After wielding the tariff axe against trade partners Canada, Mexico, and China, US President Trump is set to introduce "reciprocal tariffs" on April 2nd, targeting all US trade partners, raising market concerns about an escalating global trade war.
However, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal last night, US officials stated that the White House is weakening its original tariff plans, with the most significant change possibly being the cancellation of tariffs on specific industries such as automotive, pharmaceutical, and semiconductor sectors, which boosted Tesla's stock by nearly 12% and TSMC's ADR by over 2%.
Tobin Marcus, Head of US Policy and Politics at Wolfe Research, commented on this news:
If the April 2nd tariff policy ultimately excludes taxation on specific industries, it could significantly reduce the overall scale of tariffs and the maximum tax rates for particular sectors.
While the reciprocal tariffs on April 2nd may still trigger a negative market reaction, the impact might not be as severe as previously expected, and the affected industries would be less concentrated.
Some Countries May Be Excluded
In addition to the Wall Street Journal's report, Trump also hinted that some trade partners might receive exemptions or reductions. Informed officials revealed that while broad reciprocal tariffs would be imposed on some countries or economies, certain countries would be excluded, further easing market tension.
Four Major US Stock Indices Rise
Encouraged by this news, US stocks saw a significant rise at market open last night, with the four major indices performing impressively:
- Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 597.97 points or 1.42%, closing at 42,583.32
- Nasdaq Index rose 404.54 points or 2.27%, closing at 18,188.59
- S&P 500 Index increased 100.01 points or 1.76%, closing at 5,767.57
- Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbed 136.27 points or 2.99%, closing at 4,694.22
Last week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that Trump's April 2nd reciprocal tariffs would "specially consider" the "Dirty 15 countries" - nations that impose the highest tariffs on the US and have significant trade volumes, often limiting US product imports through import requirements. Potential countries include Canada, Mexico, China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, UK, Netherlands, Italy, France, Brazil, Ireland, India, and even Taiwan. However, details will only be known on April 2nd.
Bitcoin Rises Above $88,000
In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin followed the upward trend, briefly reaching $88,769 after US stock market open last night, with a slight pullback to $87,483 at the time of writing, representing a 24-hour gain of 1.92%.
Ethereum showed even stronger performance, rising 4.54% to $2,083 in the past 24 hours. Additionally, the Doge Foundation announced this morning the establishment of an "official Doge reserve" through its newly formed institution House of Doge, having purchased 10 million DOGE, which boosted the coin's price by 7.94% in the past 24 hours.
