Summary

  • China says it will "fight to the end" after US president Donald Trump threatened to hit Beijing with an extra 50% tariff if it doesn't withdraw its retaliatory levy on Tuesday

  • Beijing's commerce ministry accuses the Trump administration of blackmail and says his tariffs are "a typical unilateral bullying practice"

  • The new tariffs could leave some US companies bringing in certain goods from China facing a 104% tax - here's a timeline of how the tit-for-tat tariffs have unfolded

  • Most Asian markets opened higher on Tuesday, although Taiwan saw a further 4% fall

  • Europe's biggest stock markets - including London's FTSE 100 - all closed over 4% down on Monday

Media caption,

Watch: World leaders react as higher tariffs due to take effect

  1. 'It’s looking to be a better day' for the UK stock marketpublished at 07:07 British Summer Time

    After a more positive performance from Asian markets, there are indications that European shares will also see a rebound when trading starts at 08:00 BST this morning.

    Rachel Winter, a partner and investment manager at Killik & Co, tells the BBC's Today programme that "it’s looking to be very much a better day".

    The futures market - which gives an indication of how markets will perform - suggests the UK's FTSE 100 share index will open about 2% higher.

    However, the futures market can be volatile, so can change quite a bit before the market opens officially.

  2. Watch: Reckless rollout of tariffs brings great risks, says Hong Kong’s leaderpublished at 06:56 British Summer Time

    Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee says President Trump's "reckless imposition" of tariffs has far-reaching effects on global trade.

    Lee says the levies "will disrupt the world economic and trade order, bring great risks and uncertainties to the world".

    He adds that Hong Kong will look to deepen trade with South East Asia and the Middle East, and sell more to mainland China in response to tariffs.

  3. Major Asian markets make gains after 'calamitous' Mondaypublished at 06:37 British Summer Time

    Mariko Oi
    Asia business correspondent

    Two men in front of a digital screen showing share prices in Japan. One is wearing red, cleaning it, the other walks past wearing a suit, looking toward the ground.Image source, Reuters

    After three days of a sharp sell-off, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index opened 6% higher today.

    Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up about 2% - after plunging yesterday by more than 13%, its biggest fall in decades.

    The markets in South Korea and Australia have also edged up - while in Taiwan and Singapore there have been more losses.

    The key index in mainland China, the Shanghai Composite, was broadly flat in morning trading.

    One trader described what was happening across Asia as a "natural market bounce following Monday's calamities".

  4. What can Starmer do in a world buffeted by Trump?published at 06:26 British Summer Time

    Chris Mason
    Political editor

    Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves in a car factoryImage source, Getty Images

    As if the economic picture in the UK wasn't shaky already, it has now got shakier still.

    The cost of living is continuing to bite for many and people will worry about the prospect of recession.

    It is the last thing the government could do with. It is the last thing millions of families could do with.

    New polling for More In Common suggests two-thirds of people in the UK are worried about America's tariffs, with just over half fearing it will make cost-of-living pressures even greater.

    And nearly twice as many people in the UK would support the government retaliating with its own tariffs on America as those who oppose the idea.

    For now, the prime minister and senior ministers are doing what plenty of governments around the world are doing: scrambling to work out how to respond and hitting the phones to ask each other just that.

  5. Analysis

    China is not backing down following Trump's threatpublished at 06:12 British Summer Time

    Stephen McDonell
    China correspondent, Beijing

    A large display of the Shanghai Composite Index, with people walking in front of it.Image source, Getty Images

    Beijing has indicated that it will hold firm in the face of renewed threats from Donald Trump.

    China’s Commerce Ministry said that any more tariffs from the US would trigger extra “countermeasures” targeting American goods.

    In a written statement it accused the Trump administration of blackmail and said that “if the US insists on this way, China will fight it to the end”.

    It also ridiculed Donald Trump’s claim that his tariffs are “reciprocal” saying that they were “groundless” and “a typical unilateral bullying practice”.

    It seems hard to believe that Donald Trump would have really expected China to reverse last week’s “countermeasures” in the face of his promised next round of retaliation.

    Apart from losing face, if the Chinese government is describing Donald Trump as a bully, it is hardly going to back down to this person.

    By taking a firm stand against the Trump-instigated global trade chaos, China may also hope to attract not only international political support but also extra trade volumes from new partners, which might make up for some of the loss of sales into America.

    But the Communist Party doesn’t really need a trade war now. It comes at a time of high economic pressures at home.

    Policymakers had already been struggling to increase increase domestic consumption, with a sluggish economy reeling from years of a major property crisis and persistent youth unemployment. Now it is facing a potential collapse in trade with the world’s other superpower.

    Still, the Chinese Communist Party has sent a confident message to the Chinese population today, in the form of an editorial in the mouthpiece People’s Daily newspaper.

    “China has the courage and confidence to deal with the impact... it is fully capable of meeting these challenges,” it said.

  6. What's happened so farpublished at 05:55 British Summer Time

    Two men walk past a screen showing Chinese stock market movementsImage source, Getty Images

    Good morning to our readers in Europe and the UK. If you're just joining us, here are the latest developments:

    • US President Donald Trump has threatened China with an extra 50% tariff on goods imported into the America if Beijing does not withdraw its plans to retaliate
    • China's commerce ministry has said it will never accept the "blackmail nature" of the US and vowed to fight against tariffs "to the end".
    • Several Chinese state-owned firms have pledged to support financial markets as trade tensions with the US escalate. China's financial regulator also plans to increase the proportion of insurance funds investing in the stock market
    • Analysts have said China is unlikely to back down as it will not want to "appear weak", even though the proposed tariffs could cripple the Chinese exports sector
    • Most Asian markets opened higher on Tuesday, recouping huge losses seen a day earlier, although Taiwan saw a further fall
  7. Analysis

    No end in sight for tit-for-tat tariffspublished at 05:42 British Summer Time

    Peter Hoskins
    Business reporter, Singapore

    Shortly after coming back to the White House Donald Trump returned to one of his favourite themes - lashing out at China over trade. But his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping is showing no signs of backing down.

    In February, Trump imposed a new 10% tariff on all goods from China.

    Beijing immediately hit back with a number of countermeasures, including duties on US coal, liquefied natural gas and agricultural machinery.

    The following month, Trump doubled the tariff on Chinese goods to 20%.

    Again, China retaliated with more tariffs of up to 15% on key US agricultural products and tightened controls on American firms operating in the country.

    Last week, on the US president's so-called Liberation Day, he unveiled plans to raise the import tax on Chinese goods to 54%, although some items, like pharmaceuticals and computer chips, were exempted.

    Yet again, Beijing responded with new measures, including additional export controls on rare earth minerals and suspended imports of more farm goods from some US firms. It also filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization, added 27 American firms to lists of companies facing trade restrictions and started an anti-monopoly investigation into DuPont China Group Co.

    On Monday, Trump threatened a massive hike to tariffs, which if actually imposed would mean almost all Chinese imports will be subject to a 104% tariff.

    China has said it will "fight to the end".

    All of which suggest that we probably won't see an end to this trade war any time soon.

  8. Bangladesh calls on US to pause tariff planspublished at 05:26 British Summer Time

    Bangladesh's interim government has formally asked the US to pause its tariff plans for three months.

    This will allow the South Asian country to "smoothly implement its initiative to substantially increase US exports to Bangladesh," the office of interim leader Muhammad Yunus said.

    The office added that it has already agreed to buy more US goods including energy, cotton and wheat.

    Bangladesh is the third largest supplier of clothing to the US, after China and Vietnam. It faces a 37% levy on its exports later this week.

    Workers manufacture thread for the ready-made garment industry in a textile mill on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh on 28 January 2025.Image source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Bangladesh's economy heavily relies on the clothing industry

  9. BBC Verify

    Is the US running a $1tn deficit with China?published at 05:17 British Summer Time

    By Gerry Georgieva

    US President Donald Trump has claimed several times that the United States is running a $1tn trade deficit with China.

    But we can’t find any evidence for this.

    The US does run a trade deficit with China, meaning that it imports more in goods from that country than it exports to it. But the figure was just over $295bn for 2024, external.

    Globally, in 2024, China exported nearly $1tn more goods, external than it imported - so it’s possible that Trump may have been mistakenly referring to this figure.

  10. Vietnam pledges to buy more American goodspublished at 04:54 British Summer Time

    Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh says the country will buy more goods from the US, including products used for security and defence.

    He added that it will also seek for faster deliveries of America-made planes.

    Vietnam is set to be one of the hardest hit by Trump tariffs - it faces a rate of 46%.

    It has a large trade deficit with the US and has been a beneficiary of firms moving factories out of China to avoid measures announced during his first term in office.

    Read more on how Pham is also trying to take a diplomatic approach with the US - including golfing with Trump.

    Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh takes part in a meeting with Singapore's Prime Minister at the Government Office in Hanoi on 26, 2025.Image source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh

  11. After holiday, Thailand stocks fall 4% at openpublished at 04:30 British Summer Time

    Thailand's stock exchange, which was closed yesterday for a national holiday, has seen stocks fall more than 4% when it opened this morning.

    The stock exchange has banned short-selling this week in anticipation of the chaos that hit global markets in the wake of Trump's tariff announcements. It has also lowered the ceiling and floor limit on stocks from 30% to 15%.

    Thailand has been hit by a 36% tariff, among the highest in the region.

    Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has said that she was seeking negotiations with the US. Authorities have also pledged to increase imports of energy, aircraft, and agricultural products from the US.

  12. Analysts: China unlikely to back down in tariff fightpublished at 04:17 British Summer Time

    Annabelle Liang
    Business reporter, Singapore

    People ride scooters on a street at the central business district in Beijing on 17 March 2025.Image source, Getty Images

    The numbers are eye-watering - with just over 24 hours left until tariffs are due to be imposed.

    China was already facing a 54% levy on its imports to the US. Trump has threatened to almost double this, in response to Beijing's plan to retaliate.

    The war of words is also heating up. But China is unlikely to back down on both fronts, even though tariffs could cripple its exports sector, according to analysts.

    "I believe that China means it when it says it will fight to the end. It will be tit-for-tat if the US really raises the tariffs again, China will match it," said Dan Wang from the Eurasia Group consultancy.

    This is despite the fact that proposed tariffs will "wipe out the entire profit margin for [the Chinese] export sector".

    Alfredo Montufar-Helu from The Conference Board think tank believes it would be "a mistake to think that China will back off" as Beijing will not want to "appear weak".

    "Unfortunately, we've now reached an impasse that will likely lead to long term economic pain," Mr Montufar-Helu said.

  13. US defends tariffs on remote islands populated by seals and penguinspublished at 04:10 British Summer Time

    Ottilie Mitchell
    Reporting from Sydney, Australia

    A Southern Elephant Seal pup rests near trypots on Corinthian Bay, Heard IslandImage source, Getty Images

    The US Commerce Secretary has defended the country's decision to impose tariffs on a group of uninhabited islands, which are populated only by penguins and seals.

    The imposition of tariffs on the Heard and McDonald islands was meant to close "ridiculous loopholes" and would prevent other countries from shipping through the islands to reach the US, Howard Lutnick told the BBC's US partner CBS.

    Authorities in Australia reacted with surprise last week when they found out about the tariffs on the island, which sits 4,000km (2,485 mi) from Australia.

    Its trade minister Don Farrell told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation the tariffs were "clearly a mistake" and indicated a "rushed process".

  14. Who faces the biggest tariffs?published at 03:55 British Summer Time

    A table showing the fifteen countries hit by the biggest US tariffs, with Lesotho and Saint Pierre & Miquelon at the top with 50%
  15. Indonesia stocks plunge as markets open after long breakpublished at 03:42 British Summer Time

    Indonesian shares have plunged by more 9% as markets reopened after an extended holiday.

    The slide triggered a 30-minute halt to trading.

    The country's currency, the rupiah, also fell to a record low against the US dollar as traders reacted to the global market turmoil triggered by Trump's tariffs, which included a plan for 32% tariff on Indonesian products.

    Indonesian markets reopened on Tuesday for the first time since 27 March, and are catching up with global market moves.

  16. Hong Kong's leader calls US tariffs 'ruthless behaviour'published at 03:36 British Summer Time

    Hong Kong's leader John Lee has said the city will look to deepen trade with South East Asia and the Middle East in response to US tariffs.

    He also urged businesses to increase sales to mainland China.

    Lee, in a speech on Tuesday, called tariffs a "reckless" act and "ruthless behaviour" by the Trump administration.

    His comments come as the benchmark Hang Seng index is trading around 2% higher as it looks to recoup huge losses seen a day earlier.

    Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee speaks at a press session before his Executive Council meeting in Hong Kong, China on 18 March 2025.Image source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Hong Kong leader John Lee

  17. Japan's Economy Minister nominated to head trade talks with USpublished at 03:28 British Summer Time

    Japan has nominated Economy Minister Ryosei Akazawa to head trade negotiations with the US.

    Trump and Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba had agreed to start bilateral talks during a phone conversation on Monday. Trump has put Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in charge of these negotiations.

    To recap, Trump has imposed a 25% levy on auto imports from Japan and a so-called reciprocal tariff of 24% on other Japanese goods.

  18. Most major Asia-Pacific markets make gains after Monday's slumppublished at 03:17 British Summer Time

    Let's take a look at how major Asia-Pacific stock markets are trading this morning.

    In short, most of them are up after yesterday's plunges, with the notable exceptions of mainland China, Taiwan, and Singapore.

    • Shanghai Composite (China) -0.2%
    • Nikkei 225 (Japan) +6.6%
    • Hang Seng (Hong Kong) +1.7%
    • Kospi (South Korea) +1.5%
    • ASX 200 (Australia) +1.5%
    • STI (Singapore) -2.2%
    • TWI (Taiwan) -3.8%
  19. Pressure and threats won't work on China - state mediapublished at 03:12 British Summer Time

    Pedestrians in Beijing, China.Image source, Getty

    As China took on Trump's latest tariffs threats against it, the ruling Communist Party's propaganda machine went into full swing.

    China's counter measures are "justified, legal, powerful and restrained", while the US tariffs show that it is pursing "American hegemony", Beijing's state newspaper People's Daily said in a commentary published today.

    In the article, titled "Pressure and threats are definitely not the right way to deal with China", the paper criticised the Trump administration for "abusing the weapon of tariffs", and defended China as a "defender of multilateralism".

    It also questioned the effectiveness of Trump's trade war. "It's been more than a year or two since the US unilaterally provoked a trade war against China. And what's the result?"

    "China's foreign trade has shown strong resilience under pressure, and the Chinese economy has always maintained development and progress. In contrast, the United States has not only failed to achieve the goals of reducing trade deficits and promoting the return of manufacturing, but has also caused losses to its own companies and consumers."

  20. Mainland China stocks flatpublished at 03:07 British Summer Time

    The Shanghai Composite is broadly flat in morning trading, currently up by 0.22%.

    The benchmark stock index closed 7.3% lower on Monday.

    Like Hong Kong and Taiwan, traders there were playing catch up after being closed for a public holiday on Friday.