Washington: The world is in fear of an economic recession as the US has again increased the additional tariffs imposed on China. With the imposition of additional tariffs the other day, the tax on most goods imported from China to the US has increased to 145 per cent. On Wednesday, the US imposed a 125 per cent tax on China. Later, the White House clarified that the 125 per cent tax was imposed in addition to the 20 per cent previously placed.
The trade war with China erased the previous day's gains in US markets. The S&P 500 lost 3.5 per cent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.5 per cent, and the Nasdaq fell 4.3 per cent. Asian stock markets also opened lower. Japan's Nikkei lost 4.5 per cent. South Korea's Kospi index lost 1.7 per cent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.7 per cent, while Australia's ASX 200 lost 1.6 per cent.
Meanwhile, China had decided to seek the support of more countries in its fight against the United States on retaliatory tariffs. However, despite contacting many countries, they were not ready to come out directly against the United States. Trump announced the suspension of the retaliatory tariffs for 90 days yesterday in the wake of various countries approaching for talks. However, the tariffs on China were increased to 125 per cent. China has taken a stance that there will be no negotiations but will fight until the end.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba emphasised that trade wars are detrimental to all parties involved.
Their discussion took place against the backdrop of the United States maintaining a 10% tariff on most imports, alongside a 25% tariff on steel, aluminium, and car parts, as reported by Xinhua News Agency.