China retaliates with extra 34% tariff on US goods, deepening market turmoil

Global Markets Plunge as China Retaliates in Escalating Trade War

The FTSE 100 suffered a sharp decline after China announced retaliatory tariffs against the U.S., intensifying the global trade war. The UK’s benchmark stock index dropped as much as 3.9%, marking its steepest fall since the outbreak of the Ukraine war if losses persist.

Germany’s DAX also tumbled at its fastest rate since the early COVID-19 lockdowns after Beijing revealed plans to impose a 34% tariff on all American goods entering China, the world’s second-largest economy, starting Thursday. The move matches the 34% duties announced by U.S. President Donald Trump a day earlier, though the U.S. had already imposed an additional 20% tariff on Chinese imports.

Wall Street faced heavy losses in premarket trading following a disastrous session that wiped $2.4 trillion from the market value of S&P 500 companies—the largest single-day drop since the pandemic-triggered market crash five years ago.