Recession fears smash global markets amid Donald Trump’s trade tariff war

Stock markets around the world have fallen after US President Donald Trump refused to rule out a recession or more inflation amid his escalating international trade war.

Stock markets around the world fell sharply after US President Donald Trump refused to rule out a recession amid an escalating international trade war.

Investors have been spooked by the chaos surrounding tariffs, with policies against Mexico, Canada and China being implemented, delayed and altered.

In the US tech stocks led the slump, with the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index marking its largest one-day loss since 2022.

The Nasdaq plunged by 4.0 per cent, bringing it to 17,468.32. The broadbased S&P 500 Index retreated 2.7 per cent to 5,614.56 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 2.1 per cent to 41,911.71.

Major tech names saw sharp losses, with Tesla shares diving 15.4 per cent. Others among the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks – which include Google parent Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Nvidia - also sank.

Traders and financial professionals work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the opening bell in New York City on March 10, 2025. Photo: AFP

When asked about the possibility of a recession, Mr Trump would not rule the scenario out, saying he disliked predicting such things.

“There is a period of transition, because what we’re doing is very big – we’re bringing wealth back to America,” Mr Trump said.

He said that would take some time, echoing his comments to joint Congress last week urging Americans to be patient during the transition.

Analysts have warned there is a higher risk of a global recession as a result of “extreme US policies”.

Washington officials are also racing to avert a government shutdown before the weekend that Mr Trump has conceded “could happen”.

Republicans are trying to have a stopgap bill passed to fund the government to the end of September.

If the resolution is not passed, thousands of public employees could be sent home without pay and a number of government operations placed on pause while funding negotiations continue.

House Speaker Mike Johnson urged Republicans to support the measure, writing on social media to “remain united – no dissent”.

TRUMP’S ENERGY CHIEF TO REVERSE BIDEN CLIMATE POLICIES

The US energy secretary has vowed to reset federal energy policy to favour fossil fuels and deprioritise climate change as industry leaders gathered at their biggest event since President Donald Trump returned to office.
In the conference’s opening session, Energy Secretary Chris Wright cited the Trump administration’s moves to cut red tape that is delaying oil projects and promote liquefied natural gas exports as examples of a pivot away from policies pursued under former president Joe Biden.
“The Trump administration will end the Biden administration’s irrational quasi-religious policies on climate change that imposed endless sacrifices on our citizens,” Wright told a packed auditorium for the annual Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) conference.

The secretary of energy of Unites States, Chris Wright, delivers a speech in the framework of the Ceraweek by S&P Global energy conference in Houston, Texas. Picture: AFP

Mr Trump made energy policy a central part of his agenda with his day-one “Unleashing American Energy” executive order, promising during his inaugural address to “end the Green New Deal” in favour of “that liquid gold under our feet.”

But Mark Brownstein, senior vice president at the Environmental Defense Fund, said Wright’s tone was “long on rhetoric,” adding, “at some point the administration needs to get off the campaign stump speech and get on with the business of governing.”

Brownstein described many CERA attendees as uncertain about investments, not only because of Mr Trump’s shifting position on energy and climate change, but also the nearly daily pivots on tariffs.

“The energy industry is a capital-intensive business and what they need to deploy capital at scale is certainty and consistency,” Brownstein told AFP.

ONTARIO TO SLAP AMERICANS WITH 25 PER CENT ELECTRICITY TAX

The Canadian province of Ontario will bump up its prices on the electricity that it supplies to 1.5 million Americans by 25 per cent in response to US President Donald Trump’s trade tariff war.

Ontario provides electricity to New York, Michigan and Minnesota.

Ontario’s premier Doug Ford said he feels bad for the American people but “It’s one person who is responsible, it’s President Trump.”

USAID CONTRACTS SLASHED

The United States will cancel more than 80 per cent of USAID programs that do not align with the Trump administration’s “America First” agenda, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced.

“The 5200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States,” Mr Rubio said in a post.

“Thank you to DOGE and our hardworking staff who worked very long hours to achieve this overdue and historic reform.”

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) shout out comes amid reports of friction between Mr Rubio and DOGE architect Elon Musk.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with the media on his military aeroplane as he flies to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, March 10, 2025. Photo: AFP

Both men and Mr Trump have sought to downplay any dispute between the two chief advisers.

The majority of USAID worked were sacked or immediately placed on leave after Mr Trump came back into power.

The organisation’s 1000 remaining programs not slashed will be managed by the State Department.

Mr Musk responded to Mr Rubio’s post, describing the cuts as “tough but necessary”.

UN SLAMS TRUMP: ‘POISON PATRIARCHY IS BACK’

United Nations leader Antonio Guterres condemned rollbacks in women’s rights that he said had been condoned by some world leaders.

Without naming any country or leader, the UN secretary-general said “the poison of patriarchy is back – and it is back with a vengeance: slamming the brakes on action; tearing-up progress; and mutating into new and dangerous forms.”

Guterres said women’s rights were “under siege” at the annual meeting of the UN commission on the status of women, held 30 years after a major UN conference in Beijing agreed a blueprint for boosting sexual equality.

“Around the world, the masters of misogyny are gaining in strength, confidence and influence,” said Guterres, who added that progress on education and cutting maternal mortality was under threat.

US President Donald Trump signs a Women's Month Proclamation in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on March 6, 2025. Picture: AFP

“We see it in the bile hurled at women online. We see it in attempts to gut women’s human rights and fundamental freedoms. And we see it in the leaders happy to throw equality to the wolves.”

Guterres’s comments came as the US administration of President Donald Trump attacks diversity programs, Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities face mounting criticism over their treatment of women, and other countries have also cutback on rights.

“Around the world, hard-won gains are being thrown into reverse,” said Guterres. “Reproductive rights are under attack, and equality initiatives discarded. Meanwhile, new technologies – including artificial intelligence – are creating new platforms for violence and abuse, normalising misogyny and online revenge.”

Originally published as Recession fears smash global markets amid Donald Trump’s trade tariff war