Markets tumble after Trump threatens to dramatically increase China tariffs theguardian.com

Global financial markets have been sent into a tailspin after Donald Trump risked jeopardising delicate trade talks with China by unexpectedly saying he would raise tariffs further on Chinese goods this week. Stocks in China fell almost 6% on Monday morning as investors in the Asia Pacific were caught off guard by the US president’s tweets and the alarm intensified as reports indicated that the government in Beijing might pull out of this week’s scheduled talks. Although markets are closed in Japan and London on Monday, futures trading indicated that Wall Street would fall 2% when trading opens later on Monday. Oil prices – a benchmark for global trade – also plunged and the Chinese yuan tumbled.