April 3, 2025: Donald Trump presidency news

Global markets closed sharply down Thursday and the dollar wiped out all gains since President Donald Trump’s reelection in November.

The Dow fell 1,679 points, or 3.98%. The broader S&P 500 was down by 4.84% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 5.97%. All three major indexes posted their biggest single-day drop since 2020.

The selloff came after Trump announced Wednesday that a slew of hefty new tariffs would be imposed on practically all goods coming into the United States. That sparked fears that the new policy could trigger significant backlash from trading partners, take down the global economy and spike prices for US consumers on almost all imported goods.

Trump shrugged off the market reaction Thursday, telling reporters, “I think it’s going very well.”

“The markets are going to boom, the stock is going to boom, the country is going to boom,” he said. “I think it’s going to be unbelievable.”

A pumpjack is visible on a field in Seminole, Texas, in February.

Oil prices plunged by the most in nearly three years on Thursday as the energy market was hit by a one-two punch of the escalating trade war and an unexpected supply boost from OPEC+.

US oil futures settled at $66.95 a barrel, marking a 6.6% tumble. It’s the biggest one-day decline for crude since July 2022.

Brent crude, the world benchmark, plunged 6.4% — the most since August 2022 — to finish the day at $70.14 a barrel.

US District Judge James Boasberg said Thursday in a hearing that he is looking at whether “probable cause” exists to hold Trump administration officials in contempt for violating his orders halting the use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans the government has accused of being members of a gang.

The comments from Boasberg mark a significant escalation in a standoff between the administration and the chief judge of the trial-level court in Washington, DC, over deportation flights it allowed to continue last month despite his orders that the government turn the planes around immediately pending a legal challenge to Trump’s use of the sweeping wartime authority.

Boasberg signaled repeatedly during a hearing Thursday afternoon that he was inclined to move forward with contempt proceedings – though he added that he won’t make a decision on whether to do so until next week at the earliest.

President Donald Trump shrugged off market reaction to his Wednesday tariffs announcement at the White House, telling reporters on Thursday, “I think it’s going very well.”

“The markets are going to boom, the stock is going to boom, the country is going to boom,” Trump told reporters gathered on the White House South Lawn. “And the rest of the world wants to see if there’s any way that they can make a deal. They’ve taken advantage of us for many, many years. For many years we’ve been at the wrong side of the ball, and I tell you what, I think it’s going to be unbelievable.”

How the markets are reacting: Global markets on Thursday were severely rattled by Trump’s historic tariff announcement, which threatens to throw the US and the rest of the world into a recession.

The Dow fell 1,400 points, or 3.4%, pulling back from a session low of 1,570 points in the red. The broader S&P 500 was down by 4.3%, hitting its lowest level since September. The tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 5.5% and also hit its lowest level since September. All three major indexes were on pace for their worst day since the 2022 inflation crisis.

But the president instead pointed to new investment announcements under his administration as promising news for the economy.

“The thing that people have to talk about, we have almost a seven trillion dollars of investment coming into our country, and you’ll see how it turns out,” he said. “I think our country is going to boom.”

Mexico’s president announced a raft of economic measures today that she said will strengthen domestic production of steel and aluminum, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and other sectors.

Though Sheinbaum didn’t say the measures were directly related to US tariffs on Mexico, the announcement came a day after US President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping new global tariffs on many countries, including a minimum 10% “baseline” tariff on imports.

Mexico and Canada, though still subject to prior tariffs, were exempt from the new reciprocal tariffs. Sheinbaum earlier said this treatment is due to Mexico’s positive relationship with the US.

During Thursday’s news conference, the Mexican president repeatedly spoke of strong ties with the United States, and she promised to continue a dialogue based on cooperation and “mutual respect.”

Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly speaks to CNN on Thursday, April 3.

As US Secretary of State Marco Rubio grappled with balancing the global shock at President Donald Trump’s new tariffs with a busy NATO agenda in Brussels, his Canadian counterpart said that it’s difficult to focus on the matters at hand when the US is imposing tariffs on most of the world.

Regular people will suffer from not just the tariffs but the growing issue of trust among the US and its allies, Joly said.

“We want to be constructive,” she continued. “We didn’t start this trade war but we’re putting maximum pressure on the White House for President Trump to back off on tariffs. And at the same time we are willing to engage to make sure that we find an offramp.”

For months Joly has vigorously argued against American tariffs on Canada and Trump’s repeated desire to make Canada the 51st state.

The issues being discussed at NATO this week include, defense spending, Euro-Atlantic security, Ukraine and the threats from China and Russia.

“We need to make sure that we pass tough messages [to the US] and at the same time that we keep NATO unity,” Joly told CNN. “We all agreed that we need to get out of the NATO meeting [this week] with a strong NATO unity.”

US stocks were lower Thursday afternoon as investors grappled with President Donald Trump’s decision to impose sweeping tariffs that could escalate a global trade war.

The Dow was lower 1,400 points, or 3.34%. The broader S&P 500 sank 4.1%. The Nasdaq Composite plunged 5.2%.

The Dow and S&P 500 were on pace for their biggest single-day declines since 2022, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq, dragged down by giants like Apple (AAPL) that sank 9%, was on pace for its biggest single-day decline since March 2020.

If the Nasdaq closes 5.16% or lower, it will be the index’s worst day since March 2020. If the Nasdaq closes down less than the 5.16% threshold, it will still be on track for its worst day since 2022.

The Russell 2000, an index of smaller companies, sank 6%. The Russell is down more than 20% from a recent peak in November that was just off a record high, putting the index in a bear market (a 20% decline from a recent high).

European markets were also rattled Thursday:

“Tariff announcement much more Draconian than expected,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research, in an email. “Stocks in freefall due to the expected inflationary impact of these tariffs.”

Judge James Boasberg in Washington, DC, on April 2.

A high-stakes court hearing is underway in Washington, DC, over whether the Trump administration violated a federal judge’s orders halting the use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans the government has accused of being part of a gang.

The so-called show cause hearing before US District Judge James Boasberg started just after 3 p.m. ET.

Attorneys for the administration are expected to advance arguments for why a pair of deportation flights carrying migrants deported pursuant to Trump’s use of the sweeping wartime authority did not run afoul of the judge’s order temporarily blocking such deportations while a legal challenge to his use of the law plays out.

It’s unclear whether Boasberg will issue a decision from the bench.

The White House imposing a 30% tariff on goods from South Africa “could have not come at a worse time” for the African nation, according to William Gumede, an associate professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

South Africa, which was among the roughly 60 countries given tariffs higher than the 10% baseline, is “perhaps in its biggest conflict in the post-apartheid era with the US,” Gumede said.

“They’ve got some bad things going on in South Africa,” US President Donald Trump said during his Rose Garden announcement yesterday, alluding to an ongoing row over a contentious land law in the country.

Gumede said the higher tariffs on South Africa appear to be in line with a trend of higher taxes on imports from countries Trump has deemed “problematic.” The professor said that, compounded by cuts to US aid, there will be “quite devastating” humanitarian and economic impacts.

Some background: A long-debated expropriation act signed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the beginning of the year sought to right some of the wrongs of apartheid by allowing the government to take land and redistribute it. In some circumstances, expropriation is allowed without compensation, but only where it is “just and equitable and in the public interest” — and no seizures of private property have taken place.

In February, Trump signed an executive order aimed at freezing US assistance to South Africa over the law. Trump and South African-born Elon Musk claim the policy discriminates against white farmers.

Coffee beans on a plant are pictured in a coffee plantation in Tarrazu, San Jose province, Costa Rica, on October 18, 2024.

Costa Rica’s Coffee Institute said it is “closely monitoring” US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff announcements, alluding to opportunities that could arise for the Central American country given Trump said he’d impose higher tariffs on some other major coffee exporters.

Costa Rica is among a group of countries that will face the baseline 10% tariff, which will go into effect Saturday. About 60 countries will see tariffs higher than 10%, which will go into effect April 9.

The non-state public institution said in a statement today it presumed the tariff would apply to imports on coffee, but hoped the US would continue to be an important coffee trading partner.

Trump announced his administration would impose a 46% tariff on Vietnam and 18% on Nicaragua.

The Trump administration’s new package of tariffs, which by some measures are the highest in more than a century, could significantly hurt the United States’ economy and have already triggered a huge selloff in global markets.

Now, as countries are beginning to impose retaliatory measures to strike back at the US, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said President Donald Trump will not revise his plans.

However, he did not offer any kind of immediate reward for countries that seek to change their current systems to satisfy the administration.

“America has got to stop being exploited… and then, and only then, will Donald Trump make a deal with each country,” he said.

His comments came as global financial markets experienced their worst trading day since the onset of the pandemic.

Watch portions of the interview:

A drone view shows containers on the day U.S. President Donald Trump is set to announce new tariffs, at the Port of Baltimore, Maryland, on Thursday.

The average American household will pay $2,100 more per year for goods because of the slew of new tariffs President Donald Trump announced Wednesday, the nonpartisan Tax Foundation said.

Trump’s plan will lead to a significant, $900 billion decline in America’s imports, the Tax Foundation says. That decline will come as consumers shift to American goods — or simply choose not to buy certain items that will become too expensive.

Nevertheless, Americans won’t be able to avoid paying more as a result of tariffs. America’s average import tax will surge to 19% this year from 2.5% last year — the highest rate since the Smoot-Hawley era in 1933. Fitch Ratings said the rate would rise even higher, sending America’s effective tariff rate to its highest level in more than a century.

As a result, Americans’ after-tax incomes will decline 2.1% on average this year, the Tax Foundation said. Although no one will escape the tariffs, wealthier Americans’ incomes will decline less, the group found.

Mainstream economists largely agree the US and global economies will plunge into a recession this year if Trump doesn’t loosen up his new trade policy. The Trump administration has been pushing back on those predictions, arguing Trump’s trade actions in his first term were widely predicted to cause inflation to soar and the economy to slow — neither of which happened.

However, Trump in his entire first term put in place tariffs on $380 billion worth of goods. Already, Trump has announced tariffs on more than $2.5 trillion of imports, and he has promised more tariffs are on their way.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said today that American farmers and ranchers “understand that there may be a short time of uncertainty” as President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on at least 10% across all countries — with even higher rates for 60 countries.

Asked about the impact on foreign countries, Rollins pulled out a chart showing their exports and how it compares to the United States.

“I’m not surprised there’s some complaining, but at the end of the day, this president is committed to putting Americans first,” Rollins continued.

Here’s what some lawmakers from agricultural states are saying about the tarriffs:

CNN’s Alison Main, Manu Raju and Veronica Stracqualursi contributed reporting to this post.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives for the North Atlantic Council meeting in NATO foreign ministers format at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, today.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio went straight to the airport to fly to Brussels after President Donald Trump’s bombshell tariffs announcement, setting himself up for some potentially difficult discussions with NATO allies on Thursday, every single one of which was slapped with tariffs.

Officials said the tariffs news was hanging over some of the conversations and meetings, meant to focus on more NATO-specific issues like defense spending and the war in Ukraine. There was no specific meeting planned on trade and economic issues so any chatter was taking place on the margins of the formal sessions.

“And if they are talking about tariffs,” the official continued, “it means they aren’t talking about the other priorities NATO needs to focus on.”

On the surface, Rubio appeared to have been greeted warmly by the alliance’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, and his NATO counterparts. As they gathered for a group photo, Rubio chatted easily with the others, warmly shaking hands and kissing Canada’s foreign minister, Melanie Joly, on the cheeks.

Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen told CNN that the conversations have been “very constructive” and “very positive.”

A senior European official downplayed the impact on the mood in Brussels, saying it hasn’t colored the talks and officials were in fact making jokes about the news.

As was the case at the recent G7 in Canada, which has been furious about Trump’s eagerness to make Canada the 51st state, officials in Brussels appear to be focusing more on the issues they agree on and can advance.

Vehicles cross the Ambassador Bridge, which carries about 25% of all trade between the US and Canada, in Windsor, Ontario, to go to Detroit, Michigan, on Tuesday.

America’s biggest trading partners promised retaliation for President Donald Trump’s massive tariff announcement. The first major response has come in — from Canada.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Canada will levy a 25% counter-tariff on vehicles imported from the United States that are not compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in response to US tariffs on Canadian vehicles and auto parts that went into effect today.

The prime minister said there were no talks scheduled between him and Trump, but he would talk to the US president again “if appropriate.” Carney also said Canada’s counter-tariffs would not affect auto parts.

Though Carney said Canada still considers the US an ally in defense and security, his country “must be looking elsewhere to expand our trade, to build our economy and to protect our sovereignty.”

“The system of global trade anchored on the United States that Canada has relied on since the end of the Second World War, a system that, while not perfect, has helped to deliver prosperity for our country for decades, is over,” Carney said.

Carney added that the Canadian response will “not affect vehicle content from Mexico,” which the prime minister said is respecting the free trade agreements in place.

“We take these measures reluctantly, and we take them in ways that it’s intended and will cause maximum impact in the United States and minimum impact here in Canada,” Carney said, adding that Canada’s other retaliatory tariffs will remain in place.

This post has been updated with additional comments from Carney.

Justice Department attorneys will appear before Judge James Boasberg this afternoon to make its case for why the Trump administration did not violate his orders halting the use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans the government has accused of being part of a gang.

The so-called show cause hearing represents the closest a federal judge has come to deciding whether the administration has defied a judicial command.

While other judges around the US have considered in recent months whether the government violated their orders in disputes over federal funding and transgender rights, Thursday’s hearing goes much further as it’s the first step in Boasberg potentially holding officials in contempt and possibly ordering sanctions.

The case has emerged as one of the highest-profile and most contentious court battles of President Donald Trump’s second term, with the president calling for Boasberg’s impeachment over his handling of the matter, leading to a rare rebuke of the rhetoric from Chief Justice John Roberts.

What the Trump administration is saying: Vice President JD Vance told Fox News earlier today that the Trump administration will keep up its legal battle over the president invoking the Alien Enemies Act.

The administration last month filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court asking the justices to overturn Boasbergs order blocking further deportations under the act, after a similar appeal failed in DC Court of Appeals. The vice president said he thinks the Supreme Court will overrule the lower courts’ decisions.

This comes as the Trump administration in a court filing Monday conceded it had mistakenly deported a Maryland father to El Salvador. Vance on Thursday claimed the man had been part of the MS-13 gang, despite the man’s attorneys saying he is not a member of nor has any ties to the MS-13 gang.

Read more about today’s high-stakes hearing.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading today in New York City.

Wall Street’s fear gauge skyrocketed Thursday as investors express shock over President Donald Trump’s historic tariff increase.

While US markets and blue-chip stocks like Apple tumble, the VIX volatility index, also known as the “fear gauge,” surged 30%. It’s on track for the biggest one-day increase since a Federal Reserve-fueled selloff in December.

“The market is saying this isn’t just bad economics, it’s bad mathematics,” Michael Block, market strategist at Third Seven Capital, told CNN in a phone interview.

Block pointed to the dubious way the Trump administration appeared to have calculated its reciprocal tariffs.

“They’re ignoring every rule of classic micro and macroeconomics. This is the policymaking equivalent of a suicide bomber,” Block said.

Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab, told CNN many investors assumed in the past that Trump was just using tariffs as a negotiating tool.

“Now the market is saying, ‘Wait. This is actually happening. We should have taken him at his word,’” Sonders said. “What we weren’t liberated from yesterday is uncertainty,” she added, referencing Trump’s branding of Wednesday as “Liberation Day.”

Sonders added that the actual tariff announcement was far more aggressive than Wall Street was bracing for.

(L-R:) Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz “agreed to strengthen the diverse trade relationship” between their two countries after a call Thursday morning, Carney said.

Carney has made a point of turning to other countries as alternative trade and security partners to reduce Canada’s reliance on the United States.

The prime minister — who assumed the role after his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, announced his resignation in January — visited France and the United Kingdom for his first trip abroad, and days later announced a deal with Australia for military radar.

iPhone 16 phones are seen on display at the Fifth Avenue Apple Store on new products launch day on September 20, 2024 in New York City.

Apple shares tumbled nearly 9% Thursday morning, following tech stocks and wider markets lower in the wake of President Donald Trump’s massive tariff announcements on Wednesday.

Many tech giants, including the iPhone maker, produce gadgets abroad in places like China, Vietnam and India, and could take a significant hit from tariffs when importing those goods for US consumers.

Around 90 minutes after the market opened on Thursday, Apple stock was down 9%, Microsoft stock was down 3%, Meta stock was down 8%, Amazon stock was down 9%, Google stock was down 4% and Tesla stock was down 7%.

If Apple’s stock price ends Thursday at the same level, it will mark its largest one-day decline since March 12, 2020, when businesses across the globe shut down because of the pandemic. Thursday’s share price decline shaved more than $293 billion off Apple’s market value compared to Wednesday’s close. The company’s valuation is down $800 billion from its all-time high.

Apple, which had been struggling with sluggish iPhone sales in recent years, could feel the pain from tariffs even more than its fellow tech giants.

Zino added that Apple is likely to handle tariffs by attempting to increase supply chain efficiencies, eating some of the cost itself and raising costs for customers. But the company “will have a tough time passing through more than 5%-10% of the costs to consumers … and any major increase could have a detrimental impact to revenue,” he said.

Gary Friedman, the CEO of luxury furniture retailer Restoration Hardware, was on a conference call with analysts discussing the company’s reported quarterly earnings Wednesday when news broke of Trump’s tariffs.

RH gets a huge chunk of its merchandise from Asia, and the company is highly exposed to Trump’s levies on China, Vietnam, Taiwan and other Asian countries.

“It got hit when I think the tariffs came out,” he said. “And everybody can see in our (annual report) where we’re sourcing from, so it’s not a secret, and we’re not trying to disguise it.”

RH’s shares plunged more than 40% during early trading Thursday, on track for the worst day in company history.

Retail stocks are in free fall Thursday, as much of the industry is heavily reliant on imports and will be damaged by the tariffs. Large global clothing, footwear, home goods and other brands source nearly all of their products from outside the United States.

Best Buy, Lululemon, Macy’s and other chains plunged by double-digits and were among the worst performers on the S&P 500 Thursday.

The U.S. Capitol building is reflected in a car parked on the East Front plaza on Monday in Washington, DC.

Some Republican senators struggled today to defend the short-term strain on Americans from President Donald Trump’s newly announced sweeping global tariff policies. They argued that it could help Americans in the long run even as they were worried about the immediate impact on prices.

Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma said he still had “a lot of questions” about how the tariffs will be rolled out, adding that some products will “benefit” while tariffs will be a “detriment” for others, like “clothing, electronics, some of those things that are only made overseas now.”

Lankford conceded “there will be short-term impact. There’s no doubt.” Pressed by CNN on Trump’s campaign promise to lower prices, Lankford responded, “I think you’ve got to be able to take it where he means it on that,” pointing to egg prices now declining from exceedingly high levels.

Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who has been “concerned” about tariffs, said he’s willing to give Trump “the benefit of the doubt,” adding “there’s no doubt that we’ve lost critical manufacturing overseas.”

He called tariffs a “double-edged sword,” saying Trump has used the policy effectively in the past and is announcing investments in the US, as well as lowering barriers to trade with other countries. Pressed on how long he’s willing to give Trump the benefit of the doubt, Johnson answered, “I can’t predict that.”

Sen. Rick Scott blamed “fiscal insanity,” driven by increased spending, for the inflation that is putting a strain on Americans’ pocketbooks, adding he’s “really excited” about Trump’s tariff announcement. The Florida Republican said his focus in campaigns has been on “how do we get more American jobs? That’s what this is going to do.”

Republican Leader John Thune, who hails from the agricultural state of South Dakota, said the short-term market reaction to Trump’s tariffs proposal was not “unexpected” even as he cautioned there must be vigilance to make sure certain sectors of the economy aren’t damaged by the long-term impacts of the tariffs.

This September 2024 photo shows Laura Loomer in Philadelphia.

The White House fired at least three National Security Council staffers on Wednesday, three sources familiar with the move told CNN.

The firings came after a meeting in which far-right activist Laura Loomer, who once claimed 9/11 was an inside job, urged President Donald Trump to get rid of some National Security Council staff, including his principal deputy national security adviser, claiming they are disloyal. One of the sources said the firings were a direct result of the meeting with Loomer.

It was not immediately apparent on Thursday whether principal deputy national security adviser Alex Wong was among those who had been dismissed. One of the sources speculated that national security adviser Michael Waltz may have been reluctant to fire him because he has been embroiled in the controversy surrounding the recent Signal chat debacle.

The three officials include Brian Walsh, a director for intelligence and a former top staffer for now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the Senate Intelligence Committee; Thomas Boodry, a senior director for legislative affairs who previously served as Waltz’s legislative director in Congress; and David Feith, a senior director overseeing technology and national security who served in the State Department during Trump’s first administration.

CNN has reached out to the National Security Council.

Waltz had been in the Oval Office for other meetings when Loomer arrived Wednesday for a private audience with Trump and stayed as the president met with Loomer.

Loomer told CNN on Thursday that she wasn’t divulging details of the Oval Office meeting out of respect for Trump.

A Volkswagen Passat R and a Golf GTI are pictured in the tower storage facility of German carmaker Volkswagen at the company's headquarters plant in Wolfsburg, central Germany, on March 11.

Volkswagen has told its US dealers that cars it imports from Europe and Mexico will now break out the cost of the 25% tariffs imposed this week on the stickers that consumers look at when shopping for a car.

While Volkswagen does make the electric ID.4 and the gasoline powered Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport for the US market at a plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which together made up about a third of its US sales last year. But other models will be hit with the tariffs on imported vehicles that went into effect early Thursday. It imports the Volkswagen Jetta, Taos and Tiguan from a plant in Mexico, and other models from Germany.

Keep in mind: VW’s US dealers have a 50- to 60-day supply of new-vehicle inventory, and those vehicles, and those already in the United States and in transit to dealers, will not be hit with the 25% tariff, and thus will not have the fee added to its sticker price.

The tariffs could add thousands of dollars to the cost of all imported vehicles. For example the Taos small SUV has a manufacturer’s suggested list price of about $25,000. Tariffs can be somewhat lowered by the value of the American parts used to build a vehicle in Canada and Mexico but the Taos has only about 15% US content, according to US government data. So the Taos could be hit with about $5,000 in tariff costs.

The situation remains fluid, but VW told Automotive News that the tariffs have caused anxiety among dealers and consumers.

Talia Cadet, TikTok creator and advocate, uses a phone outside of the U.S. Court of Appeals hears oral arguments in the case TikTok Inc. v. Merrick Garland on September 16.

Vice President JD Vance said the Trump administration will reach a deal on TikTok before the April 5 deadline – assuring that they are in “a good place” but reluctant to get ahead of President Trump on any official announcement.

Addressing potential security concerns from the app’s existence on US devices, Vance said, “You want to make sure that the TikTok app in the United States is not spying on people.”

But he said that has to balance with the large number of Americans who use and enjoy TikTok.

“We got to accomplish both of those things. I think that we’re in a good place. We’re going to keep on working at it, but I’ll let the President make that announcement,” Vance said.

As CNN reported, advisers to Trump, including Vance, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick presented the president with options for a deal to invest in TikTok on Wednesday, including a number of well-heeled venture capital, private equity funds and tech companies.

Oil prices plunged on Thursday on worries that President Donald Trump’s trade war will slow the world economy and that OPEC is oversupplying the market.

US oil futures plummeted 7% to $66.52 a barrel, leaving crude on track for its worst day since July 2022. Brent crude, the world benchmark, tumbled 6%.

OPEC+ surprised investors on Thursday by announcing Saudi Arabia, Russia and six other members have agreed to sharply accelerate previously scheduled production increases starting in May.

The unexpected move by OPEC+ amplified concerns about the economic fallout of Trump’s massive tariff escalation.

If the intensifying trade war slows the flow of goods and services, it will hurt demand for energy like crude oil.

“The good news is prices at the pump will go down. But if we’re going into recession, you won’t be going to the pump as much,” Yawger said.

The Stellantis Windsor Assembly Plant in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, on February 4.

Stellantis says it has “paused production” at some of its Canadian and Mexican auto assembly plants due to the newly announced tariffs, and that as a result, some US workers will also be temporarily laid off.

Stellantis said that 900 US hourly employees who make powertrains and stampings that supply the affected Canadian and Mexican plants will be among those laid-off due to reduced production prompted by the tariffs. They work at five different Midwest plants — the Warren Stamping and Sterling Stamping plants in Michigan, as well as the Indiana Transmission Plant, Kokomo Transmission Plant and Kokomo Casting Plant, all in Kokomo, Indiana.

The assembly plant in Windsor, Ontario, which produces the Chrysler Pacifica and Voyager, and Dodge Charge Daytona, will be closed for two weeks starting Monday, and the assembly plant in Toluca, Mexico, which makes the Jeep Compass and electric Wagoneer S, will be closed for the rest of April, also starting Monday.

Mike Pistillo Jr., center, works with other traders on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, on Thursday.

US stocks opened sharply lower on Thursday as global markets were severely rattled by President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which threaten to plunge the US and the rest of the world into a recession.

The Dow fell 1,500 points, or 3.6%, in morning trading. The broader S&P 500 index was 3.95% lower, hitting its lowest level since September and on pace for its worst day since the 2022 inflation crisis. The tech-heavy Nasdaq sank 4.9%.

Global markets also tumbled Thursday. Europe’s benchmark STOXX 600 index fell 2.34% and Germany’s DAX index was down 2.29%. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index sank 2.77% and Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng index fell 1.52%.

The significant declines come after Trump’s massive tariffs imposed on practically all goods coming into the United States sparked fears that the new policy could trigger significant backlash from trading partners and take down the global economy.

Stocks leading US markets lower included companies that rely on international supply chains that will be subject tariffs. Apple (AAPL) sank 9%. Nike (NKE) tumbled 13%. Ralph Lauren (RL) and Best Buy (BBY) each plunged 16%.

Investors poured money into safe-haven assets. Gold surged to a new record Wednesday above $3,160 a troy ounce, and Treasury bond yields fell sharply. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to its lowest level since October. Bonds and prices trade in opposite directions. Gold, which hovered above $3,100 a troy ounce Thursday morning, is up 19% this year and just posted its best quarter since 1986.

Vice President JD Vance said that Elon Musk will remain an adviser and friend to himself and President Donald Trump, even after his time as a special government employee ends after 130 days.

Vance also called Politico reporting that Trump was telling members of his inner circle, including Cabinet officials, that Musk will leave soon “total fake news.”

“Elon came in and we said, we need you to make government more efficient. We need you to shrink the incredible fast bureaucracy that thwarts the will of the American people but also cost way too much money. And we said, that’s going to take about six months, and that’s what Elon signed up for,” Vance said.

“But of course, he’s going to continue to be an adviser. And by the way, the work of DOGE is not even close to done. The work of Elon is not even close to done,” Vance added.

Asked about his own presidential ambitions, Vance said that he and Trump would cross that bridge when they come to it in 2028. This comes as Trump said “there are methods” for seeking a third term and that he is “not joking” about it.

U.S. President Donald Trump holds up a chart while speaking during a “Make America Wealthy Again” trade announcement event in the Rose Garden at the White House on Wednesday.

The day after announcing expansive new tariffs in a major escalation of his trade war, President Donald Trump on Thursday claimed “the operation is over,” adding, “The patient lived, and is healing.”

“The prognosis is that the patient will be far stronger, bigger, better and more resilient than ever before. Make America Great Again!!!” he claimed.

On Wednesday, Trump declared a US economic emergency and announced tariffs of at least 10% across all countries, with rates even higher for 60 countries or trading blocs that have a high trade deficit with the US.

Stock markets across Asia-Pacific and Europe fell Thursday after the announcement.

Watch the video below for more on Trump’s tariff announcement yesterday:

Trade associations representing an array of industries in Europe have been scathing toward US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose sweeping tariffs on the continent.

Trump’s tariffs are a “fundamental turning point in trade policy,” the head of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) said Thursday. All car imports entering the US will now face a universal 25% tariff, while all other exports from the European Union will be hit with a 20% tariff.

The Spanish Wine Federation (FEV) said the 20% tariff on EU products will deal a “significant blow” to Spain’s wine industry and lead to higher prices for US consumers.

“The tariffs announced by the US are completely unjustified in the specific case of wine, considering that the current tariff gap between the tariffs applied by the EU and the US is minimal,” FEV Director José Luis Benítez said in a statement Thursday.

The Irish Farmers’ Association said the tariffs would “impact the competitiveness” of Irish products, like Kerrygold butter.

“Kerrygold is now the second best-selling butter brand in the US, where we sent almost 500 million euros (about $554 million) worth of product in 2024. The market accounts for about 7.5% of our total dairy exports,” it said in a statement.

A trader runs on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the opening bell in New York City on Thursday.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt during a CNN interview Thursday tried to calm investors’ worries about the impact of President Donald Trump‘s Wednesday announcement he will impose tariffs of at least 10% across all countries.

“To anyone on Wall Street this morning, I would say trust in President Trump,” Leavitt said. “This is a president who is doubling down on his proven economic formula from his first term.”

When asked if there is any chance Trump will pull back on implementing these tariffs before they go into effect this weekend, Leavitt said, “The president made it clear yesterday this is not a negotiation. This is a national emergency. He’s always willing to pick up the phone to answer calls, but he laid out the case yesterday for why we are doing this.”

Leavitt said the president would not reassess his strategy if the tariffs violate an article of the NATO treaty, telling CNN’s Kate Bolduan, “The president is firm in his approach.”

More on tariffs: Leavitt encouraged people to “buy American.” She added that the White House is looking at options to ease the pain for Americans that Trump warned could come after the tariffs.

“We’re working on that every single day. The American people and the naysayers need to look at the whole of government economic approach that this administration is taking,” Leavitt said.

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance arrives for a "Make America Wealthy Again" trade announcement event in the Rose Garden at the White House on Wednesday.

Vice President JD Vance said the sweeping tariffs President Donald Trump signed on Wednesday are “a big change,” but a necessary one, railing against a “globalist economy” that has caused the United States to incur “a huge amount of debt to buy things that other countries make for us.”

“We borrow money from Chinese peasants to buy the things those Chinese peasants manufacture. That is not a recipe for economic prosperity. It’s not a recipe for low prices, and it’s not a recipe for good jobs in the United States of America,” Vance told “Fox & Friends.”

Vance said while the administration is “fighting very hard” to lower prices, change wouldn’t happen overnight. He also seemed to suggest that high prices would be the result of inflation inherited from the Biden administration, rather than these new actions taken by Trump in office.

As Republicans pursue a tax bill as part of Trump’s agenda, Vance said he wouldn’t view the tax cuts as a means to “offset” the tariffs, rather a “total shift” in economic policy that will reward American workers and companies.

Bringing up his own background growing up poor in Ohio and Kentucky, Vance acknowledged how Americans are concerned about the cost of living.

“I grew up in a family that often did live paycheck to paycheck, and we know a lot of Americans are worried, so we are fighting very hard to bring prices down,” Vance said.

Stock markets on Thursday were severely rattled by President Donald Trump’s historic tariff announcement, which threatens to plunge the US and global economies into a recession.

Dow futures tumbled 1,200 points, or 2.87%. The broader S&P 500 index was set to open 3.5% lower and was on pace for its worst day since the 2022 inflation crisis. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was set to sink 4.2% at the open. Global markets also fell sharply Thursday.

The significant declines come after Trump’s massive tariffs imposed on practically all goods coming into the United States sparked fears that the new policy could trigger significant backlash from trading partners and take down the global economy.

That’s part of the reason the US dollar fell to its weakest level since October on Thursday. Tariffs in theory should boost the dollar, but investors’ concerns that the United States is creating a self-inflicted wound that would stymie its long-term growth sent the dollar sinking against other global currencies.

Similarly, investors poured money into safe-haven assets. Gold surged to a new record Wednesday above $3,160 a troy ounce, and Treasury bond yields fell sharply. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to its lowest level since October. Bonds and prices trade in opposite directions. Gold, which hovered above $3,060 a troy ounce Thursday morning, is up 19% this year and just posted its best quarter since 1986.

Charts that show the “reciprocal tariffs” the U.S. is charging other countries are on display at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House yesterday in Washington, DC.

“How did Trump calculate the first column of tariffs charged to the US?” Juan in Nicaragua asks.

At first, trade economists were flummoxed by how the tariffs had been calculated.

But the crude methodology used by the White House to calculate the list of “reciprocal” global tariffs has since become clear.

The Trump administration used a simple formula: It took each country’s trade deficit with the US, divided it by the value of that country’s exports to the US – and then divided this figure by half, in a gesture of “kindness.”

Let’s take this step-by-step, using official US data and the example of Vietnam, which President Donald Trump claimed imposed a 90% tariff on US goods and therefore would get a 46% “reciprocal” tariff of its own.

In 2024, Vietnam, a massive and growing global manufacturing hub, sold $136.6 billion worth of goods to the US.

Because Americans want to buy things like Nike shoes a lot more than Vietnamese want to buy things like Ford cars, the US sold a lot less to Vietnam. Vietnam bought just $13.1 billion of goods from the US that same year.

Subtracting $13.1 billion from $136.6 billion gives Vietnam a trade surplus of $123.5 billion with the US. But one man’s trade surplus is another man’s trade deficit – which Trump has made clear he finds unpalatable, akin to being “ripped off.”

Dividing the $123.5 billion by $136.6 billion (the value of Vietnam’s exports to the US) gives 0.90 – or, in percentage terms, 90%. In a supposed act of “kindness,” Trump nearly halved this, meaning Vietnam will “only” now face a tariff of 46%.

With few exceptions, the White House repeated this methodology for all countries on its tariff chart. To be clear, these countries are being punished for having trade surpluses with the US – not because they had imposed a “tariff” on goods traded with the world’s largest economy.

The trend was first pointed out by James Surowiecki, a financial writer, in a post on X.

This post has been updated with additional information.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a press conference at the NATO foreign ministers' meeting at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US will remain in NATO as he stressed the importance of the strength of the alliance during remarks in Brussels, Belgium even after President Donald Trump has cast doubt on his support for the organization.

Rubio’s comments surround concerns that the US will pull out of the alliance after President Donald Trump’s willingness to embrace Russia’s Vladimir Putin and casting doubt over whether he would defend NATO allies “if they don’t pay.”

Similar rhetoric came from Vice President JD Vance, who told European leaders they must “step up in a big way to provide for its own defense” during remarks in Munich in February. He also said the biggest threat to their security was “from within,” while using his first major speech at the Munich Security Conference to lambast European politicians.

Rubio said he wants NATO to be stronger and have more capabilities among the US’ partners.

“We want NATO to be stronger. We want NATO to be more viable. And the only way NATO can get stronger and more viable is if our partners, the nation states that comprise this important alliance have more capability. This is a collection not just to partners and allies, but of advanced economies, of rich countries, who have the capability to do more. We understand that’s a trade off. We have to do it every single year in our country,” he said.

Rubio is in Brussels, where NATO is headquartered, for meetings with officials.

Good morning and welcome back to our coverage of the latest on Trump’s presidency.

While we’ll be focusing on other developments today, tariffs are still a hot topic.

Cristina from Italy has asked, “Do tariffs apply retroactively to orders made before yesterday and not yet delivered?”

In response to your question, Cristina, typically tariffs are assessed in the United States once the goods being shipped arrive at one of the 328 points of entry into the US designated by Customs and Border Protection to take in imports, including airports, railways, roads and ports. So it would not matter when the goods were loaded onto a ship.

But upon looking into your question further, we discovered that there’s an exception laid out in the executive order President Donald Trump signed yesterday.

It states:

Now there are some practicality issues there, like how will CBP monitor all this? How can you verify when goods were loaded, etc. But theoretically, orders that haven’t yet been delivered could escape some of the new tariffs set to go into effect.

Got questions for us about the tariffs? Ask us here.

Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly described when tariffs will be assessed under Trump’s new executive order. This post has been updated with details from the executive order.

A pedestrian walks past an electronic board displaying the closing figure of the Nikkei 225 Stock Average in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 plunged to an eight-month low.

Stock markets across the Asia-Pacific and Europe fell Thursday and US markets were also set to open lower after US President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on trading partners around the world.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed 2.8% down, while South Korea’s Kospi index closed less than 1% lower.

Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index closed 1.5% down. In Europe, the region’s benchmark Stoxx 600 index was trading 2% lower at 6.45 a.m. ET, while France’s CAC was 2.5% down and Germany’s DAX fell more than 2%. London’s FTSE 100 had fallen 1.5% by the same time.

Falling US stock futures also pointed to a difficult day ahead.Dow futures were 2.8% down and S&P 500 futures 3.4% lower. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was set to open 3.8% lower.

President Donald Trump delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House on Wednesday.

What US President Donald Trump called “Liberation Day” would better be called “Inflation Day,” said Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee.

The tariffs unveiled by Trump “will really harm people on the ground,” Lange said Thursday at a news conference in Strasbourg, France.

Lange called Trump’s tariff announcement a “mess” that is “unfair” to producers in the United States, Europe and the Global South.

So, we’ve had a few hours to process exactly what these tariffs might look like — and their potential impact. But, there’s a lot to unpack.

If you still have questions, let us know what they are below and we’ll try to answer them here.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks during a press conference at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on Thursday.

Leaders around the world are responding to US President Donald Trump’s announcement of tariffs on virtually every country.

These are the latest countries to respond:

This post has been updated with further reaction from international leaders.

U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by White House staff secretary Will Scharf, signs executive orders imposing tariffs on imported goods in the Rose Garden at the White House on Wednesday.

US President Donald Trump has announced sweeping global tariffs of at least 10% on imports from all countries, as well as increased tariffs on dozens of nations, from Nicaragua to Cambodia.

The tariffs come on top of previously imposed taxes on imports of steel, aluminum and cars, which came into effect at midnight.

The tariffs upend a century of American global trade policy and threaten to destabilize the world economy.

Here’s what you need to know:

The meteorological station on the Norwegan island of Jan Mayen in 2009. The island has no permanent residents but faces 10% tariffs.

The tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump target not only economic superpowers but also financial minnows. A White House list notes some territories with no economy, and no people, at all.

That is the exact case of the uninhabited Heard Island and McDonald Islands, an Australian territory in the southern Indian Ocean that was hit with a 10% tariff.

Another Australian territory targeted by tariffs is the Cocos Islands. The territory of 600 people sends 32% of its exports – ships – to the US. They now face a 10% tariff.

The Norwegian island of Jan Mayen faces 10% tariffs. But no one lives there permanently and it has an economy of zero.

Tokelau, a territory of New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean, has a population of about 1,600. It has an economy of about $8 million and exports of around $100,000, the CIA says. It too faces 10% tariffs.

One enclave hit hard by Trump’s tariffs is Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a French territory of islands near the Canadian province of Newfoundland. Its exports – “processed crustaceans, shellfish,” according to the CIA World Factbook – are now subject to a whopping US tariff of 50%, way more than France faces (20%) as part of the European Union.

The Marshall Islands in the North Pacific is a key American military installation. Washington is responsible for the defense of the islands under a Compact of Free Association. The CIA says it has exports of about $130 million a year, though the US is not listed as a top destination. Those now face 10% tariffs if coming to the US.

Read the full story.

An employee stocks a shelf at a Target store in the Flatbush neighborhood of the Brooklyn, New York, on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump’s newly announced tariffs will lead to higher costs for American families, the National Retail Federation warned.

“Tariffs are a tax paid by the US importer that will be passed along to the end consumer,” David French, the trade organization’s executive vice president of government relations, said in a statement yesterday. “Tariffs will not be paid by foreign countries or suppliers.”

The immediate implementation of these tariffs is a “massive undertaking” and could negatively affect millions of US businesses, he noted. The tariffs are expected to have a disproportionate effect on local communities and, especially, small retailers.

Earlier today, the NRF released its 2025 retail sales forecast, projecting growth of between 2.7% and 3.7% to between $5.42 trillion and $5.48 trillion, marking a likely pullback from the 3.6% annual sales growth notched last year.

“It’s the hard data on employment, income and tariff-induced inflation — not consumer sentiment — that supports our view of a slower trajectory for consumer spending,” Jack Kleinhenz, the NRF’s chief economist, said in a statement.