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Donald Trump imposed a group of prices in Canada, Mexico and China, causing Beijing reprisals and sending lower stock markets as fears are rising on a trade war.
In the most radical trade measures since his return to the White House in January, the American president succeeded in imports from Canada and Mexico with a price of 25% which entered into force on Tuesday.
The White House also imposed an additional 10% price on Chinese imports in addition to a 10% tax imposed last month.
Trump accused the three countries of not tackling the traffic of fatal fentanyl opioid while also demanding that Mexico and Canada tighten their borders.
The movements made an immediate response from Beijing, which said that it would take a tariff of 10 to 15% from American agricultural products, ranging from soybeans and corn and wheat beef from March 10.
Canada has also unveiled prices out of $ 107 billion in American imports, starting with $ 21 billion in imports immediately. “Canada will not let this unjustified decision remain unanswered,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement.
There was no immediate response from Mexico.
The prices against the three largest trade partners in the United States have increased the rights of some of the highest levels in decades and came after Trump gave Canada and Mexico a 30-day measure of measures.
“Investors have started to really fear Trump’s policies,” said Emmanuel Cau, analyst at Barclays. “If there is a growth problem in the United States that will be difficult to ignore. . . People are nervous, some even start to fear a recession [in the US]. “”
In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 reference fell 1.6%. Germany, heavy, Dax, which posted its best performance on Monday in more than two years, fell by 2.6%.
The car manufacturers, which are among the most exposed since several export vehicles in Canada and Mexico to sell in the United States, were affected, with Volkswagen down 4.7% and Stellantis dropped by 8.2%.
Nikkei 225, heavy with the Japan exporter, slipped 1.2%, while the S&P / P / ASX 200 in Australia fell 0.6%. The Hong Kong Hang Seng index, which dropped by almost 2%during the session, closed 0.3%, while the CSI 300 reference in continental China dropped by 0.1%.
The term contracts on the Wall Street stock market index lowered before the US Open, those following the NASDAQ composite index dominated by technology down 0.7% and those following the S&P 500 down 0.6%.
This follows the steep falls at Wall Street on Monday, the S&P 500 closing 1.8% less and the Nasdaq composite died of 2.6%.
“Actions take a sheet of American movements overnight,” said Mohit Kumar, an economist at Jefferies. “We have had fairly clear movements in American stocks, so I think it’s a reaction to that. If the United States slows down, it is obviously not good for the rest of the world. »»
In the exchange markets, the dollar dropped 0.8% compared to a basket of currencies, including the euro, the yen and the book, after a drop of 0.8% on Monday.
The Peso of Mexico weakened at 0.4% compared to the US dollar at 20.76, although the Canadian dollar increased by 0.5% to $ 1.442 CA compared to the American currency.
The European Commission has warned of large -scale repercussions. “These prices threaten deeply integrated supply chains, investment flows and economic stability across the Atlantic,” he said.
The samples against Ottawa are set at 25% except Canadian oil and energy products, which face a tariff of 10%. Canada represents around 60% of American raw imports.
In its response, China has also targeted American companies, placing 10 companies on a black national security list and striking export controls on 15 others.
He also prohibited the American biotechnology company Illumina from exporting his sequencing equipment to genes to China. Beijing had added Illumina to his list of “unreliable entities” last month in response to the initial Trump prices dam.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce previously retaliated to the American justification for the prices on fentanyl flows, affirming that the claim “does not take into account the facts, the rules of international trade and the votes of all the parties, and is an act typical of non-acaderalism and intimidation”.
Lynn Song, economist of Greater China at ING, said that Beijing’s action – as well as countermeasures last month – targeted a total of around 25% of American exports to China, amounting to “a relatively disposed response compared to 10% wide tariffs implemented by the United States”.
Additional reports by Andy Bounds in Brussels
