs onslaught, warning against a trade war, AFP reported.

Pan-European farmers’ group Copa-Cogeca denounced Washington’s slapping of a 20 percent tariff on all EU goods, saying it threatened to disrupt global supply chains and increase prices.

The reciprocal tariff announced by the Trump administration can shave off India’s GDP growth rate by up to 50 basis points to 6 per cent, and the country’s exports to the US could fall by 2-3 percentage points in the current fiscal year, PTI reported, quoting experts.

The EU on Thursday told President Donald Trump the door remained open for trade talks- while readying for a fight should negotiations fail, AFP reported.

Trump announced a 20 percent tariff for the European Union as part of a sweeping clampdown on imports to the United States that has fanned global trade war fears and sent markets tumbling.

The global stock market carnage that followed US President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs rippled through early trading in the United States, slamming a wide swath of key industries, including retail and technology firms, Reuters reported.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told business chiefs that “clearly, there will be an economic impact” from Donald Trump’s tariffs, but the government would respond with “cool and calm heads”.

Trump has slapped a 10% tariff on US imports of UK goods as he confirmed sweeping import levies on countries across the world, hailing America’s “declaration of economic independence”.

On Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, Irish deputy premier Simon Harris said there is a need for “maturity” in negotiations between the European Union and the US.

His assessment came after US President Donald Trump announced that he was imposing a sweeping 20% tariff on imports from the EU, which will significantly impact Ireland.

The tariffs are a setback for Modi’s government, which had sought to ward off the new levies by rolling out sweeping concessions on issues central to Trump’s agenda, Bloomberg reported. During a visit to Washington by Modi in February, the two nations agreed to work toward a trade pact this year.

The levies are likely to ratchet up pressure on officials in New Delhi to hash out a trade pact with Washington.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the US president’s decision to impose sweeping tariffs on countries is “fundamentally wrong”.