Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs sent shockwaves through markets around the globe seeing Apple and Tesla stock slide more than six and eight percent respectively in late-night trading Wednesday.
The president announced that blanket 10 percent tariffs will be imposed on all nations in a speech at a “Make America Wealthy Again” event in the White House Rose Garden shortly after regular trading hours closed in the U.S.
About 60 countries deemed the “worst offenders” – including China where a majority of Apple’s devices are manufactured – face higher reciprocal levies nearing, in some cases, 50 percent leaving world leaders reeling. The baseline tariffs go into effect on Saturday and reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, four Republican senators joined every Democratic senator in a resolution to oppose Trump’s tariffs against Canada. The Senate passed the resolution crafted by Kentucky Senator Rand Paul 51-48 on Wednesday after Trump’s announcement.
Neighboring Canada and Mexico are not subject to reciprocal tariffs beyond those already imposed related to fentanyl trafficking, with exemptions under the USMCA trade agreement.
Read More
Key Points
- Trump imposes blanket 10% tariffs on all nations with higher rates for 'worst offenders'
- Apple and Tesla stocks slide late on 'Liberation Day'
- Trump reciprocal tariff chart in full
- Four Republican senators defy Trump and vote to oppose Canada tariffs
- Musk to step back from his role, Trump 'tells' inner circle
Rubio tries to brush off ‘hysteria and hyperbole’ about U.S. future in NATO
11:59
,
James Liddell
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio attempted to brush off the so-called “hysteria” surrounding America’s future in NATO in a Thursday morning press conference in Brussels before speaking at a gathering of foreign ministers from the alliance.
“The United States is in NATO. As we speak right now the United States is as in NATO as it has ever been. Some of this hysteria and hyperbole that I see in the global media and some domestic media in the United States about NATO is unwarranted,” he said. “President Trump has made it clear that he supports NATO. We’re going to remain in NATO.”
“We want NATO to be stronger. We want NATO to be more viable and the only way… is if our partners – the nation states that comprise this important alliance – have more capability,” he added.
Rubio added that the current war in Ukraine and in the Middle East is a reminder that “hard power is still necessary as a deterrent.”
“We are on a realistic pathway to every single one of the members committing and fulfilling a promise to reach up to five percent spending – that includes the United States will have to increase its spending,” he said. “Because if the threats are truly as dire as I believe they are… then that threat needs to be confronted by a full and real commitment.
He concluded by stating that Trump is not against NATO, but he is “against a NATO that doesn’t have the capabilities that it needs.”
Watch: GOP senator warns tariffs are ‘bad politically and economically’
11:31
,
James Liddell
Republican Senator Rand Paul said that tariffs are “bad” both politically and economically after Donald Trump unveiled his new levies on his so-called “Liberation Day.”
When (William) McKinley, most famously put tariffs on in 1890, they lost 50 percent of their seats,” Paul told reporters on Wednesday evening. “When [Smoot-Hawley] put on their tariff in the early 1930s, we lost the house and senate for 60 years. So not only bad economically, they are bad politically.”
It came as three Republican senators joined every Democratic senator in a resolution crafter by Paul to oppose Trump’s tariffs against Canada Wednesday.
Watch Paul’s remarks here:
Paul: When McKinley, most famously put tariffs on in 1890 ,they lost 50% of their seats… In the early 1930s, we lost the house and senate for 60 years. So not only bad economically, they are bad politically. pic.twitter.com/IjWI8upCgK
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 2, 2025
Tesla stock slides after 'Liberation Day' announcement
11:20
,
James Liddell
Along with tech goliath Apple, Tesla stock also slumped in after-hours trading on Wednesday following Trump’s tariff announcement on a day he has long billed “Liberation Day.”
Shares of Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company plunged about eight percent in after-hours trading.
Business leaders react as Trump's sweeping international tariffs
11:07
,
Oliver O'Connell
Business owners reacted with shock and concern on Wednesday to the sweeping series of tariffs Donald Trump announced on all U.S. trading partners.
Despite the Trump administration framing the measures as a way to bolster U.S. manufacturing, those within American industry warned the tariffs might do the opposite.
“Manufacturers are scrambling to determine the exact implications for their operations,” National Association of Manufacturers president and CEO Jay Timmons said in a statement on Wednesday. “The stakes for manufacturers could not be higher.”
Other industry leaders had a similar outlook, Josh Marcus writes. Read more below:
World leaders react after being slapped with Trump tariffs
10:43
,
James Liddell
“China urges the U.S. to immediately cancel unilateral tariff measures and properly resolve differences with trade partners through equal dialogue,” China's commerce ministry in a statement to Agence France-Presse.
“For Australia, these tariffs are not unexpected but let me be clear — they are totally unwarranted. Trump referred to reciprocal tariffs. A reciprocal tariff would be zero not 10 percent. The admin’s tariffs have no basis in logic and they go against the basis of our two nations’ partnership,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said during a news.
“Free enterprise and competition have laid the foundations of the West’s success. That’s why Americans can listen to music on Swedish Spotify and we Swedes can listen to the same music on our American iPhones. This is why I deeply regret the path the US has embarked upon, seeking to limit trade with higher tariffs,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said.
“As a small country, we just want to survive. If he valued human rights and democratic principles, he would never mistreat small countries,” Cambodian People's Party spokesperson Sok Eysan told the New York Times.
“My priority, and that of the government, is to protect Irish jobs and the Irish economy. And we will work with our companies, multinational companies and Irish companies, to navigate the period ahead,” Ireland’s Taoiseach Micheál Martin wrote on X.
Watch LIVE: Marco Rubio speaks at Nato diplomat summit as Trump sparks tariff war
10:20
,
James Liddell
Trump reciprocal tariff chart in full
10:02
,
James Liddell
FULL LIST: Liberation Day pic.twitter.com/ZBiRuJBCAr
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 2, 2025
Trump appears to distance himself from Musk
09:45
,
James Liddell
President Donald Trump has privately told Cabinet members that Elon Musk will step back from his role in the administration soon, according to several reports.
Musk, who has been leading the Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts to reduce the federal workforce and budget drastically, will soon step into a supporting role, anonymous Trump insiders told Politico and ABC News. Trump discussed this with Cabinet members at a March 24 meeting, Politico reports.
The tech mogul is officially designated as a “special government employee,” which means his role expires after 130 days. That would mean the role ends in late May or early June, but many expected the White House to extend the role or find another way to keep him in a front-line position, ABC News reports.
Katie Hawkinson reports from Washington D.C.
Apple stocks slide after Trump's tariffs unveiled
09:41
,
James Liddell
Donald Trump's latest batch of global tariffs sent shockwaves through markets, seeing Apple stock slide more than six percent in late-night trading Wednesday.
The president announced that blanket 10 percent tariffs on all countries and much higher levies on “worst offenders” such as China and Taiwan.
The majority of Apple’s devices are manufactured in China and other Asian countries.
Stocks broadly got hit by Trump’s announcement with the S&P 500 plunging 2.8 percent, while the Nasdaq 100 lost more than 3 percent, according to exchange-traded funds tracking the markets.
Nevertheless, Trump praised Apple – along with other tech goliaths including Meta and Nvidia – for investing in the U.S.
“Apple is going to spend $500 billion, they never spent money like that here,” Trump said. “They’re going to build their plants here.”
Four Republican senators defy Trump and vote to oppose Canada tariffs
09:30
,
James Liddell
Four Republicans joined every Democratic senator in a resolution Wednesday to oppose President Donald Trump’s tariffs against Canada, Washington Bureau Chief Eric Garcia writes.
Senators voted 51-48 to reject the national emergency Trump declared earlier this year to justify slapping 25 percent tariffs on Canadian imports.
The vote followed Trump's announcement of his “Liberation Day” tariffs, a series of across-the-board levies of at least 10 percent on all nations.
Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Susan Collins of Maine joined Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who crafted a resolution to oppose Trump’s tariffs with Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia.
Trump tariffs hits uninhabited island home to penguins, not people
09:10
,
James Liddell
Donald Trump imposed tariffs on uninhabited islands home to penguins and seals and a U.S. military base on Wednesday.
The president imposed tariffs on the uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean.
The mostly barren UNESCO World Heritage site was featured on Trump’s list of areas that now face a minimum of 10 percent tariffs on U.S. imports, along with mainland Australia.
Gustaf Kilander has the story.
Watch: Trump brings out big chart of tariffs during ‘Liberation Day’ speech
08:50
,
Oliver O'Connell
Secretary of Commerce: European beef ‘is weak’
08:39
,
James Liddell
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick took a swipe at the European Union for not taking U.S. farm goods just hours after President Donald Trump imposed a new 20 percent tariff on the trade bloc.
“European Union won't take chicken from America. They will take lobsters from America,” Lutnick told Fox News. “They hate our beef because our beef is beautiful and theirs is weak.”
Watch his comments below:
Lutnick: "European Union won't take chicken from America ... they hate our beef because our beef is beautiful and theirs is weak." pic.twitter.com/dcB7gX4LhR
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 3, 2025
ANALYSIS: Trump just watched a referendum on Elon Musk and DOGE. He should be worried
08:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
John Bowden writes:
Democrats saw signs of life in their party on Tuesday, even if they didn’t clinch the night’s biggest prize.
Off-year elections are typically a referendum on the party in power — in this case, especially so, given the unified control of both houses of Congress, the White House, and even the Supreme Court by conservatives.
But Tuesday’s elections took on an even greater significance. The races in Wisconsin and Florida were the first to go to voters since Kamala Harris’s devastating defeat in November, a swing-state sweep that saw the Democrats lose ground in every battleground state and even reliable blue strongholds.
Despite being an “off year,” many voters (especially on the left) have remained active and engaged over the first three months of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Continue reading...
Trump finally unveiled his long-awaited tariff plan. Here’s what happened on ‘Liberation Day’
08:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump hailed “liberation day in America” after slapping a 10 percent tax on all imported goods and additional “reciprocal” tariffs against several key trading partners in his escalating trade war that is expected to have a damaging economic ripple effect.
It still remains unclear how new trade barriers will impact the economy and costs of everyday goods as Americans grapple with an uneasy market and a looming affordability crisis.
Alex Woodward reports from New York.
07:30
,
CNBC anchor calls Trump tariffs 'worse than worst-case scenario'
Fox News host torched over ‘ridiculous’ demand that ‘401(k) people’ treat Trump’s tariffs like ‘war effort’
07:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
Ahead of Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, Fox News’ Harris Faulkner urged Americans nervous about the impact on their retirement savings to support the president’s market-ratting trade policies like a “war effort,” prompting critics to lambaste the conservative anchor’s “ridiculous” and “ludicrous” proposition.
“Are we at war?” Daily Beast columnist Julia Davis wondered in response to Faulkner’s remarks.
Justin Baragona reports.
Trump officials analyzing how much it will cost to take over Greenland
07:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
The White House is reportedly studying how much it would cost for the federal government to assume control over Greenland, as Donald Trump continues to state his desire to take possession of the autonomous Danish territory.
Officials within the Office of Management and Budget are reportedly analyzing the cost of providing services to the island’s 58,000 residents, the benefits Greenland’s natural resources could generate for the U.S. Treasury, and the options the U.S. has to present a more appealing arrangement that the territory’s existing $600 million-per-year subsidies from Denmark.
“The point is, ‘We’ll pay you more than Denmark does,’” one administration insider told The Washington Post, which reported on the analysis effort.
Josh Marcus reports.
'What extraordinary nonsense this is'
06:30
,
Gustaf Kilander
Just figured out where these fake tariff rates come from. They didn't actually calculate tariff rates + non-tariff barriers, as they say they did. Instead, for every country, they just took our trade deficit with that country and divided it by the country's exports to us.
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) April 2, 2025
So we… https://t.co/PBjF8xmcuv
Watch: Trump claims Great Depression wouldn’t have happened with tariffs
06:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
Stock futures plunge after Trump announces ‘Liberation Day’ agenda of worldwide tariffs
05:30
,
Gustaf Kilander
Josh Marcus writes:
Futures indexes tied to the three main American stock markets were all trading down on Wednesday evening, as investors braced for the impacts of the sweeping worldwide tariffs Donald Trump announced earlier in the day.
As of 6:30pm Eastern time, Dow futures contracts were down 2.43 percent, S&P 500 contracts were down 3.60 percent, and Nasdaq futures were down 4.46 percent.
The outlook of these futures contracts, which are based on the anticipated movement of the major stock indices, stood in contrast to trading activity on the major exchanges earlier Wednesday.
There, the big three indices were all trading up modestly by less than one percent by the closing bell.
Read more:
'Liberation Day': Trump claims U.S. industry ‘reborn’ as he imposes sweeping worldwide tariffs
05:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump has announced an across-the-board tax on all imported goods purchased by Americans and additional taxes on imports from countries which officials deem to be placing unfair barriers on the importation or sale of American goods.
The president unveiled the measures on what he called “Liberation Day,” in an effort to forcibly undo decades of globalization and reindustrialize a U.S. economy that has become increasingly dominated by services and knowledge-based work in recent years.
Speaking at a long-anticipated event in the White House Rose Garden, Trump said Wednesday would “forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America's destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again.”
Andrew Feinberg and Eric Garcia report from Washington, D.C.
Wife of wrongfully deported Maryland father to 5-year-old son with disabilities speaks out for first time
04:30
,
Gustaf Kilander
The wife of a Salvadoran man Donald Trump’s administration admits was mistakenly deported to that country’s notorious prison says she is “very scared” for her husband’s safety.
“I've seen news of that prison, and I know they take criminals there. And my husband’s not a criminal,” Jennifer Vasquez Sura told CBS News.
Her husband Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador on March 15, joining dozens of mostly Venezuelan immigrants on removal flights after Donald Trump secretly invoked the Alien Enemies Act to summarily deport alleged Tren de Aragua gang members.
Alex Woodward has more:
Four Republican and every Democratic senator vote to oppose Trump’s Canada tariffs in resolution
04:28
,
Gustaf Kilander
Eric Garcia writes:
Four Republican senators joined every Democratic senator in a resolution to oppose President Donald Trump’s tariffs against Canada on Wednesday.
The Senate passed the resolution 51-48 on Wednesday after Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs, a series of across-the-board tariffs of 10 percent on all nations.
Stock futures took a tumble almost immediately after Trump’s announcement. Economists fear that imposing tariffs would cause prices to spike and that it could even trigger a recession.
Read more:
Trump attorney told associate president could potentially run for third term
04:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
While insisting he’s “studied the law,” one of Donald Trump’s attorneys and closet allies has insisted that the president could run for a third term, according to a report.
In 2023, Boris Epshteyn, a longtime Trump adviser who now serves as his personal lawyer, told an associate that he “studied the law” and believed Trump could find a way to run for a third term, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Kelly Rissman has the story.
Trump announces tariffs on uninhabited islands and U.S. military base
03:52
,
Gustaf Kilander
President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on a number of uninhabited islands and a U.S. military base on Wednesday.
Trump imposed levies on the Heard and McDonald Islands in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean, Axios noted.
The mostly barren UNESCO World Heritage site was featured on the list of areas that now face a baseline of 10 percent taxes on U.S. imports, as well as mainland Australia.
The 10 percent levy was also imposed on the British Indian Ocean Territory, which only counts U.S. and U.K. service members as its inhabitants at the Diego Garcia base.
Treasury secretary says prices 'could' go up after Trump's tariff announcement
03:45
,
Gustaf Kilander
COLLINS: Prices will go up for Americans in the short term, right?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 3, 2025
BESSENT: They could pic.twitter.com/Jsha1HgtZ2
Six in 10 Americans oppose deporting migrants who haven’t committed crimes to El Salvador prison
03:30
,
Gustaf Kilander
Josh Marcus writes:
A majority of Americans oppose some of Donald Trump’s most controversial immigration-related actions like deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members to a Salvadoran mega-prison without due process, according to a new survey. However, they remain supportive of the president’s overall immigration agenda.
Sixty-one percent of respondents told YouGov earlier this week they oppose or strongly oppose the hundreds of deportations to El Salvador, most of which the Trump administration has carried out using the emergency Alien Enemies Act, a wartime law that allows the government to summarily deport non-citizens.
Read more:
‘Catastrophic for American families’: Business leaders react as Trump imposes ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs on world
03:15
,
Gustaf Kilander
Josh Marcus writes:
Business owners reacted with shock and concern on Wednesday to the sweeping series of tariffs Donald Trump announced on all U.S. trading partners.
Despite the Trump administration framing the measures as a way to bolster U.S. manufacturing, those within American industry warned the tariffs might do the opposite.
“Manufacturers are scrambling to determine the exact implications for their operations,” National Association of Manufacturers president and CEO Jay Timmons said in a statement on Wednesday. “The stakes for manufacturers could not be higher.”
Read more:
Mark Carney says Canada will 'fight these tariffs with counter-measures'
03:07
,
Gustaf Kilander
My response to President Trump's announcement today: pic.twitter.com/HHU1UJP1GN
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) April 3, 2025
Mexican band members have visas revoked after cartel leader's face projected at concert
03:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
The U.S. State Department revoked the visas of members of a Mexican band after they projected the face of a drug cartel boss onto a large screen during a performance in the western state of Jalisco over the weekend.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who was U.S. ambassador to Mexico during the first Trump administration, said late Tuesday on X that the work and tourism visas of members of Los Alegres del Barranco were revoked.
Read on...
Stocks slump as US tariffs hit tech hardest
02:45
,
Gustaf Kilander
Here’s Reuters:
Stocks dived and investors scrambled to the safety of bonds, gold and the yen on Thursday as U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a bigger-than-expected wall of tariffs around the world's largest economy, upending trade and supply chains.
The high-flying tech sector was pummelled as manufacturing hubs in China and Taiwan faced new tariffs above 30%, bringing the total new levy to an eye-watering 54% on imports from China.
"The U.S. effective tariff rate on all imports look to be the highest level in over a century," said Citi's global rates trading strategist, Ben Wiltshire.
Nasdaq futures tumbled 4% and in after-hours trade some $760 billion was wiped from the market value of Magnificent Seven technology leaders. Apple shares, hit hardest as the company makes iPhones in China, were down nearly 7%.
S&P 500 futures fell 3.3%, FTSE futures fell 1.8%, while European futures fell nearly 2%.
Gold hit a record high above $3,160 an ounce, and oil, a proxy for global growth, slumped more than 3% to put benchmark Brent futures at $72.56 a barrel.
In early trade in Tokyo, the Nikkei was down 3.9% at an eight-month low, with nearly every index member falling as shippers, banks, insurers and exporters copped a beating.
Donald Trump liberates Americans from their retirement savings with tariff gamble
02:30
,
Gustaf Kilander
Richard Hall writes:
In a speech that sought to portray the wealthiest country in the world as a victim of the global system of trade it created, Donald Trump proclaimed “liberation day” on Wednesday as he announced sweeping tariffs on all imports into the United States.
Prec