Trump threatens further 50% tariffs on China, stacking on earlier rate

US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened huge additional tariffs on imports from China if Beijing did not withdraw its retaliation plans, adding that Washington would begin talks with other countries that want negotiations.

The fresh action would stack on an already steep US rate taking effect Wednesday, the White House told AFP, bringing the total figure to a prohibitive level.

"If China does not withdraw its 34 percent increase above their already long-term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50 percent, effective April 9," Trump said in a Truth Social post.

As part of a broader plan to impose "reciprocal" tariffs on countries with which the United States has large trade deficits, Trump last week unveiled a 34 percent additional tariff on China, taking effect Wednesday.

Beijing's counter-tariff matches Washington's figure, and is set to kick in on April 10. These will stack on existing Chinese duties too.

The world's second biggest economy has also issued other countermeasures, including export controls on rare earth elements.

Since returning to the presidency, Trump has imposed 20 percent added duties on Chinese imports over Beijing's alleged role in the fentanyl supply chain.

With the incoming 34 percent rate and new 50 percent threat, the total additional rate this year could hit 104 percent, the White House told AFP.

The White House added that this new rate piles on existing tariffs from Trump's first presidency, which former president Joe Biden largely kept in place and added to in targeted sectors.

Trump took aim at Beijing's economic practices on social media Monday, criticising its "non-monetary tariffs" and "illegal subsidization of companies."

He added that "all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated."

But "negotiations with other countries, which have also requested meetings, will begin taking place immediately," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Stocks sink again as Trump holds firm on tariffs

Stock markets and oil prices collapsed further on a black Monday for markets as US President Donald Trump stood firm over his tariffs despite recession fears.

Trading floors across the globe were overcome by waves of further selling after last week's sharp losses, with Trump telling Americans to "be strong, courageous, and patient," minutes before the New York stock market opened to drops of over three percent.

Wall Street was wracked by volatile trading, bouncing into positive territory on hopes of a 90-day pause in tariffs, only to sink lower when those were dashed by the White House.

Hong Kong collapsed by 13.2 percent, in its worst day in nearly three decades.

Trillions of dollars have been wiped off combined stock market valuations in recent sessions. 

Taipei stocks suffered their worst fall on record Monday, tanking 9.7 percent. 

Tokyo closed down by almost eight percent. 

Frankfurt fell as much as 10 percent in early trading before paring back losses to end the day down 4.1 percent.

Bitcoin tumbled, while the dollar rebounded after sharp losses last week.

"The carnage in global equity markets has continued," said Thomas Mathews, Asia Pacific head of markets at Capital Economics.

A 10-percent "baseline" tariff on imports from around the world took effect Saturday.

A slew of countries will be hit by higher duties from Wednesday, with levies of 34 percent for Chinese goods and 20 percent for EU products.

Beijing last week announced its own 34-percent tariff on US goods, which will come into effect on Thursday.

Trump on Monday threatened to slap an additional 50-percent tariff on China if Beijing did not withdraw its retaliation plans - heightening the prospect of another round of tit-for-tat hikes.

Bitter medicine

Hopes that the US president would rethink his policy in light of the turmoil were dashed on Sunday when he said he would not make a deal with other countries unless trade deficits were solved.

"Sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something," he said of the ructions that have wiped trillions of dollars off company valuations, which impacts the retirement savings of a large number of Americans.

On Monday, Trump told Americans "Don't be Weak! Don't be Stupid!... Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!"

In a letter to shareholders, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned that Trump's broad tariffs "will likely increase inflation".

"Whether or not the menu of tariffs causes a recession remains in question, but it will slow down growth," Dimon said, concluding that "the recent tariffs will likely increase inflation".

With the start of the first quarter earnings reports, the market is likely to get a flurry of updated outlooks by companies that could further dampen sentiment.

Monday's savage selling was across the board, with no sector spared.

Tech firms, carmakers, banks, casinos and energy firms all felt the pain as investors abandoned riskier assets.

Concerns about future energy demand saw oil prices sink as much as three percent, having dropped some seven percent Friday. 

Both main contracts hit their lowest levels since 2021, but then cut losses.

Key figures around 1530 GMT

New York - Dow: DOWN 2.9 percent at 37,223.94 points

New York - S&P 500: DOWN 2.2 percent at 4,964.04

New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 2.1 percent at 15269.15

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 4.4 percent at 7,702.08 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 4.8 percent at 6,927.12 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 4.1 percent at 19,789.02 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 7.8 percent at 31,136.58 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 13.2 percent at 19,828.30 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 7.3 percent at 3,096.58 (close)

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.1 percent at $60.72 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.0 percent at $64.27 per barrel

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0921 from $1.0962 on Friday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2758 from $1.2893

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 147.46 yen from 146.98 yen 

Euro/pound: UP at 85.77 pence from 85.01 pence