Markets Plummet After Trump Slaps Tariffs On World

U.S. stocks nosedived on Thursday, with the Dow tumbling 1,679.39 points as President Donald Trump’s latest slate of tariffs sent shockwaves through markets across the globe.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 3.98%, to close at 40,545.93, marking its worst session since June 2020, while the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 5.97% and ended at 16,550.61, registering its biggest drop since March 2020, and the S&P 500 dropped to its lowest level since before Trump’s November 2024 presidential election victory. The plunge in U.S. stocks came after Trump announced on Wednesday a baseline 10% tariff on all foreign countries, as well as individualized higher tariffs on countries with which the U.S. has the largest trade deficits, as part of what he deemed “Liberation Day.”

Trump’s baseline 10% tariffs on foreign countries will take effect on Saturday while the individualized higher tariffs will take effect on April 9, according to a White House fact sheet published Wednesday. The White House claimed in the fact sheet that the tariffs will “strengthen the international economic position of the United States and protect American workers.”

The White House further claimed that tariffs are “necessary to ensure fair trade, protect American workers, and reduce the trade deficit.”

The U.S. has been engaged in a contentious trade dispute