Market turmoil stretched through Wednesday as Asian stocks face new pressures for taxes that were significantly higher from imports.
After a day after Wall Street whip whip, stocks were spread all over Asia. Taiwan was the worst hit, down more than 6%. Japan's shares fell 4%. In South Korea and Hong Kong, the decline is between 1.5% and 2%. Stocks in mainland China are slightly higher.
Trump uprooted investors after announcing tariffs on countries around the world last week. U.S. import taxes for goods from dozens of other countries took effect on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 ended near the bear market, which fell 20% from the recent peak, a symbolic and relatively few and worrying investor threshold. It closed 18.9% in mid-February record, down more than 12% since Trump announced new tariffs.
S&P 500-year futures, the direction of investors bet on the index when trading resumes in New York, is about 2% lower.
Government officials seem to have opened the door to negotiations, which could eventually weaken the trade war, citing dozens of countries approached the U.S. government to reach a deal in recent days. But White House officials tried to set high standards for lawyers the president would be willing to accept, marking a shift in tone after Mr. Trump and his aides initially said they would not get involved in the tariffs at all.
“If they come to us with the advantage of American manufacturing and American farmers, it's American manufacturing and American farmers, I'm sure he'll listen,” said Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Commission, in an interview with Fox News.
But, he added: “After decades and decades of abuse of American workers, it’s hard to make him decide to actually come to the table and sign on the dotted line.”
Since Trump announced new tariffs last week, including basic taxes on almost all U.S. imports, countries have responded to their own threats of tariffs or retaliation against U.S. goods.
China, the world's second largest economy, retaliated against 34% tariffs on U.S. goods that will take effect at noon Wednesday.
Earlier this week, Japan became the first major economy to secure priority tariff negotiations with the Trump administration. The news triggered a brief increase in Tokyo-listed stocks, which they then resumed falling on Wednesday.
