The dollar rallied and Asian shares dropped after President-elect Donald Trump said the US will impose additional tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada, ratcheting up concerns about his “America First” policies.
Financial markets were rattled in early Asian trade as Trump said he will place an extra 10% tariffs on Chinese imports, and 25% levies on all products from Mexico and Canada, in posts to his Truth Social network.
He said the measures were needed to clamp down on migrants and illegal drugs flowing across the US border.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index surged as much as 0.7% before paring gains, while China’s offshore yuan fell 0.4%, and Mexican peso and Canadian dollar both tumbled more than 1%.
Share benchmarks in Japan, Australia and South Korea all dropped. Treasury yields edged higher.
The Canadian dollar fell to a four-year low on the news, while the Mexican peso traded close to its weakest since 2022. Commodity currencies such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars also tumbled.
