United Nations (TDI): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday voiced concern over President Donald Trump’s far-reaching new tariffs on nearly all US trading partners, asserting that in a trade war, nobody wins.
“Our concern right now is with the most vulnerable nations who are the least equipped to deal with the current situation,” his Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told journalists at the regular noon briefing in New York in response to a query.
Asked how would the levies impact the anti-poverty Sustainable Development Goals, Dujarric said, “Negatively.”
On Thursday, Trump announced new tariff hikes that shocked governments and investors around the globe, swiftly spurring both threats of retaliation and calls for talks as industries scrambled and stocks tumbled.
As a result, US stocks dropped further on Friday while China reacted to the trade tariffs with a 34% charge on all US imports into the country.
Read More: China Strikes Back at Trump’s Tariffs
Trump, who has vowed to start a new era of return to massive manufacturing after the “Liberation Day” tariffs, has said he would continue to stick to levies on imports into the United States.
After Thursday’s tumble, the worst in 5 years, the US stock market extended the spiral down and by Friday noon the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1,300 points, or 3.25%, the S&P 500 shed 3.5% of its value while Nasdaq slid by 4%.
Read More: US’s Trading Partners Taken Aback by Trump’s Reciprocal Tariffs
Thursday saw the stocks dropping to their lowest since the June 2020 nosedive when the Covid-19 sent markets crashing.
Among the firms that have lost their shares include corporate giants, tech companies including Meta, Chipmaker Nvidia and electric carmaker Tesla.
