Stock rally falters amid panic over President Trump’s tariffs: Live Updates

US President Donald Trump speaks at the National Republican Congressional Committee's (NRCC) "President's Dinner" at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC on April 8, 2025. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

At a dinner held by the National Republican Congressional Committee on Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced that he would soon introduce a "major tariff on pharmaceuticals."

The announcement came after another rough day at the stock market, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling more than 300 points.

"And when you, and when [pharmaceutical companies], hear that they will leave China, [pharmaceutical companies] will leave other places because they have to sell most of their product is sold here, and they're going to be opening up their plants all over the place in our country," Trump told his audience. "We're going to be announcing that."

"So that's breaking news, ladies and gentlemen. We have breaking news. That's what's going to happen."

Former Reagan economic advisor Art Laffer said Tuesday on "Varney & Co" that both the world and U.S. would see benefit from President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the trade negotiations that arise out of them. 

His appearance on "Varney & Co" came after he and Stephen Moore wrote an opinion piece titled "A Win-Win Exit Strategy for Trump on Tariffs" that was published Monday in the Wall Street Journal.

"The win-win strategy is Trump is just phenomenal at negotiating," Laffer said Tuesday, adding that he agreed with President Donald Trump that foreign countries getting hit with the president’s latest levies "have far higher tariffs and non-tariff barriers and quotas than we do." 

Read the full article about Art Laffer by Aislinn Murphy

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt (Reuters)

The White House is signaling that new tariffs on Chinese imports are taking effect after Beijing government missed a deadline to lift its retaliatory tariffs that were imposed in response to President Donald Trump's tariffs.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that because China declined to lift its retaliatory tariff, the president's additional 50% tariff levied on top of previously imposed tariffs of 20% and 34% took effect, bringing the total tariff on Chinese goods to 104%.

She added that the tariffs took effect at noon Eastern Time on Tuesday, with tariff collection set to begin on Wednesday. Leavitt said that U.S. trading partners should be coming to the administration with deals to improve trade terms.

"The president's message has been simple and consistent from the beginning to countries around the world – bring us your best offers and he will listen," Leavitt said during a White House press briefing Tuesday. "Deals will only be made if they benefit American workers and address our nation's crippling trade deficits." 

YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, known by his social media alias MrBeast, said on Tuesday that it will be "way cheaper" to make his Feastables chocolate bars due to President Donald Trump's tariffs.

"Ironically because of all the new tariffs it is now way cheaper to make our chocolate bars we sell globally NOT in America because other countries don’t have a 20%+ tariff on our cogs," Donaldson said in a post on X.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk (Reuters)

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk sparred on social media Tuesday with White House Senior Counselor Peter Navarro, after Navarro said in an interview Monday that Tesla was a car "assembler" rather than a manufacturer.

"Tesla has the most American-made cars. Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks," Musk said in an X post on Tuesday. "Navarro is truly a moron," Musk said in a separate post. "What he says here is demonstrably false."

Both Navarro and Musk are two of President Donald Trump’s closest advisers, and Navarro previously served in Trump's first administration as the director of the White House National Trade Council and the director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy. 

Musk is currently spearheading the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative to curb government waste and spending as a "special government employee."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (Getty Images)

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday that while the U.S. needs to be tough on China, it must approach the situation with intelligence and strategically.

His comments followed President Donald Trump’s latest threat to impose an additional 50% tariff on China if Beijing does not lift its 34% tariffs on American imports.

"As bad as it is, that would make it even worse," Schumer told FOX Business shortly after a Monday meeting, where he said New York's economy would suffer from Trump’s tariff plan, putting hundreds of thousands of export-related jobs at risk.

"I do believe we have to be tough on China, but you got to be smart about it, and you should get the whole world to rally against China instead of attacking the whole world on tariffs," Schumer told FOX Business.

This is an excerpt from an article by FOX Business' Daniella Genovese

Levi Strauss jeans (Getty Images)

Levi Strauss & Co. CEO Michelle Gass said that any price hikes the company makes due to President Donald Trump's tariffs would be "surgical."

Gass, on an earnings call Monday, told analysts that the situation around tariffs is "very new" and "fluid" and that the company is just "getting our arms around it." 

She stopped short of specifying what those price increases would look like, saying "as we look at pricing, we do believe that the brand, especially given the health of the brand, that there is pricing power there. But if we do anything, it will be very surgical," Gass said during the call.

Gass took the helm in 2024 as the struggling retailer announced a multiyear global productivity initiative to turn around the business and boost profitability.

This is an excerpt from an article by FOX Business' Daniella Genovese

President Donald Trump (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that China wants to "make a deal" with the U.S.

"China also wants to make a deal, badly, but they don’t know how to get it started," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "We are waiting for their call. It will happen!"

The post comes a day after Trump threatened to impose an additional 50% duty on U.S. imports from China if Beijing did not drop the 34% tariffs it imposed on U.S. products last week.

Beijing retaliated after Trump announced 34% tariffs against China on top of the 20% already imposed against the country earlier this year.

(Getty Images)

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he held a call with South Korea, discussing tariffs and other trade-related topics.

"I just had a great call with the Acting President of South Korea," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "We talked about their tremendous and unsustainable Surplus, Tariffs, Shipbuilding, large scale purchase of U.S. LNG, their joint venture in an Alaska Pipeline, and payment for the big time Military Protection we provide to South Korea."

"Their top TEAM is on a plane heading to the U.S., and things are looking good," Trump added. "We are likewise dealing with many other countries, all of whom want to make a deal with the United States."

Israeli Prime Minister told President Donald Trump that Israel is willing to eliminate its trade deficit with the U.S. on Monday.

Netanyahu made the comments during an appearance at the White House, saying he had a productive meeting with Trump regarding a wide rang eof topics.

“We had the opportunity to talk today about many subjects. First, if I can mention tariffs, it's a subject of some interest today. I can tell you that I said to the president a very simple thing. We will eliminate the trade deficit with the United States. We intend to do it very quickly. We think it's the right thing to do. And we're going to also eliminate trade barriers, a variety of trade barriers that have been put up unnecessarily," Netanyahu said.

"And I think Israel can serve as a model for many countries who ought to do the same. I recognize the position of the United States. It says, you know, we allow other countries to put tariffs on us, but we don't put tariffs on them. And, you know, I'm a free trade champion, and free trade has to be fair trade. And I think that's basically the position that you've put forward, Mr. President. We are going to eliminate the tariffs," he added.

Trump added that his administration is working to make "fair deals" with many other countries besides Israel.

Investors are on a rollercoaster ride and not the fun kind with the U.S. stock market under extreme volatility amid heavy selling as President Donald Trump stands firm, wielding his broad tariff strategy against most of our trading partners. 

Bear Markets & Correction Territory 

The S&P 500 briefly hit a bear market on Monday, following the Nasdaq Composite, which fell into bear market territory or down 20% from its most recent all-time highs on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is shy of its own as of Monday’s close. 

This as the CBOE’s Volatility Index, or VIX for short, which measures volatility, spiked to the highest level in 5 years, hovering at a level of 46. 

Don’t Panic 

While unnerving for many Main Street investors watching their portfolios, 401(k)s or retirement accounts, selling into a selloff is a big no-no for long-term investors. 

"You never sell in a panic, you never ever sell in a panic" said Ken Fisher, founder, Fisher Investments which oversees $295 billion in assets, during an interview on Varney & Co.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox Business' Suzanne O'Halloran.

The European Commission on Monday proposed counter-tariffs of 25% on a range of American goods in response to President Donald Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum, according to media reports.

Maros Sefcovic, the European Union trade chief, said the counter-tariffs would impact less than the previously announced 26 billion euros.

Goods such as bourbon, wine and dairy have been removed from the original list the Commission was weighing in March. The Commission had earmarked a 50% tariff on bourbon, which had prompted Trump to threaten a 200% counter-tariff on EU alcoholic drinks if the bloc goes ahead.

FOX Business has reached out to the White House.

The European Union also floated a "zero-for-zero" tariff resolution with the Trump administration after 20% import levies were imposed by Washington last week, the New York Post reported.

"We have offered zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods as we have successfully done with many other trading partners," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Monday.

Sefcovic said the zero-for-zero arrangement would be applied to chemicals, pharmaceuticals, rubber, plastic machinery and cars.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox Business' Louis Casiano Jr.

President Donald Trump’s "Liberation Day" tariffs imposed a 10% baseline on all imports — with steeper rates for countries with trade deficits — sparking pushback from Democratic governors trying to shield their states from any fallout.

While the Trump administration has maintained that the aggressive new tariffs will ultimately strengthen the U.S. economy and protect American workers, Trump's new tariff orders have impacted global markets as Democratic governors unite in opposition.

Govs. Gavin Newsom, J.B. Pritzker, Josh Shapiro, Jared Polis, Tim Walz and Kathy Hochul are among the growing list of Democratic governors speaking out against Trump's tariffs – and, in some cases, working to blunt the impact on their local economies.

"Democrats should focus on out-of-control homelessness, crime, regulations, and unaffordability in blue states instead of trying their hand at international dealmaking," White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

Newsom, considered a potential 2028 presidential contender, announced plans to seek "strategic" international partnerships to exclude California from the retaliatory tariffs imposed on the U.S. by countries caught in the crosshairs of Trump's tariffs. 

"I’m pursuing trading relationships with our global partners to combat the pain of Trump's tariffs and exclude California-made products from retaliation. As the world's 5th largest economy, California remains open for business — no matter the turbulence in Washington," Newsom said in an X post. 

However, within the U.S. Constitution, trade policy is a power reserved to the federal government, and states do not have legal authority to independently negotiate with foreign governments on tariffs or make global trade deals. 

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox Business' Deidre Heavey.

China is refusing to back down from President Donald Trump's "blackmail," as a global trade war sparked by Trump's new tariffs rages on.

This comes after Trump threatened to increase tariffs on U.S. imports from the Asian country to more than 100% if Beijing refuses to reverse its move to match the "reciprocal" duties announced last week by the American president.

Trump said he would impose an additional 50% duty on U.S. imports from China if Beijing did not drop the 34% tariffs it imposed on U.S. products last week, which would bring the total levies against China to 104%. Beijing retaliated after Trump announced 34% tariffs against China on top of the 20% already imposed against the country earlier this year.

"The U.S. side's threat to escalate tariffs against China is a mistake on top of a mistake, once again exposing the American side's blackmailing nature," China's commerce ministry said.

"If the U.S. insists on having its way, China will fight to the end," it added.

Chinese manufacturers are warning about the impact on profits, looking into new overseas plants and haggling with customers over prices in response to the tariffs.

The Chinese people "do not provoke trouble, nor are we afraid of it," Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, said at a press conference, adding that "the Chinese people's legitimate right to development must not be deprived."

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox Business' Landon Mion

Tesla shares have declined over 50% since December when they reach record highs.

Elon Musk, touted as the wealthiest person in the world, lost an estimated $4.4 billion on April 7 after (NASDAQ:TSLA) took extended stock loses bringing his fortune to $297.8 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Musk said he hopes for a “zero-tariff” system between the U.S. and Europe that would effectively create “a free-trade zone.”

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says that he and trade representative Jamieson Greer have been tasked by President Donald Trump to open negotiations and to implement the president’s vision for the "New Golden Age of Global Trade."

"Former National Economic Council chief economist Joe LaVorgna discussed on "Making Money" the chance for a recession in 2025, saying “Wall Street has been bracing for slower growth, lower earnings and a whole lot of both things, including maybe a recession."

Trump’s recent actions have been associated with major financial market selloff and increased the risk of a recession.

Countries around the globe are retaliating and there seems to be confusion about whether the tariffs are going to remain in place or if there will be negotiations if other countries are willing to come to an agreement and reduce their own barriers.

On "Special Report," Fox News senior congressional correspondent Aishah Hasnie explains how there is a clash between Republican lawmakers in both chambers over President Donald Trump's tariffs and budget bill.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., believes if you can get in the president's space, you will understand that his strategy is playing out, however many members of Congress are becoming anxious.

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Ill., is introducing a bill that will reign in presidential tariff authorities as the stock market continues to decline. The bill is identical to a bipartisan effort in the Senate that's gaining Republican support.

However, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., says Trump is fully within his authority and he appreciates what the president is doing on tariffs.

Click here to see the full report.

Valuetainment founder Patrick Bet-David weighs in on President Trump "resetting" global trade with his tariffs saying he's "just happy the fact that he's up coming through on the promises that he made."

Bet-David also pointed out that this is something the president has been speaking about for over 37 years.

"Since 1988, when he was on Oprah Winfrey, he talked about the fact that America wasn't negotiating properly on our behalf. On tax payers, on us citizens. They weren't doing a good job at it. He's been saying this for a long time," said Bet-David. "It's been 37 years and when he campaigned, he specifically set his favorite word as tariff."

He also pointed out that in 1996, Nancy Pelosi talked about the fact that it was unfair for China to charge us 35% on tariffs, "while we're only charging 2%."

Bet-David said Pelosi made sense, unfortunately they couldn't execute.

"I have a feeling they're [China] soon going to be knocking on the door saying, let's figure out a deal here. But I don't know how long that's going to take," said Bet-David.

Click here to view the full report.