The shoe has finally dropped. US President Trump signed two executive orders on "reciprocal tariffs" at the White House last night, announcing a 10% "minimum baseline tariff" on trade partners and higher tariffs on certain partners.
Trump displayed a large sign marked "Reciprocal Tariffs" showing which trade partners would be taxed and at what rates. These include the UK at 10%, Brazil at 10%, Australia at 10%, Philippines and Israel at 17%, EU at 20%, Japan at 24%, South Korea at 25%, India at 26%, South Africa at 30%, Switzerland at 31%, Indonesia at 32%, Sri Lanka at 44%, Vietnam at 46%, Cambodia at 49%...
White House senior officials stated that the baseline tariff rate (10%) will take effect at 4:00 AM on April 5th, and reciprocal tariffs will take effect at 4:00 AM on April 9th.
US Treasury Secretary Besson wrote, "I suggest that no country take retaliatory action. We can see if there might be different tariff floors. Trump's attitude might be to temporarily stabilize things. I was not involved in negotiations, and we'll see if there are any negotiations before April 9th (the effective date of reciprocal tariffs)."
First rising, then falling, both crypto and stock markets were indiscriminately attacked
Before Trump announced the tariff policy, the US stock market experienced severe volatility. Nasdaq futures fell by 2.4%, and S&P 500 futures dropped 1.6%. Reuters suggested this meant investors expected a significant drop when markets opened on the 3rd. After the tariff policy was implemented, the US Dollar Index DXY resumed its decline, breaking below the low point when Trump initially announced comprehensive tariffs, currently reporting at 103.24, having reached above 104 when the reciprocal tariffs were announced.
In the crypto market, when Trump initially announced a 10% baseline tariff, Bitcoin briefly surged to $88,000, reaching its highest point since March 25th, rising over 5%. However, after announcing additional tariffs on about 60 countries with the largest trade imbalances with the US, Bitcoin gave up most of its gains, falling below $82,500. Bitcoin's current performance suggests it has no safe-haven attributes. Meanwhile, spot gold briefly broke through $3,160 per ounce, continuing to set new historical highs.
The Altcoin market was even more miserable after this rise and fall. According to Coinglass data, the network liquidated $293 million in the past 4 hours, with long positions liquidating $187 million and short positions liquidating $106 million.
BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes said, "The market seems to dislike the 'liberation day'. If Bitcoin can stay above $76,500 between now and the US tax day (April 15), we will have escaped the danger."
