Asian markets fall after Trump announces new reciprocal tariffs

By Bahar Yakar and Emir Yildirim

ISTANBUL - Asian stock markets dropped Thursday following US President Donald Trump's announcement of reciprocal tariffs.

Trump on Wednesday announced a new set of tariffs on several US trade partners, ranging from 10% to 50%, referring to the day as “Liberation Day.”

The US applied a 34% tariff on Chinese imports, 24% on Japanese goods, 26% on Indian products and 25% on South Korean exports.

China's Commerce Ministry criticized the move and said it would respond with countermeasures. It called the US action “typical unilateral bullying.”

“History shows that increasing tariffs cannot solve the United States' own problems,” a ministry spokesperson said Thursday, according to Xinhua News Agency. “It harms US interests and endangers global economic development as well as industrial and supply chain stability.”

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba described the 24% US tariff on Japanese goods as “extremely unfortunate,” Kyodo News reported Thursday. Tokyo urged Washington to reconsider the decision. Japanese officials may also consider retaliatory measures.

Japan’s services Purchasing Managers’ Index for March stood at 50, slightly above expectations, while its composite PMI was 48.9.

China’s Caixin services PMI reached 51.9, above forecast. Its composite PMI stood at 51.8.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 2.7% to 34,712. South Korea’s Kospi Index fell 1.2% to 2,475. China’s Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.3% to 3,339. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 1.8% to 22,776. India’s Sensex Index dropped 0.3% to 76,376.