Global stock markets fell catastrophically on Monday following President Trump’s tariff rollout.
Despite the economic turmoil, the US president doubled down on his plan, threatening to impose an additional 50% tariff on imports from China on Wednesday, unless the country rescinds its retaliatory tariffs on the United States by Tuesday.
Trump has defended his sweeping tariffs, saying: “sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something”. Top officials in the administration have brushed aside fears of a recession and reiterated the tariff policy will be implemented as planned.
Here are the key stories at a glance:
Wild swings on global stock markets
Extreme volatility plagued global stock markets on Monday, with Wall Street swinging in and out of the red as Donald Trump defied stark warnings that his global trade assault will wreak widespread economic damage, comparing new US tariffs to medicine.
A renewed sell-off began in Asia, before hitting European equities and reaching the US. It was briefly reversed amid hopes of a reprieve, only for Trump to threaten China with more steep tariffs, intensifying pressure on the market.
EU offered ‘zero-for-zero’ tariff deal weeks ago
The EU has said it offered the US a “zero-for-zero” tariff deal on cars and industrial goods weeks before Donald Trump launched his trade war, but that it would not wait to defend itself. Maros Šefčovič, the EU commissioner for trade, said he had proposed zero tariffs on cars and a range of industrial goods, such as pharmaceutical products, rubber and machinery on 19 February.
He said the EU and US were in early stages of talks while EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the offer remained on the table. However, later on Monday Trump appeared to quash any such discussions, telling reporters zero-zero tariffs were not on the cards.
Supreme court allows deportations under 18th century law
Donald Trump may continue using a 1798 law to deport alleged gang members to Venezuela, the supreme court ruled on Monday, however it will apply certain limits. Despite siding with the administration, the court’s majority placed limits on how deportations may occur, emphasizing that judicial review is required.
Trump unveils ‘direct talks’ with Iran on nuclear deal
Donald Trump has announced that the US is to hold direct talks with Iran in a bid to prevent the country from obtaining an atomic bomb, while also warning Tehran of dire consequences if they fail.
He said the talks were happening in an effort to avoid what he called “the obvious” – an apparent reference to US or Israeli military strikes against the regime’s nuclear facilities.
Israeli PM discusses Gaza and tariffs at White House
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, met with Donald Trump Monday for the second time since the US president’s return to office, marking the first effort by a foreign leader to negotiate a deal after Trump announced sweeping tariffs last week.
RFK Jr claims anti-vax doctors healed kids with measles
Robert F Kennedy Jr followed up his attendance at the Texas funeral of a child who died from measles by praising two unconventional “healers”, one of whom was previously disciplined by the state’s medical board for “unusual use of risk-filled medications”.
The Republican US senator and Donald Trump loyalist Markwayne Mullin has evidently sought to backtrack from comments suggesting politicians could “handle our differences” with journalists by shooting and killing them, insisting he was trying to make a joke.
The Oklahoma lawmaker, a former mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, on Saturday posted to X a video of himself at a stairway in the US Capitol building recounting the tale of the newspaper columnist Charles Kincaid.
Anti-DEI purge of Harriet Tubman webpage
The National Park Service has removed a quote and an image of US abolitionist Harriet Tubman from a webpage about the Underground Railroad network that helped enslaved people escape captivity – and instead, the page now emphasizes what it describes as “Black/White Cooperation” as Donald Trump’s presidential administration continues its effort to sanitize the country’s history.
What else happened today:
Catching up? Here’s what happened on 6 April 2025.
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