• China said it will file a lawsuit against the new tariffs.
• Beijing imposes export controls on elements used in the technology.
• The EU can respond by imposing taxes on U.S. technology companies.

China announced a 34% U.S. import tax rate on Friday, the first major economy to oppose President Donald Trump’s launch of new taxes amid an escalating global trade war, which has put the market in red.

Both states and companies weigh their options, and the EU is ready to hold talks with U.S. officials. Potential responses could include retaliatory tariffs or other measures that could escalate the trade war, raising concerns about the recession.

China is one of the highest trading partners of the United States – first announced that tariffs on all U.S. imported goods will take effect from April 10 and said it will file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization (WTO).

It also said it will impose export controls on many rare earth elements used in medical technology and consumer electronics.

Stock markets in Asia and Europe increased losses in the bloody mud on Thursday, which brought New York’s wide S&P 500 down 4.%, the biggest drop since 2020 Covid Pandemic.

In Europe, Frankfurt fell 5% at noon Friday, while Paris fell more than 4% and London fell nearly 3.8%.

Tokyo’s Nikkei index fell 2.8%, while Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba described Trump’s tariffs as a “national crisis.”

Trump rejected the turmoil on Thursday and insisted on journalists that he left for a weekend at the Florida Golf Resort and stocks would “boom”.

Trump announced that it will start on Saturday to impose taxes on imports in all countries, as well as dozens of specific countries that will take effect next week.

Countries have already criticized tariffs, but in addition to China, they have taken retaliatory measures and held talks with the United States.

EU Trade Director Maros Sefcovic will talk to his U.S. counterparts on Friday after Trump reached a group of 27 countries with 20% tariffs.

Sefcovic said Thursday that the EU will take action in a “calm, careful, unified way” and allow time to negotiate, but he also warned the group “if we can’t reach a fair deal”.

“French Patriotism”

France and Germany say the EU can respond by imposing taxes on U.S. technology companies.

Economy Secretary Eric Lombard urged French companies to argue that if they invest in the United States, they would convey the wrong message.

Lombard said the EU’s retaliation would not necessarily involve the tariffs on selling tats, and other tools could be used to use data exchange and taxation as leverages that could be used.

“The response may be very strong, but we shouldn’t use the exact same weapons used by the United States, and if we do, it could have a negative impact in Europe,” he told News Network BFMTV.

In Tokyo, Ishiba calls for a “calm” approach to negotiations with Trump, who targets Japanese products with a 24% tax.

Local media reported that Japanese officials tried to hold apparently friendly talks at the White House in February as they tried to organize calls between Islamaka and Trump.

Automatic shift

The company is also scrambling to adapt to new trade orders.

Separate tariffs on all foreign-made cars also came into effect this week, and Canada’s tax on U.S. imports also responded quickly.

Stellantis, owner of Jeep, Chrysler and Fiat, shut down production at some assembly plants in Canada and Mexico.

Japanese automaker Nissan said on Friday it would modify plans to reduce U.S. production.

The company also said it would stop selling two vehicles on the U.S. market made in a factory in Mexico.

Volvo Cars, owned by China’s Geely, said it will increase production of its vehicles in the U.S. and may generate additional models there.

Trump said he wanted to free the United States from its reliance on foreign manufacturers and compare him to a medical procedure with a massive economic reshaping.

In protests abroad, even among some Trump Republicans fearing price increases, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick urged patience.

“Let Donald Trump run the global economy. He knows what he is doing,” Lutnik said on CNN.

Republican Senator Mitch McConnell broke up with Trump, treating tariffs as “bad policy.”

McConnell said retaining a long-term prosperity “needs to work with our allies, not against them.”

WTO head Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala helps manage global transactions, warning that the turmoil could lead to a “1% contraction in global commodity trade this year”.