By ELAINE KURTENBACH, Associated Press Business Writer

BANGKOK (AP) — The impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’sblast of tariff hikes was reverberating across world markets Monday as America’s trading partners puzzled over whether there is room for negotiating better deals.

Several countries said they were sending trade officials to Washington to try to talk through the crisis, which has cast uncertainty over the global economic outlook, hammered markets and left U.S. allies wondering about the value of their ties with the world’s largest economy.

A dejected investor waits to restart trading, suspended for an hour following a 5% drop in in its main index at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE), in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

However, Germany’s economy minister, Robert Habeck, was defiant as he arrived at a meeting of European Union trade ministers in Luxembourg, saying the premise of the wide-ranging tariffs was “nonsense” and that attempts by individual countries to win exemptions haven’t worked in the past.

It’s important for the EU to stick together, he said. That “means being clear that we are in a strong position — America is in a position of weakness.”

China, which hit back Friday at Washington with 34% tariffs on U.S. products and other retaliatory moves, accused the U.S. of failing to play fair.

“Putting ‘America First’ over international rules is a typical act of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying,” Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters.

The ruling Communist Party struck a note of confidence even as markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai crumpled. “The sky won’t fall,” declared The People’s Daily, the party’s official mouthpiece. “Faced with the indiscriminate punches of U.S. taxes, we know what we are doing and we have tools at our disposal.”

Leading big drops in many markets, Hong Kong’s stock benchmark, the Hang Seng, plunged 13.2%. The Shanghai Composite index, meanwhile, lost 7.3% despite reported moves by regulators to staunch the losses.

China’s Commerce Ministry said officials met with representatives of 20 American businesses including Tesla and GE Healthcare over the weekend and urged them to take “concrete actions” to address the tariffs issue.

During the meeting, Ling Ji, a vice minister of commerce, promised that China will remain open to foreign investment, according to the readout by the ministry.

Other Asian nations seek negotiations

South Korea’s Trade Ministry said its top negotiator, Inkyo Cheong, will visit Washington this week to express Seoul’s concerns over the 25% tariffs on Korean goods and discuss ways to mitigate the damage to South Korean businesses, which include major automakers and steel makers.

Pakistan also planned to send a delegation to Washington this month to try negotiate over the 29% tariffs on its exports to the U.S., officials said. The prime minister ordered Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to assess the tariff’s potential impact on Pakistan’s fragile economy and draw up recommendations.

The U.S. imports around $5 billion worth of textiles and other products each year from Pakistan, which heavily relies on loans from the International Monetary Fund and other lenders.

In Southeast Asia, Malaysia’s Trade Minister Zafrul Abdul Aziz said his country will seek to forge a united response from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

As chair of the 10-nation body this year, Malaysia will lead a meeting Thursday in its capital Kuala Lumpur to discuss broader implications of the trade war on regional trade and investment, Zafrul told reporters.

“We are looking at the investment flows, macroeconomic stability and ASEAN’s coordinated response to this tariff issue,” Zafrul said. He denied reports Malaysia had imposed a 47% tariff on imports from the U.S., saying the actual average Malaysian tariff on American exports is 5.6%.

He said that he had met with the U.S. ambassador to Malaysia to try to clarify how the U.S. came up with its 24% tariff.

Indonesia plans to increase imports from US

Indonesia, one of the region’s biggest economies, said it would work with businesses to increase its imports of U.S. wheat, cotton, oil and gas to help reduce its trade surplus, which was $18 billion in 2024.

Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto told a news conference that Indonesia will not retaliate against the new 32% tariff on Indonesian exports, but would use diplomacy to seek mutually beneficial solutions.

Some Southeast Asian neighbors, including Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, face tariffs of over 40%, giving Indonesia a slight advantage, he noted.

“For Indonesia, it is also another opportunity as its market is huge in America,” Hartoto said. He said Indonesia would buy U.S.-made components for several national strategic projects, including refineries.

Associated Press journalists from around the world contributed to this report.

FRANKFURT, Germany — Global stock markets extended a severe plunge Monday, fueled by fears that U.S. tariffs would lead to a global economic slowdown. European and Asian shares saw dramatic losses, the leading U.S. index flirted with bear market territory in pre-market trading, and oil prices sagged.

The massive sell-off in riskier assets at the start of the trading week follows President Donald Trump’s announcement of sharply higher U.S. import taxes and retaliation from China that saw markets fall sharply Thursday and Friday.

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Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost nearly 8% shortly after the market opened and futures trading for the benchmark was briefly suspended. It closed down 7.8% at 31,136.58.

European shares followed Asian markets lower, led by Germany’s DAX index, which briefly fell more than 10% at the open on the Frankfurt exchange, but recovered some ground to move down 5.8% in morning trading. In Paris, the CAC 40 shed 5.8%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 4.9% in the European morning.

U.S. futures signaled further weakness ahead. For the S&P 500, they lost 3.4%, while for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, they shed 3.1%. Futures for the Nasdaq lost 5.3%. If the pre-market futures losses materialize when the U.S. market opens, the S&P 500 will enter bear market territory — defined as a fall of more than 20% from the peak. The index was off 17.4% as of the end of last week.

On Friday, the worst market crisis since the COVID-19 pandemic shifted into a higher gear as the S&P 500 plummeted 6% and the Dow plunged 5.5%. The Nasdaq composite dropped 3.8%.

“There’s no sign yet that markets are finding a bottom and beginning to stabilize,” wrote Deutsche Bank analysts in a research note.

Late Sunday, Trump reiterated his resolve on his decision to introduce tariffs of 10% to 50% on goods imported into the U.S., a move seen as massively disrupting world trade and supply chains across borders. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, he said he didn’t want global markets to fall, but also that he wasn’t concerned about the massive sell-offs, adding, “sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.”

Heavy selling kicked in after China on Friday matched Trump’s tariff, upping the stakes in a trade war that many fear could end in a global recession. Even a better-than-expected report on the U.S. job market, usually the economic highlight of each month, wasn’t enough to stop the slide.

“The idea that there’s so much uncertainty going forward about how these tariffs are going to play out, that’s what’s really driving this plummet in the stock prices,” said Rintaro Nishimura, an associate at the Asia Group.

Chinese markets often don’t follow global trends, but they also tumbled. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 13.2% to 19,828.30, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 7.3% to 3,096.58. In Taiwan, the Taiex plummeted 9.7%.

South Korea’s Kospi lost 5.6% to 2,328.20, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 4.2% to 7,343.30, recovering from a loss of more than 6%.

Asian economies are heavily exposed to Trump’s tariffs since they are dependent on exports, and a large share go to the United States.

“Beyond the market meltdown, the bigger concern is the impact and potential crises for small and trade-dependent economies, so it’s crucial to see whether Trump will reach deals with most countries soon, at least partially,” said Gary Ng of Nataxis.

Oil prices also sank further, with U.S. benchmark crude down $2.30 to $59.69 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up $2.33 to $63.25 a barrel. As with the larger sell-off, the drop was fueled by fears that the tariffs would slow economic growth. That would hit demand for fuel, and the drop comes after moves to increase production by the OPEC+ producers’ alliance.

Exchange rates also gyrated. The U.S. dollar fell to 146.24 Japanese yen from 146.94 yen. The yen is often viewed as a safe haven in times of turmoil. The euro rose 0.3% to $1.0992.

While a stock exchange trader sits in front of his monitors on the trading floor of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Germany, the display board with the Dax curve shows a value of less than 20,000 points. (Arne Dedert/dpa via AP)

Nathan Thooft, chief investment officer and senior portfolio manager at Manulife Investment Management, said more countries are likely to respond to the U.S. with retaliatory tariffs. Given the large number of countries involved, “it will take a considerable amount of time in our view to work through the various negotiations that are likely to happen.”

“Ultimately, our take is market uncertainly and volatility are likely to persist for some time,” he said.

The Federal Reserve could cushion the blow of tariffs on the U.S. economy by cutting interest rates. That can encourage companies and households to borrow and spend. But Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Friday that the higher tariffs could drive up expectations for inflation and lower rates could fuel still more price increases.

Much will depend on how long Trump’s tariffs stick and how other countries react. Some investors are holding onto hope he will lower the tariffs after negotiating “wins” from other countries.

Stuart Kaiser, head of U.S. equity strategy at Citi, wrote in a note to clients that earnings estimates and stock values still don’t reflect the full potential impact of the trade war. “There is ample space to the downside despite the large pullback,” he said.

Kurtenbach reported from Bangkok. Associated Press writers Ayaka McGill, Paul Harloff and Jiang Junzhe contributed.

School board member Chauntyll Allen is the fourth candidate to declare for the Ward 4 seat on the St. Paul City Council this August, and a former chair of the Hamline-Midway Coalition has raised the ire of its nonprofit board by allegedly using its slogan and pictures of himself with staff in his campaign materials.

Chauntyll Allen

Allen, a nonprofit organizer, former school worker and renter, announced her candidacy on Thursday. She said she has lived in the ward for 23 years and has “personally experienced many of the most pressing issues our city is facing,” from the displacement of her family from the Rondo community to “seeing my former students on the streets to difficulty finding affordable housing for me and my wife.”

She said her campaign will focus on community safety, economic prosperity, housing stability and workforce and youth development. She was elected to the school board in 2020 and is the founder of Love First Community Engagement, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Twin Cities and chair of the End Slavery in Minnesota campaign.

Her campaign spokesman, Jerome Richardson, said Friday she planned to continue to serve on the school board throughout her campaign for the Ward 4 seat.

Other candidates

(Left to right) Molly Coleman, Cristen Incitti, and Cole Hanson. The three have announced their candidacies for the Ward 4 seat on the St. Paul City Council. More candidates are likely to announce their intention to run for the seat being vacated by former Council President Mitra Jalali. (Courtesy of the candidates)

Candidates who have previously announced their intent to run include former Hamline-Midway Coalition board chair Cole Hanson, nonprofit founder Molly Coleman and Cristen Incitti, president and chief executive officer of Habitat for Humanity of Minnesota. The winner of the Aug. 12 election, which will be ranked-choice, is expected to serve on the city council through 2028.

Nine board members with the Hamline-Midway Coalition have signed a letter officially distancing the coalition from Hanson’s campaign activities.

The letter, signed March 31 by nine of 11 board members, accuses Hanson of putting the neighborhood district council’s nonprofit status in jeopardy by engaging in “partisan political activities” using the coalition’s website and slogans without permission, while also featuring a photo of himself and a staff member in his campaign materials.

Under the federal tax code, 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofits are prohibited from engaging in partisan political campaigns.

Hanson noted on Friday that the organization’s executive director, Jenne Nelson, had taken a leave of absence to work in the Ward 4 office at City Hall, leaving much of the organization’s day-to-day management on the shoulders of a single staffer.

“It is a disaster over there right now,” said Hanson, who was board chair for 2 1/2 years before stepping down in March. “It’s just sad, man. It’s all weird internal politics that could have been resolved by an email. … I’m looking forward.”

The board members accused Hanson of modifying the coalition’s website to remove its longstanding slogan, and then using the same slogan in his campaign materials. They also accused him of using a photo featuring himself and coalition staff on his campaign website without consent, “creating the appearance of an implicit organizational endorsement.”

The letter “affirms that these actions were unauthorized and contrary to HMC’s policies and legal obligations” and serves as “a formal notice of HMC’s disavowal of his activities.”

Hanson said he had removed the language in question from his campaign website weeks ago, and he said the picture in question is one of himself with his daughter at a community event, where he is wearing a Hamline-Midway Coalition t-shirt.

A disorderly transition

Some members have accused Hanson of continuing to serve as board president after his first campaign launch party.

“When I tried to transition out, we tried to do an orderly transition,” Hanson explained. “It didn’t work. All of a sudden you had staff getting upset about this perceived slight. I’ve said any number of times on social media that I’m not part of HMC. I haven’t been involved with HMC in any formal capacity for over a month now.”

“There’s no rules in HMC for how to do these transitions,” he added. “There’s no bylaws on what to do. Everyone was improvising the entire time, and I think they still are.”

In their March 31 letter, the board resolved to adopt a new bylaw provision requiring that any board member or staff member who announces their candidacy for public office must immediately take a leave of absence for the duration of the campaign or resign outright “to prevent conflicts of interest and ensure organizational neutrality.”

They also resolved to strengthen their conflict-of-interest policy and expand board member education “to provide clearer guidelines and comprehensive training on nonprofit compliance.”

The letter seeks to “reaffirm the coalition’s commitment to nonpartisanship in elections,” which extends to not involving themselves in any candidate forums related to the Aug. 12 election, though they reserved the right to promote forums organized by neighborhood partners.

The letter was signed by board president Grace Liu, board secretary Anna Best, co-vice presidents Ilya Garelik and Melissa Tallman, and Gunnar Aas, among others.

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Officials said that the full board discussed their concerns around Hanson’s campaign activity at two meetings, and the executive committee discussed it at least once before that.

“There’s a lot of work that HMC does that is really important to the neighborhood, and anything that could put those things at risk is something we really take seriously,” said Grace Liu, who became board president toward the end of March. “I think there were many conversations with Cole early in the process.”

The North Dakota Senate passed a bill on Friday to create a state Department of Government Efficiency task force in the same vein as the federal DOGE.

House Bill 1442 passed the Senate with a 41-4 vote and now heads back to the House for a vote of concurrence before it can be sent to the governor’s desk.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Nathan Toman, R-Mandan, would create a task force made up of 10 members. The director of the Office of Management and Budget, the chief operating officer for the Office of the Governor, one elected statewide officer appointed by the governor, one person residing in the state appointed by the governor, three members of the House of Representatives and three members of the Senate. Each member would serve two-year terms.

The chairman of legislative management would select one of the legislators serving on the task force to act as its chairman. They would meet at least quarterly, or more frequently at the call of the chairman.

According to the bill’s carrier on the Senate floor, Sen. Chuck Walen, R-New Town, the task force’s goal is to identify areas where North Dakota can increase efficiency, implement cost-saving measures, and find unnecessary, duplicative or outdated laws, rules and regulations. Members would submit an annual report of their findings to legislative management and present legislative management with potential changes to consider in future sessions.

“Just to slash is not why I brought it,” Toman said. “It is to create an effective, efficient government that is cognizant of the taxpayer dollars and is a good steward of those dollars, and not just spending them because we have some.”

Toman said he brought amendments to the bill in the Senate that he feels make the bill “more streamlined and effective.” He anticipates that the House will vote to concur with the Senate amendments and send the bill to the governor.

“Having worked on it, I thought I had a really good bill,” Toman said. “You get here and you get questions in committees on both sides, and then you come up with amendments. I think it’s in its best form now. I think it’s going to be effective and it is what I imagined it should be.”

There has been widespread reporting on growing national frustration with the federal Department of Government Efficiency, but Toman said he had been thinking about a bill of this nature for over two years — long before Elon Musk and the Trump administration created the federal DOGE.

“I think it’ll set us up for better success throughout the session,” Toman said. “The intent is not just to come in and cut 15% of a budget, right? It’s to say, ‘Okay, where are the efficiencies, where are the duplications?’ And then we can make that decision. We have to vote on it again here (in the Legislature), once those recommendations are brought up.”

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North Dakota is not the first state to implement a state-level task force or department similar to the federal DOGE. A number of other states have introduced DOGE legislation or seen executive orders creating DOGE-like committees and task forces.

Walen said the bill is a companion bill to Senate Bill 2308, which investigates the licensing boards in the state, which has been passed by both chambers and is waiting on a vote of concurrence in the Senate before it can head to the governor’s desk.

The legislation includes an emergency clause, meaning it would take effect immediately, and a sunset clause ending the task force in July 2031.