Market Wire: Markets Reverse Lower As US Confirms 104% Tariffs on China

Markets are in freefall once again after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the US intends to hit imports from China with tariffs as high as 104 percent at 12:01 am tomorrow morning. Several Trump administration officials said the president’s “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of other countries would also take effect at the same time.

The dollar is reversing its gains against most of its peers, and the S&P 500 is back in negative territory after posting a circa-4-percent gain earlier in the session on hopes for a negotiated settlement between the United States and some of its major trading partners.

If no respite is delivered in the coming hours, American businesses and consumers will be hit with an unprecedentedly violent and material rise in import costs, and exporters will undoubtedly suffer severe consequences as other countries retaliate with measures of their own.