Major Stock Indexes Plunge As US Threatens Higher Tariffs On Chinese Goods

USA equities fell by the most since March as investors remained on edge over President Donald Trump's threat to increase tariffs on billions of dollars of imports from China. "We'll see, but I am very happy with over $100 Billion a year in Tariffs filling USA coffers", he added.

Trump took a shot at his challengers, singling out former Vice President Joe Biden, who is running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, saying China would prefer to negotiate with them.

She added she believed the yen would break through that level if Trump would follow up on his threat to lift tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese products this week, and would complain again about the U.S.

China has repeatedly said it will make changes to open its economy on its own timeline, not in response to trade disputes.

Investors will likely have to deal with a volatile market for some time amid uncertainty over whether the USA and China can reach agreement on trade.

But stumbling blocks remained, even before Mr Trump accused China of backsliding on what it had already agreed to. "We do not think Beijing will submit to bullying by the USA president".

Trump said that trade deal talks between the two countries were progressing "too slowly", so he had made a decision to hike tariffs on Chinese goods.

"The Trump administration seems to have concluded that it is time to get it done".

Despite the tiff, a White House official on Tuesday told Roll Call a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He is still coming to Washington this week to continue talks that have lasted many months.

"Week after week, we've heard there has been progress and that a deal would be reached", said Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones in St. Louis.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that tariffs generate revenue from China that flows into USA coffers, but the extra costs associated with tariffs are typically borne by US importers who pass them on to consumers.

United States will however establish a process to seek exclusions for certain products. The official disputed the assertion that China was backtracking on its promises, adding that US demands were becoming more "harsh" and the path to a deal more "narrow" as the negotiations drag on. And China's retaliatory tariffs are inflicting pain on farmers, a key part of Mr Trump's political base.

Stephens said prices already are depressed, so "we need the China market reopened to USA soybean exports within weeks, not months or longer", and before the 2019 harvest begins in September. China's top trade negotiator still intends to visit Washington later this week as Trump ratchets up pressure to clinch a deal that many market participants had expected was all but done.

In the statement, they added that raising tariffs to 25 percent will cost Americans almost one million jobs, add a burden of $69 billion to consumers and will cost a total of $1.4 billion in income. But how far Beijing will go to stop another round of tariffs, which so far have been imposed on imports worth $360 billion in two-way trade, is questionable.