American markets cratered on opening after Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs announcement on Wednesday. The S&P 500 lost nearly $2trn in value. Tech companies, whose supply chains rely on overseas manufacturing, saw significant drops overnight: Apple and Meta were down 8% and 7% respectively; Nvidia fell 6.6%. The dollar sank by the most since November 2022 as investors feared for the American economy.
America’s trading partners responded angrily. The country’s steepest tariffs in a century include a baseline rate of 10%. Specific countries will face higher new levies: 34% on China, 24% on Japan and 20% on the European Union. China called the measures “bullying” and vowed a “resolute” retaliation. France’s President, Emmanuel Macron, urged European companies to halt investments in America.
Binyamin Netanyahu called Hungary’s decision to leave the International Criminal Court “bold and principled”. Israel’s prime minister, who faces an ICC arrest warrant over alleged war crimes in Gaza, made the comments during a visit to Hungary. His host, Viktor Orban, promised to defy the warrant. Other ICC signatories in Europe, including Germany, have mulled ways of allowing Mr Netanyahu to visit safely.
Russia will provide weapons and training to the Alliance of Sahel States, a grouping of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. The three west African countries, each ruled by juntas, signed a defence pact in 2023; they left ECOWAS, the regional bloc, this January. Russia has expanded its influence in the Sahel by sending mercenaries and other support to the juntas.
Mr Netanyahu said Israel plans to “divide up” the Gaza Strip to help free the hostages held by Hamas. In a video statement, the Israeli leader said his forces had “shifted gears” as they launched more strikes on the enclave. Gaza’s health ministry said at least 60 people died in attacks on Wednesday.
Kirill Dmitriev, a point man for Vladimir Putin, visited Washington to meet members of the Trump administration. Mr Dmitriev, who runs a Russian state investment fund, is expected to discuss Ukraine with Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s foreign-policy dealmaker. America has sought a rapprochement with Russia, though Mr Trump recently expressed frustration at the Kremlin over the slow progress of ceasefire talks.
Thousands of people took to the streets in Port-au-Prince to protest against the gangs that control most of Haiti’s capital. The armed groups have forced more than 1m people out of their homes and are accused of mass rapes and killings. Haiti’s government collapsed nearly a year ago, but the transitional regime has struggled to hold back the gangs and restore stability.
Figure of the day: 29%, the share of Republican voters who view the EU as “unfriendly” or “an enemy”, according to our polling with YouGov. Read the full story.
Donald Trump’s return to the presidency has brought exceptional changes to American politics—with consequences for the rest of the world, too. Read The US in brief, a daily update of the domestic political stories that matter. Sign up here to receive it as a newsletter, each weekday, in your inbox.