Tariffs live: Asian markets fall as Trump’s 104% levy against China takes effect

China’s yuan dipped further against the US dollar to a fresh 19-month low on Wednesday after the currency slid to a record low in offshore markets overnight.

The yuan weakened to a low of 7.3505 per dollar in the morning trading session, the lowest since September 2023.

The offshore yuan pared losses and climbed about 0.62 per cent to 7.3812 yuan per dollar in Asian trade, after sinking more than one per cent in the previous session and hitting its weakest level on record at 7.4288 per dollar overnight.

The declines have come as a trade war between the world’s two largest economies escalates and after China’s central bank loosened its grip on the currency in what analysts said was an attempt to counteract the blow to exports from tariffs.

Asian markets tumbled in early morning trading as sweeping new US tariffs on Chinese goods came into force.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 slumped more than 4 per cent shortly after the midnight deadline, deepening losses from the previous session. South Korea’s Kospi also extended its decline, falling over 1.5 per cent after opening around 1 per cent lower.

The sharp declines mark the first market reaction to the implementation of a 104 per cent tariff on Chinese imports, a move confirmed by the White House after Beijing refused to withdraw retaliatory levies on US goods.

Investors remain on edge amid growing concerns that the escalating trade war between the world’s two largest economies could tip global markets into deeper volatility.

Britain is “accelerating trade deals with the rest of the world,” Rachel Reeves insisted as more of Donald Trump’s global tariffs came into effect on Wednesday after a week of market turmoil.

Countries across the globe have been braced for potential widespread economic damage from the import taxes on goods entering the US from midnight Washington time – just after 5am in the UK.

The chancellor and business secretary will later meet India’s finance minister for talks aimed at negotiating a deal with the country as the Chancellor said she wanted to create “the best possible conditions” for British business in a “changing world”.

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer on Tuesday reiterated his call for a calm approach to the changed US trade policy as a sense of optimism returned to the financial markets after several days of heavy losses.

The full effect of Wednesday’s tariffs may not be felt for some time, as any goods already in transit as of midnight will be exempt from the new levies as long as they arrive in the US by 27 May.

Nearly three-quarters of Americans expect the prices of everyday items to rise in the next six months, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

Donald Trump’s earlier across-the-board 10 per cent tariffs on all imports from many countries began on Saturday. The latest round of duties, which took effect at 12.01am ET, are aimed at countries that are “ripping off” the US, according to the US president.

That list includes many of the United States’ closest allies, including the European Union, which was hit with a 20 per cent tariff. Vietnam, which benefited from the shift of US supply chains away from China during Trump’s first-term trade war with Beijing, faces a 46 per cent tariff.

Mr Trump has said the tariffs are a response to barriers put on US goods that have stymied American businesses. He has also accused countries including Japan of devaluing their currencies to gain a trade advantage, something Tokyo denies.

President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of countries have now come into effect, including a massive 104 per cent duty on Chinese goods.

Mr Trump has nearly doubled duties on Chinese imports, which had been set at 54 per cent last week, in response to counter-tariffs that Beijing announced last week. China has vowed to fight what it views as blackmail.

Economists have warned that US consumers are likely to face higher prices on everything from sneakers to wine as a result of the trade war.

The full effects of Wednesday’s tariffs may not be felt for some time, as any goods already in transit as of midnight will be exempt from the new levies as long as they arrive in the US by 27 May.

Donald Trump has offered investors mixed signals about whether the tariffs will remain in the long term, describing them as “permanent” but also boasting that they are pressuring other leaders to ask for negotiations.

“We have a lot of countries coming in that want to make deals,” he said at a White House event on Tuesday afternoon. He said at a later event that he expected China to pursue an agreement as well.

The Trump administration has scheduled talks with South Korea and Japan, two close allies and major trading partners, and Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni is due to visit next week.

The prospect of deals with other countries had pushed stock markets up earlier on Tuesday, but US stocks had ceded their gains by the end of the trading day.

Mr Trump nearly doubled duties on Chinese imports, which had been set at 54 per cent last week, in response to counter-tariffs that Beijing announced last week. China has vowed to fight what it views as blackmail.

Economists have warned that US consumers are likely to face higher prices on everything from sneakers to wine as a result of the trade war.

Asian markets opened down this morning as the White House was set impose its “custom reciprocal tariffs” regime, including a levy of 104 per cent on China.

Japan’s Nikkei index has plunged more than 3.5 per cent, extending its losing streak, while South Korea’s Kospi has officially entered a bear market following a 20 per cent decline from its July peak.

Technology stocks were the hardest hit on the Tokyo exchange. Semiconductor testing equipment maker Advantest slumped by nine per cent, and Tokyo Electron, which manufactures chip-making tools, shed 4.85 per cent.

Investor sentiment continues to sour amid growing fears of a global recession, triggered in part by the escalating US-China trade war.

Market anxiety deepened after president Donald Trump raised tariffs on Chinese goods to 104 per cent, fuelling concerns over the wider impact on international trade and growth.

President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of countries were set to take effect on Wednesday, including massive 104 per cent duties on Chinese goods, deepening his global trade war even as he prepared for negotiations with some nations.

Trump’s punishing tariffs have shaken a global trading order that has persisted for decades, raised fears of recession and driven worldwide stocks sharply downward.

The S&P closed below 5,000 for the first time in nearly a year yesterday and is nearing a bear market, defined as 20 per cent below its most recent high.

S&P 500 companies have lost $5.8 trillion in stock market value since Trump unveiled the tariffs last Wednesday, the deepest four-day loss since the benchmark’s creation in the 1950s, according to LSEG data.

A sell-off across Asian markets resumed on Wednesday after a brief respite, with Japan’s Nikkei down over three per cent and South Korea’s won currency sliding to a 16-year low. US stock futures also pointed to a fifth straight day of losses on Wall Street.

The White House has confirmed that the US will impose a 104 per cent tariff on China from 12:01am ET on Wednesday.

Donald Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday afternoon that the measures will come into place after Beijing did not lift its retaliatory tariffs on US goods by a noon Tuesday deadline.