Original Title: 'Trump Remains Tough: Tariffs Are the Only Remedy for America, Over 50 Countries Urgently Initiate Negotiations'
Original Author: Natalia Wu, BlockTempo
Due to tariff policies causing volatility in U.S. stocks and global markets, an anti-Trump wave swept across the United States last week, with 500,000 people taking to the streets to protest. However, Trump remains steadfast in his stance on tariffs. Trump responded on Monday: "I'm not intentionally causing the stock market to crash, but sometimes medicine is needed to cure a disease."
After U.S. President Trump announced "reciprocal tariffs" on multiple countries and regions last week, global financial markets experienced severe turbulence. U.S. stock futures plummeted this morning, with Dow futures falling 1,822 points, a drop of 4.7%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures simultaneously crashed by over 5%. The panic index VIX soared above 45, reaching the third-highest level since the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
The Taiwanese stock market, which escaped turmoil last week due to a holiday, also plunged at today's opening, dropping 2,085 points and reaching as low as 19,212 points (or 9.8%), creating the largest intraday drop in history. Other Asian markets, including Japanese, A-shares, and Korean stocks, were also bloodied, triggering circuit breakers.
Current Trend of Taiwanese Stocks
In the crypto market, Bitcoin flash-crashed to $77,000 this morning, with liquidations across the crypto market exceeding $890 million in the past 24 hours, with over 299,000 people being cleared out. Meanwhile, gold, considered a safe-haven asset, was not spared, with spot gold dropping below $3,000 this morning.
Driven by investor risk aversion, the two major safe-haven currencies, the Japanese yen and Swiss franc, rose, with the yen surging 2.27% in the past 5 days to 146.584 yen per USD, and the Swiss franc rising over 3% in the same period.
Trump: I'm Not Intentionally Causing the Stock Market to Crash...
Due to tariff policies causing U.S. stock and global market volatility, an anti-Trump wave has erupted across the United States, with over 500,000 people participating in 1,200 protest gatherings last week, calling for Trump to "Hands Off".
However, Trump remains steadfast in his stance on tariffs. He posted on his social media platform Truth Social this morning, emphasizing that "tariffs are a very beautiful thing", claiming they are bringing in billions of dollars for the United States, targeting massive trade deficits with China, the EU, and many other countries, and insisting that tariffs are the only solution to trade imbalances.
According to a Bloomberg report on Monday, Trump told reporters on Air Force One:
"I'm not intentionally causing the stock market to crash, but sometimes medicine is needed to cure a disease."
Trump also said he has spoken with several unnamed national leaders. He reiterated that the purpose of imposing tariffs is to completely eliminate U.S. trade deficits.
"They are eager to reach an agreement, and I say, 'We will not have a trade deficit with your country.' We won't do this because, for me, trade deficits are losses. We will achieve a surplus, or, in the worst case, we will achieve a balance."
We must address our trade deficits, especially with China. I will not reach an agreement unless the deal reduces the U.S. trade deficit on Chinese goods, and I hope this issue can be resolved. He stated: "China is now taking a massive hit because everyone knows we are right."
Trump also pointed his finger at Europe, even stating that he wants not just trade balance, but compensation:
"We have imposed high tariffs on Europe. They come to the negotiating table, they want to negotiate, but negotiations will not proceed unless they pay us a large sum of money each year."
When asked about concerns that tariffs could lead to an inflation rebound, Trump simply responded: "I don't think inflation will be a big problem."
Trump Vows to Reverse Trade Deficits with Tariffs
White House economic officials revealed that over 50 countries have called the White House seeking negotiations to mitigate the impact. However, Commerce Secretary Ruto emphasized on CBS's "Face the Nation" that Trump "is not joking" and that his tariff strategy will take effect on April 9th without delay, and will "absolutely continue for days or even weeks".
Ruto optimistically believes that tariffs will stimulate manufacturing reshoring. In an interview with CNBC on the 3rd, he revealed that semiconductors are not currently included in the tariffs, but Trump plans to move semiconductor manufacturing from Taiwan, China back to the United States, and may impose targeted tariffs in the future.
Over 50 countries are racing against time, trying to persuade Trump to "spare them", but Trump remains tough, stating "no negotiations unless trade deficits disappear". Experts warn that this tariff war may trigger a chain reaction, dragging down global growth, with no short-term relief in sight.
