By Mucahithan Avcioglu
ISTANBUL (AA) - European stocks closed the week with huge losses as investors' worries escalated after China retaliated to US reciprocal tariffs with its own 34% tariff on all goods imported from the US starting April 10.
The tariffs, set to go into effect next Thursday, will affect all US products imported to China, according to a Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council statement.
The statement called the US' reciprocal tariffs one-sided "bullying," adding that they violate international trade rules and harm China's rights and interests.
China was subjected to 34% reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday when Trump signed an executive order imposing reciprocal tariffs on many countries.
On counter-tariffs from China, US President Donald Trump said that Beijing has "panicked" in its trade policy response to his administration's recent tariff actions.
“CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED - THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
On the macroeconomic data side, Germany's factory orders posted no change in February month-on-month, missing expectations of a 3.4% increase.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 5.12%, or 26.79 points, to 496.33, posting its largest weekly loss of the year, down 8.3% from the week before.
Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 4.95% -- 419.76 points -- to close at 8,054.98, while Germany's DAX 40 index fell 4.95%, or 1,075.67 points, to 20,641.72.
France's CAC 40 also was off 4.26%, or 324.03 points, to 7,274.95, and Italy's FTSE MIB 30 index dove 6.53% to 34,649.22 in a 2,421.61-point dip.