Bitcoin Falls Further, As Trump’s Tariffs Roil Markets

The economic turmoil triggered by US President Donald Trump continued on Wednesday, as markets continued to fall, amid warnings of the threat to global stability.

The price of Bitcoin, which fell to $81,000 last week, fell further this week and on Wednesday plunged down to $77,070 as global markets entered correction territory.

Amid the financial chaos unleashed by Trump, the Bank of England warned that the risk of “further sharp corrections” in the market is high, and added that Donald Trump’s tariff war could UK financial stability at risk.

Trump’s tariffs

Meanwhile Germany’s finance minister, Jörg Kukies, said on Wednesday that the country’s economy was at risk of another recession as a result of the trade tensions.

The investment bank JP Morgan has also estimated that there was a 60 percent chance of the world economy entering a recession by year-end.

Last week Trump revealed that his tariffs varied as low as 10 percent for a few selected nations (including the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore).

However Trump’s tariffs were much higher for 60 so called “worst offenders” which includes China, Vietnam, Cambodia, South Africa, and even allies such as the European Union, Japan and Taiwan.

Countries that faced the highest tariffs are China (54 percent, including previously announced tariffs); Cambodia (49 percent tariff); Vietnam (46 percent tariff); and Thailand (36 percent tariff).

There are no additional tariffs on Canada and Mexico, as both countries have already been subjected to a 25 percent tariff by Trump.

Trump last week had also announced new import tariffs of 25 percent on all cars and car parts coming into the US. Car maker Land Rover has already ‘paused’ shipments to the US.

Trump’s latest round of tariffs came into effect on Wednesday 9 April 2025.

Bullying practices

But Trump’s hopes that other countries will back down and accept his actions were dashed when China refused to meet Trump’s deadline to withdraw its own retaliatory levies of 34 percent on the US.

In return Trump threatened to impose an additional 50 percent tariff on China.

Beijing accused the White House of “bullying practices”.

This has led Donald Trump to impose a tariff of 104 percent on Chinese goods into the US, which has already reportedly prompted his closest backer, Elon Musk, to make repeated attempts to ask Trump to back off from the global tariffs.

On Monday, Musk also escalated an insult-heavy social media feud with Peter Navarro, a key Trump ally and White House trade adviser who is said to be a guiding force behind the tariffs strategy.

Musk of course has lost billions in the wake of Trump’s tariff announcement, as the EV maker relies on imported parts from China.

It should be noted that Trump’s tariff strategy has drawn widespread criticism from economists, political opponents and even some members of his Republican party.

Update:

China has just announced it will impose additional tariffs on US goods on Thursday. It will place an import tax of 84 percent on US goods – a 50 percent increase from its previous 34 percent tariff.

Meanwhile European Union countries are expected to approve on Wednesday the bloc’s first countermeasures against Trump’s tariffs.