European Union trade ministers are set to hold emergency talks as stock markets across the continent and beyond plunged on Monday, shaken by the fallout of U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping 20% tariffs on most EU imports. The move, which follows initial 10% baseline tariffs implemented on April 5, is scheduled to intensify with full customs tariffs kicking in on April 9.
Germany’s DAX index led the European declines, falling nearly 10% at the opening bell — one of its steepest drops in years. Paris saw losses of over 6%, while London’s FTSE dropped nearly 6%. Amsterdam, Oslo, and Milan also recorded sharp declines, with Milan down over 3%. The stock crash mirrored similar scenes across Asia and premarket U.S. futures, reflecting growing fears of a global recession.
The exemptions granted to Russia and Belarus, but not Ukraine, have raised political tensions within the EU. Meanwhile, global markets continue to reel under the uncertainty. In Asia, indexes extended losses from Friday’s Wall Street meltdown, and India’s Nifty fell over 3.5%, with its IT sector tumbling more than 5.5% due to heavy U.S. exposure.
Despite growing economic backlash, Trump has doubled down on his protectionist stance, defending the tariffs as a necessary “medicine” to rebalance what he called “unfair trade practices.” Speaking on Sunday, Trump said, “They are coming to the table. They want to talk but there’s no talk unless they pay us a lot of money on a yearly basis.”
Meanwhile, China has already retaliated with a 34% tariff on U.S. imports and plans to position itself as a stable trade alternative amid the ongoing turbulence. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed that more than 50 countries have initiated talks with Washington, but no clear resolutions have emerged.
In India, the government remains hopeful of achieving 6.5% to 6.8% GDP growth this year, even as private forecasters like Goldman Sachs have lowered projections to 6.1%. Concerns persist over labor-intensive sectors such as textiles, footwear, and agriculture, though the pharmaceutical sector has been spared from the tariff hikes due to U.S. dependency on imports of essential medicines.
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