US President Donald Trump claimed victory over Europe in the US tariffs war but acknowledged a "cost" to his surging trade offensive against superpower rival China as markets plunged again on Thursday.
Trump sought a victory lap at a White House cabinet meeting, saying the European Union had backed off from imposing retaliatory tariffs because of his tough stance on China.
"They were very smart. They were ready to announce retaliation. And then they heard about what we did with respect to China... and they said, you know, 'We're going to hold back a little bit,'" he said.
Trump acknowledged "a transition cost and transition problems," but dismissed global market turmoil. "In the end it's going to be a beautiful thing."
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was upbeat, telling reporters that "I don't see anything unusual today," as he touted better than expected US inflation numbers and other economic indicators.
But major indices spent the entire day in the red, with the broad-based S&P 500 finishing down 3.5 percent after soaring 9.5 percent on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 2.5 percent, while the tech-rich Nasdaq slumped 4.3 percent.
The dialling back of the planned global trade war left most of the focus on China, the world's number two economy after the United States.
The White House on Thursday clarified that levies on Chinese imports are now at a staggering total of 145 percent - not the previously reported 125 percent.
This was because the latest tariff hike comes on top of a 20 percent tariff already imposed earlier. China has retaliated with levies of 84 percent on US imports.
The European Union welcomed the US president's partial row-back on his original threat to impose 20 percent tariffs against the bloc.
The 27-nation grouping responded with its own olive branch, suspending for 90 days tariffs on 20 billion euros' worth of US goods that had been greenlit in retaliation to duties on steel and aluminium.
In its latest measure, the Commerce Ministry in Beijing announced it would reduce the number of Hollywood films imported, but said it remained ready for dialogue. (AFP)
Trump claims victory over EU in tariff battle
2025-04-11 HKT 07:43
