Trump tariffs live updates: Global trade reacts

President Donald Trump on Saturday claimed that China has been “hit much harder than the USA, not even close,” in the escalating trade war.

“They, and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “We have been the dumb and helpless ‘whipping post,’ but not any longer.”

He touted his sweeping new tariffs, saying, “We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before.”

“Already, more than FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT, and rising fast! THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” Trump wrote. 

— Annika Kim Constantino

Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks warned that Trump’s decision to impose broad tariffs could ultimately hurt drug research and development in the pharmaceutical industry. 

Trump’s reciprocal tariffs exempted pharmaceuticals imported to the U.S., bringing a temporary sigh of relief to drugmakers. But industry leaders are still bracing for Trump’s plans to impose pharmaceutical-specific tariffs sometime soon. 

“We can’t breach those agreements, so we have to eat the cost of the tariffs and make trade-offs within our own companies,” Ricks told BBC in an interview on Friday. “Typically, that will be in reduction of staff or research and development, and I predict R&D will come first. That’s a disappointing outcome.”

Eli Lilly has led the industry in building up its U.S. production capabilities, earmarking $50 billion to construct and upgrade new plants since 2020. Those facilities are key to manufacturing the company’s blockbuster weight loss and diabetes drugs. 

But Eli Lilly also depends mainly on foreign manufacturing, most notably in Ireland, where it employs more than 3,000 and is constructing a new $800 million facility. 

Ricks described the tariffs as a watershed moment in the nation’s economic history. 

“I think it’s a pivot in U.S. policy and it feels like it’ll be hard to come back from here,” he said. 

— Annika Kim Constantino

Some automakers are trying to capitalize on the moment amid the tariffs, industry analysts told CNBC. Ford and Stellantis are offering employee-pricing programs, while Hyundai Motor said it would not raise prices for at least two months to ease consumer concerns.

Automakers view the actions as a way to get vehicles off their lots and maintain or increase sales amid uncertain market conditions due to the tariffs.

“We understand that these are uncertain times for many Americans. Whether it’s navigating the complexities of a changing economy or simply needing a reliable vehicle for your family, we want to help,” Ford said in a statement Thursday morning announcing the program. “We have the retail inventory to do this and a lot of choice for customers that need a vehicle.”

— Michael Wayland

China’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday said “the market has spoken” following the U.S. imposition of sweeping new tariffs and called for the White House to defuse the escalating trade war through “equal-footed consultation.”

U.S. stock markets fell sharply for a second consecutive day on Friday, with all three major indexes dropping by more than 5% as part of a global rout.

Sharing a picture of Friday’s U.S. stock market downturn, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said, “the trade and tariff war started by the U.S. against the world is unprovoked and unjustified.”

— Sam Meredith

With one of the nastiest two-day selloffs in history following President Donald Trump’s launch of punitive tariffs on most trading partners, the stock market is in one of those precarious spots: Both tightly coiled for a near-term bounce soon, but not quite priced for the full fundamental implications of this policy as now contemplated.

Bespoke Investment Group gave voice to this uncomfortable moment, in which markets that are built to produce the “wisdom of crowds” through rational, collective price-setting are lashed to the whims a president channeling decades’ worth of anti-trade feelings through the executive power to declare “emergency” tariffs.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit the White House on Monday to discuss recently announced tariffs with Trump, three Israeli officials and a White House official said on Saturday.

The impromptu in-person visit could mark the first by a foreign leader to meet with Trump and try to negotiate a deal to remove tariffs.

Netanyahu’s office has not confirmed the visit, that would likely also include discussions on Iran and Israel’s war against Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza. The visit was first reported by Axios.

The surprise invite by Trump came in a phone call on Thursday with Netanyahu, who is presently on a visit to Hungary, when the Israeli leader raised the tariff issue, according to the Israeli officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

As part of a sweeping new tariff policy announced by Trump, unspecified Israeli goods exports to the United States face a 17% tariff. The U.S. is Israel’s closest ally and largest single trading partner.

An Israeli finance ministry official said on Thursday that Trump’s latest tariff announcement could impact Israel’s exports of machinery and medical equipment.

Israel had already moved to cancel its remaining tariffs on U.S. imports on Tuesday. The two countries signed a free trade agreement 40 years ago and about 98% of goods from the U.S. are now tax-free.

— Reuters

Before Wednesday, President Donald Trump’s tariffs were expected to be a problem for markets and the economy, but a manageable one. What actually emerged, though, has been economic and geopolitical mayhem.

It started with Trump’s Rose Garden news conference Wednesday after the market close, when the president slapped 10% tariffs on every U.S. trading partner starting Saturday, with individualized rates for 60 other countries that would begin in a week. Virtually overnight, the effective U.S. tariff rate was set to spring from 2.5% to well past 20%.

China retaliated with 34% tariffs on all goods, European Union leaders also are considering countermeasures.

Markets recoiled at the developments, sending stocks into a vicious two-day sell-off that put the Nasdaq Composite, home to powerhouse Silicon Valley names that Trump has been courting in the early days of his second term, into a bear market.