Trump vows tariffs on all countries, leading to gold surging and markets tumbling

U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday the tariffs he plans to impose in the coming days would include “all countries,” not just those with the largest trade imbalances with the U.S., prompting a sell-off in stock markets around the world and safe-haven gold to surge past its new all-time high at over $3,120.

Trump has promised a “Liberation Day” on April 2, when he is set to unveil reciprocal levies to address trade practices that his government deems unfair.

“You’d start with all countries, so let’s see what happens,” Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One, dashing hopes he might scale back some of the threatened levies or that they would target a select group with persistent trade imbalances.

“I haven’t heard a rumor about 15 countries, 10 or 15,” he said when asked which nations would be affected. “Essentially all of the countries that we’re talking about. We’ve been talking about all countries, not a cutoff,” he said, without giving details.

Trump’s upcoming tariff salvo had been expected to target the 15% of partners that have persistent trade imbalances with the United States, a group Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called a “Dirty 15.”

But despite widening the target, the president insisted his tariffs would be more “generous” than those levied against the United States.

“The tariffs will be far more generous than those countries were to us, meaning they will be kinder than those countries were to the United States of America over the decades,” he said.

“They ripped us off like no country has ever been ripped off in history, and we’re going to be much nicer than they were to us. But it’s substantial money for the country, nevertheless,” he said.

Trump has already slapped tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and additional levies on imports from China. Tariffs on imported autos are also set to take effect on April 3.

Trump’s plans to unleash a wide range of reciprocal tariffs risk a global trade war, with other countries already vowing to retaliate and economists warning the sweeping moves risk stoking inflation and triggering a downturn. Trump has defended the levies as a way to raise government revenue and revitalize U.S. industry.

‘A trade war creates only losers’

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde responded to Trump’s statements on Monday, stating that Europe should move towards economic independence as U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to unleash a fresh wave of tariffs.

Lagarde told France Inter radio that Europe faces an “existential moment,” saying, “He calls it ‘Liberation Day’ in the United States. I see it as a moment when we must collectively decide to take greater control of our destiny, and I think it is a step towards independence.”

“To put ourselves in a position to negotiate effectively, we have to show that we won’t just roll over,” Lagarde added, as the European Union readies its response to the U.S. tariffs.

The ECB estimates that Trump’s trade war could slash the eurozone’s economy by 0.3% in its first year—and by 0.5% if the EU retaliates.

“A trade war creates only losers,” Lagarde remarked.

Stock markets tumble; gold up to its new highs

Trump’s statements were followed by a market downturn around the world, led by Tokyo stocks, while gold hit a record high as investors steeled themselves for a wave of U.S. tariffs this week that has fueled recession fears.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index plunged more than 4%, or 1,502.77 points, to 35,617.56 — its lowest level since September — while the broader Topix index fell 3.57%, or 98.52 points, to 2,658.73, extending last week’s slide. Automakers Toyota, Nissan, and Mazda shed between 3% and 4%, while tech investment titan SoftBank tanked more than 5%.

The index drop put it in a correction, having fallen more than 10% from its peak in December.

Seoul was also sharply lower as the Korea Stock Exchange index fell by 3%.

Hong Kong suffered another big sell-off of over 1.3%, with conglomerate CK Hutchison shedding 3.1% following reports that billionaire Li Ka-shing might delay signing a multi-billion-dollar deal to offload its port operations, including those in the Panama Canal.

London, Paris, and Frankfurt also opened in the red in early trade.

Meanwhile, gold, a haven in times of uncertainty and turmoil, hit a record high of $3,127.92. As of 0930 GMT on Monday, spot gold prices stood at $3,120 with a 1.20% daily gain.