Asian stock markets plummet in aftermath of Trump tariffs announcement

The tariffs are so comprehensive and so much larger than we expected,

said Jeanette Gerratty, chief economist at wealth advisory Robertson Stephens in the US tech heartland of Menlo Park, California

The tariffs announced today lead to significant risk to global trade,

said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management in Hong Kong

The tariff rates unveiled this morning far exceed baseline expectations, and if they aren’t negotiated down promptly, expectations for a recession in the U.S. will rise dramatically,

IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said

This was the worst-case scenario that the market was expecting,

Jay Hatfield, CEO of Infrastructure Capital Advisors, told Reuters

This may create enough of a selloff over the next day or so that it creates a buying opportunity,

Chiavarone said

While the tariff measures announced were more severe than expected, the question over how long these tariffs will remain in place is more open-ended due to Trump’s inclination to be a deal maker,

said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade in Sydney

As long as you don’t retaliate this is the high end of the number,

Bessent told Bloomberg Television

The unexpectedly high tariffs are set to weigh on sentiment across Asia, where export-driven economies now face a tough trade-off for growth with the heightened trade restrictions,

said Jun Rong Yeap, a market strategist at IG Asia Pte

The silver lining for investors could be that this is only a starting point for negotiations with other countries and ultimately tariff rates will come down across the board,

Northlight Asset Management's Chris Zaccarelli wrote in a note to clients

The increased tariffs have been a negative factor for the U.S. dollar,

Forex.com's Matthew Weller told AFP

But for now traders are shooting first and asking questions later,

he added

Anthony Albaneseprime Minister

The administration’s tariffs have no basis in logic and they go against the basis of our two nations’ partnership. This is not the act of a friend,

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said after his country received a 10 percent blanket duty

Anthony Albaneseprime Minister

Today’s decision will add to uncertainty in the global economy and it will push up costs for American households,

Albanese said

This is a very serious situation, as the global trade war has become a reality. Our government must pour all of its capabilities into overcoming the trade crisis,

Han told top trade and finance officials Thursday morning

Chinese officials still don’t know what Trump actually wants, making it harder to engage without looking weak,

Singleton said

Xi is playing the long game: avoid concessions, absorb the hit, and bet Trump blinks first,

said Craig Singleton, senior China fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank

We subsidise a lot of countries and keep them going and keep them in business. Why are we doing this? I mean, at what point do we say you got to work for yourselves,

Trump said

Eye-watering tariffs on a country-by-country basis scream ‘negotiation tactic,’ which will keep markets on edge for the foreseeable future.”

Adam Hetts at Janus Henderson Investors told Bloomberg

We are very early innings on what could unfortunately turn into a very serious global trade war,

Calcagni told Reuters

Obviously, [the tariffs] are far more onerous than the market was expecting, but I think that participants also believe that many will be watered down and/or rescinded,

hedge fund manager Jim Chanos said in a text message