Tech stocks slump after Trump announces ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs

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Tech stocks took a steep dive in after-hours trading today after President Donald Trump announced controversial “reciprocal” tariffs, 10% on all goods coming from foreign countries with higher tariffs on what Trump called the “worst offenders.”

The tariffs, which will go into effect April 9, hit most tech firms hard. Apple Inc. stock fell 6%, Tesla Inc. 4.5% and chip giant Nvidia Corp. 4%. Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc., as well as Microsoft Corp., Meta Platforms Inc., and Amazon.com Inc. all saw drops, the companies losing between 2% and 5%.

There will be a 10% blanket tariff on all imports, but certain countries will see higher tariffs, such as the 34% being put on Chinese goods, 20% on imports from the EU, and 24% for Japanese imports, which Trump said was based on the tariffs on U.S. exports. Vietnamese goods will see a staggering 46% tariff, Thailand 37%, South Korea 26%, Japan 24%, Taiwan 32% and India 27%.

In a White House press release, Trump said other nations’ economic policies pose an “extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security. “That threat has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States in the domestic economic policies of key trading partners and structural imbalances in the global trading system,” he wrote. “I hereby declare a national emergency with respect to this threat.”

Trump stated that goods trade deficits have led to a “hollowing out of our manufacturing base” that he believes inhibits the U.S.’s “advanced domestic manufacturing capacity,” affecting critical supply chains and rendering the U.S. overly dependent on foreign nations for its defense-industrial base. Despite this, the announcement has been met with widespread consternation inside the U.S.

Critics are saying the tariffs are “short-sighted” and will hurt U.S. consumers, who will soon be paying higher prices for many of the items they use in their day-to-day lives. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters that the tariffs will mean a “huge tax on American families, all to help billionaires get a tax cut.”

In the EU, the U.S.’s biggest trading partner, the mood from countries was solemn. Manfred Weber, president of The European People’s Party Group, what he called “resentment day” was not a defense of fair trade but an attack that would “hurt both sides of the Atlantic.” He added, “Europe stands united, ready to defend its interests, and open to fair, firm talks.”

Analysts say kicking off a tariff war will hurt many of the countries whose economies have vastly improved over the last 50 years or so, and some of those that have seen more recent gains, such as Vietnam and Thailand. China’s commerce ministry has called for Trump to “immediately cancel” the tariffs, stating that they “endanger global economic development” and will be detrimental to U.S. interests as well as international supply chains. “There is no winner in a trade war, and there is no way out for protectionism,” said the ministry.

On the other side of the debate, some commentators have hailed the tariffs as a watershed moment that will advance the U.S. economy. “President Trump is sending a clear message with Liberation Day: America will not be exploited by unfair trade practices anymore,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson.

“The United States can no longer produce enough antibiotics to treat our sick,” Trump said in defense of the tariffs. “We have a tremendous problem. We have to go to foreign countries to treat our sick. If anything ever happened, from a war standpoint, we wouldn’t be able to do it. We import virtually all of our computers, phones, televisions, and electronics. We used to dominate the field, and now we import it all from different countries.”

Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr