US President Donald Trump has launched a trade war
Donald Trump increased tariffs on China goods Tuesday, rocking global financial markets. AFP

KEY POINTS

  • The S&P 500 closed below 5,000 Tuesday, nearing a 20% decline that defines a bear market
  • Tariffs will 'make us poorer,' wrote a critic who said Trump's strategy is only raising prices for US consumers
  • One X user said Republicans will 'be buried for a generation' once the impact on Americans blows up
  • Trump has said he will stop the 'abuse' China has 'perpetrated' on its trade with the US

Critics of U.S. President Donald Trump are calling out the Republican leader amid a global financial market downturn triggered by new tariffs announced on Chinese goods, and many are saying Trump is not hurting trade partners as much as he is pummeling the livelihoods of American importers.

Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order hiking tariffs on China by at least 104%, triggering a sell-off in equities and a dramatic bloodbath in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Japan's Nikkei had a broad sell-off Wednesday morning, while U.S. stocks plummeted, with the S&P 500 closed below 5,000 for the first time in nearly a year. The index is nearing the 20% decline that kicks off a bear market.

Critics, X Users Unhappy with Trump's China Trade War

U.S. journalist Urban C. Lehner wrote late Tuesday that Trump's tariffs are starting to look "more like economic self-sabotage" than a strategic reset in trade relations.

William Shughart of the Independent Institute had a similar take on the matter, noting how Trump's tariff plan is not only fueling a global trade war, but it also raises prices for American consumers.

"Tariffs won't make us stronger. They'll make us poorer," he said.

One X user called out the Trump White House's trade strategy, calling it economic self-sabotage. He also said the Republican Party will ultimately suffer from such policies in the end.

"This kind of brinksmanship is going to hammer American consumers and businesses, and when it inevitably blows up, Republicans won't just lose, they'll be buried for a generation," he wrote.

Another X user suggested that China may have the upper hand despite Trump's play that makes his strategy appear brilliant on television and social media. "Tariffs might sound tough on TV, but they're a tax on Americans. The real winner here? China—calm, calculating, and increasingly indispensable," the user argued, adding that China may weaponize U.S. debt "by dumping bonds or limiting new purchases," which will then cripple the nation's borrowing power.

One user, who is well-followed on Elon Musk-owned X, said he believes China will "win this one" since Trump's tariffs have become "the biggest self-inflicted economic wound since the Great Depression."

Trump Says He Will Stop China's 'Abuse' on Trade

Despite increasing concerns around his global tariffs, Trump reiterated that levying duties was necessary to re-balance trade.

At a National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) dinner Tuesday, Trump said he will "not allow China to get away" with how it has been trading with the United States.

"After all of the abuses they've perpetrated, China is attempting to impose additional, unjustified tariffs," he said. He was referring to additional reciprocal tariffs the Chinese government threatened to impose if Trump continues to levy additional tariffs.

It remains to be seen how global markets will recover following succeeding downtrends due to Trump's tariffs.

Read more