S&P 500 Loses $3.4 Trillion as Trade War With China and Canada Is Started by Trump’s Tariffs

Market losses brought on by US President Trump’s tariffs on China and Canada have erased $3.4 trillion in value from the S&P 500 since the election.

Tuesday’s decline in the S&P 500 effectively erased all of the gains earned since Donald Trump was proclaimed the victor of the 2024 presidential election in November, as the US president fulfilled his pledges to impose broad tariffs on the country’s biggest trading partners.

According to Bloomberg data, which NBC News published, since November 6, the day following the election, a total of $3.4 trillion in value has been lost.

With a 10% duty on the nation’s energy and a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico set to go into effect on Tuesday, Trump’s announcement on Monday sparked financial markets to panic and heightened worries of a North American trade war.

According to him, there was “no room left” for an agreement that would prevent the tariffs by reducing the amount of fentanyl entering the US. Trump added that nations that apply charges on US goods would be subject to reciprocal tariffs starting on April 2.

In addition, Trump increased fentanyl-related taxes on Chinese goods from 10% to 20% unless Beijing stops trafficking fentanyl into the United States.

On Tuesday, however, other major indexes sank in lockstep: the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.8%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.5%, moving closer to correction territory and nearly 10% below its previous peak.

Automakers like GM and Ford, who both have sizable manufacturing plants in Mexico, were among the biggest losers. More than two percent fell for Chipotle, which gets around half of its avocados from Mexico.

China announced that it would increase restrictions on doing business with important US businesses and apply further tariffs of up to 15% on imports of important US agriculture products, such as poultry, pig, soy, and beef, in response to the new US tariffs.

Canada is to impose tariffs on nearly $100 billion worth of American goods in 21 days. Moreover, Mexico intends to impose duties on US imports.

In an interview with Fox News, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated that Trump was prepared to change course if Canada and Mexico were also willing to take additional steps. The question of completely halting the tariffs won’t come up, he stressed.

“All day long, both Canadians and Mexicans were with me attempting to demonstrate that they would perform better. And because the president is so rational and fair, he is paying attention. There won’t be a pause or anything like that, but I believe he will figure it out.

We will most likely make the announcement tomorrow. You do more, and I’ll meet you halfway. The result will therefore probably fall somewhere in the center. In other words, the president is not fully moving with the Mexicans and Canadians, Lutnick said.