The tension escalated in the global economy as China retaliated against the US with tariffs. Sales accelerated in the stock markets, wiping out $6 trillion from Wall Street in just two days. The European Union also took action to prevent cheap goods coming from Asia. Experts highlighted the significant danger to the world of the two countries strangling each other.

President Donald Trump’s customs tariffs sent shockwaves through global trade. China wasted no time in reciprocating the unexpected customs tariffs by the US. Trump increased taxes for countries where the US had high trade deficits. The European Union, one of the US’s major trading partners, will face additional taxes of 20%, while China will have 34% and Vietnam 46%. China announced that it would impose a similar 34% tariff on the US. Moreover, China also initiated sanctions on the US’s rare earth exports and certain American companies.
PEKING STRIKES TRUMP AT HEART
American companies selling to the Chinese market were hit hard by the tariff implementations. Experts stated that China’s additional tariffs targeted the US president at his core. Despite this, China did not appear worried about meeting food and other needs from different markets. Nevertheless, experts emphasizing the strong interconnection of global trade noted that the world’s two largest economies strangling each other posed a dangerous situation for the world.

In February, Beijing imposed a 15% tariff on coal and natural gas imported from the US. Also, starting March 18th, China began applying taxes of 10-15% on American products worth $21 billion, which included pork, chicken, soybeans, and other agricultural products as a retaliation against US tariffs.

TURMOIL IN THE US MARKET
China’s retaliatory tariffs accelerated sales in the already weakening US stock market. At the close, the Dow Jones index lost over 2,200 points, decreasing by 5.5% to 38,314.86 points. The S&P 500 index declined by 5.97% to 5,074.08 points, and the Nasdaq index fell by 5.82%, down to 15,587.79 points.

The weekly decline in the indices amounted to 7.9% for the Dow Jones, 9.1% for S&P 500, and 10% for Nasdaq. The sharp drop in the indices over two days resulted in losses exceeding $6 trillion, with approximately $10 trillion wiped from the US markets since Trump took office.

CHINA READINESS IN EUROPE
Meanwhile, it was indicated that obstacles to Chinese manufacturers entering the US market were increasing, leading the European Union (EU) to potentially face an unexpected surge in imports. It was reported that the EU made preparations to prevent cheap goods from Asia flooding European markets. European officials were said to be intensifying import controls due to the tariffs imposed on China and Vietnam.