TRUMP’S TRADE WAR ESCALATES — China’s announcement of 34% tariffs on U.S. imports this morning overshadowed the better-than-expected jobs report and triggered another day of tumbling stocks.
Beijing said its retaliatory measures would begin April 10 and match President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” 34% measure that he ordered Wednesday, AP’s Huizhong Wu and Elaine Kurtenbach report from Bangkok. The Chinese government also said it “will impose more export controls on rare earths, which are materials used in high-tech products such as computer chips and electric vehicle batteries.”
Investors were already bracing for another day of losses after yesterday marked the steepest decline for the U.S. stock market since 2020. Just minutes after trading opened this morning, the renewed tariff anxiety spurred the Dow Jones Industrial Average to plummet over 1,200 points, dropping a total of 1,700 points by this afternoon. The S&P 500 also took a hit today, dropping by 4.8% as of this afternoon, AP’s Stan Choe reports.
Losses were spread over several industries, including “technology companies as well as firms that rely on Chinese manufacturing in their supply chains,” NYT’s Eshe Nelson and Keith Bradsher report. Meanwhile, today’s strong jobs report did little to buoy the markets. More on that below
So what now? China’s announcement brings the world to the edge of an all-out trade war, as the European Union and other large economies mull over their own reciprocal tariffs.
But Trump isn’t letting up. Despite a wave of criticism from economists, the president doubled down on his policies in a series of Truth Social posts this morning, telling investors “MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE” and attacking China’s tariff announcement: “CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED – THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO!” More from POLITICO’s Koen Verhelst, Phelim Kine and Carlo Martuscelli
IT’S JOBS DAY — As the U.S. economy continues to reel from Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcements, the monthly job report reflects a much stronger showing than expected. New labor department statistics out today show the U.S. added an estimated 228,000 jobs in March — far more than the 140,000 economists had expected.
Though analysts have predicted a cooling in economic growth this year, the measure is arguably a flawed snapshot of today’s economy — since the full effect of Trump’s tariffs and the job cuts from DOGE won’t be fully reflected for months. Still, as our POLITICO colleague Victoria Guida reports this morning, “that also makes them a useful gauge for how things were going before the economy gets smacked by disruptive new policies.”
A look at the numbers …
- Unemployment ticked up slightly to 4.2% from 4.1% the month before.
- Employment in the healthcare, social assistance and transportation industries had an uptick in jobs.
- Federal government employment declined by “4,000 in March, following a loss of 11,000 jobs in February,” per the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Victory lap from the West Wing … In a post on Truth Social, Trump described the numbers as “GREAT. FAR BETTER THAN EXPECTED,” adding “IT’S ALREADY WORKING. HANG TOUGH, WE CAN’T LOSE!!!.”
And caution from the markets … The jobs report dropped just an hour before jittery investors opened the trading lines this morning, and in sum, they haven’t made much of a difference.
Tariffs, not jobs, continue to dominate investor concern: Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s Lindsay Rosner noted despite the strong showing, the jobs “number has become a side dish with the market just focusing on the entrée: tariffs,” NYT’s Joe Rennison reports.
POWELL’S STATE OF PLAY — In a speech at a Virginia conference today, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell noted that while the latest tariffs are likely to raise inflation rates, the agency is continuing its wait-and-see approach before moving on interest rates.
Powell said the announced tariffs were “significantly larger than expected,” and “the same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth … It is too soon to say what will be the appropriate path for monetary policy.”
While Powell noted that retaliatory tariffs were something the agency was watching for, he made no specific mention of China’s recent announcement. The remarks came minutes after Trump called Powell “late” in yet another Truth Social post urging him to “STOP PLAYING AROUND” and cut interest rates already.
More tariff reads: “JD Vance bashed tariffs during Trump’s first term. Now, as VP, he’s championing them,” by CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck … “How Tariffs Have Worked for Four Other Countries,” by WSJ’s Tripti Lahiri, Ryan Dubé and Peter Landers … “Nonprofit group mounts legal challenge to Trump’s tariffs on China,” by WaPo’s Justine McDaniel … “Farmers are no strangers to trade wars. But this time may be worse,” by POLITICO’s Marcia Brown
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1. VOTE-A-RAMA READY: The Senate is bracing for vote-a-rama tonight as Senate Majority Leader John Thune plows ahead with a plan to get the upper chamber’s divisive budget plan adopted over the weekend. Trump’s escalating trade war could take center stage, with votes expected on several related amendments, per POLITICO’s Lisa Kashinsky, Mia McCarthy, Jordain Carney and Katherine Tully-McManus: “Among the amendments already filed Thursday evening, one would put Republicans on the record about tariffs on essential goods to pay for tax cuts to benefit the wealthy. Another would test senators’ appetite for an International Trade Commission investigation.”
2. ON DEFENSE: As NATO foreign ministers wrap up their two days in Brussels, European allies and Canadian leaders signaled today that while they’re open to increasing defense spending, they’re also wary of America’s demands, AP’s Lorne Cook and Matthew Lee report from Brussels. Global leaders have grown increasingly concerned over Trump’s renewed relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin: “It is important that we all agree that Russia is a threat. If not, I don’t know why we should always increase more and more defense spending,” Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly told reporters.
Reminder: What the Trump admin wants is for them to spend at least 5% of their GDP. “We think that’s what NATO allies need to be spending for NATO to face the threats that itself has identified and articulated,” Rubio said.
3. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: Lost amid all the tariff news yesterday, Trump noted to reporters on Air Force One that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu could visit the White House as early as next week, NBC News’ Chantal Da Silva reports: “We’ll speak about Israel, and we’ll speak about what’s going on,” Trump said. “That’s another thing we’d like to get solved.” Trump’s comments come as Israel continues to ramp up its military campaign in Gaza.
On the ground: More than a dozen Palestinians were killed early this morning in another deadly airstrike, AP’s Wafaa Shurafa reports from Gaza: “The predawn strike on Friday hit a three-story building. In addition to the dead, the attack wounded at least 16 people from the same family. … reporters saw bodies being carried out in blankets, while others searched for people trapped under the rubble and collected charred remains.”
4. NEW LIGHT ON BURISMA: The State Department last week released a 2016 letter that Hunter Biden “wrote while his father was serving as vice president in which he sought assistance from the U.S. government for the Ukrainian energy company Burisma,” NYT’s Kenneth Vogel reports. “The letter requested help arranging a meeting between Burisma officials and Enrico Rossi, the president of the Tuscany regional government at the time, ‘to introduce geothermal projects’ … The projects fizzled before drilling began in Tuscany, according to a person involved in the effort.”
5. PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION: The national “Hands Off!” protest is touching down on the National Mall tomorrow with as many as 20,000 participants protesting the Trump administration in what is “expected to be the country’s largest single-day protest since Trump took office,” Axios’ Anna Spiegel and Cuneyt Dil report. This is just one of several protests in town this weekend, including pro-Palestine and free speech protests downtown on Saturday and an American Coalition for Ukraine rally on Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial.
Happening today: A group of “six DMV university student governments — from Georgetown, American, GW, Howard and more — is organizing a ‘Hands Off Our Schools’ rally on Friday outside the Department of Education at 4pm.”
6. SUNSHINE STATE UPDATE: “Meet the Controversial 23-Year-Old Pulling in Millions for Long-Shot Florida Democrats,” by NOTUS’ Claire Heddles: Turns out most of the people who donated money to two Dem candidates in this week’s Florida House races weren’t actually from Florida. “To hear his critics tell it, [political consultant and fundraiser Jackson] McMillan is committing flagrant ‘donor abuse’ and lying about the viability of the races to line his own pockets. … McMillan says the ‘consultant cabal’ is just mad they’re not getting a slice of the pie.”
7. FOR YOUR WEATHER RADARS: “South and Midwest face potentially catastrophic rains and floods while reeling from tornadoes,” by AP’s Adrian Sainz, George Walker and John Seewer: “Heavy rains [are] expected in the central U.S. through Saturday. … Satellite imagery showed thunderstorms lined up like freight trains to take the same tracks over communities in Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky.”
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Ted Cruz said Trump’s tariffs could be “terrible for America.”
JB Pritzker said he’s “lost faith” in Pete Hegseth in a letter to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
TRANSITION — Jordan Grossman is now VP and Chief of Staff at Children’s National Hospital. He was most recently deputy administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration.
WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Danielle Franz, CEO of the American Conservation Coalition, and Caleb Franz, manager of the Young Voices Program and author of “The Conductor,” welcomed Calvin Andrew Franz on Sunday. Pic
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