Tariffs live: White House says 104% tariffs on China will take effect at midnight

The S&P 500 closed below 5,000 for the first time in nearly a year, following Tuesday’s volatile session and a strong morning rally, as investor hopes faded for any imminent U.S. delays or concessions on tariffs before a midnight deadline.

After stocks tumbled at their fastest pace since the pandemic over the last three days, investors showed some signs of hope early in the day that President Donald Trump might soften his stance or postpone the April 9 deadline for tariffs. However, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated on Tuesday afternoon that Trump expects the tariffs to go into effect, as nearly 70 countries have reached out seeking to negotiate to lessen the impact of U.S. trade policies.

Additional tariffs will also go into effect on China from midnight after it stated earlier that it would never accept the “blackmail nature” of the U.S. in response to Trump’s threat to increase tariffs on Chinese imports to over 100%. Furthermore, United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer indicated earlier that exemptions to the global tariffs are not anticipated in the near term.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 75.85 points, or 1.49%, closing at 4,986.40 points, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 335.35 points, or 2.15%, to 15,267.91. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 319.58 points, or 0.84%, to 37,657.76, erasing an earlier rally of 1,400 points.

After falling as low as 36.48 points earlier in the day, the CBOE Volatility Index — seen as Wall Street’s ‘fear gauge’ — rose back above 54 late in the session, having reached its highest level since last August on Monday.

With reporting from Reuters.

The Senate has voted to confirm George Glass to be President Donald Trump’s Ambassador to Japan.

Glass served as U.S. ambassador to Portugal during Trump’s first term in office.

Thirteen Democrats joined Republicans in approving his confirmation 66-32.

Fresh off of sounding the alarm that declining oil prices could be a sign of a coming economic downturn, former Trump economic adviser Stephen Moore told Fox News on Tuesday that the president’s global trade war could lead to a Nobel Peace prize if “he’s able to pull this off” and make the world economy “better.”

Fox News anchor John Roberts, meanwhile, wondered if there is a “Nobel Prize in trade” before noting that Donald Trump “might be up for that one.”

Following a global market sell-off in the days since Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs that imposed massive and so-called “reciprocal” import taxes across the world, stocks rebounded early on Tuesday after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration was engaging in tariff negotiations that could bring “good deals” with a number of countries.

President Donald Trump’s administration withdrew 11 pieces of guidance last month related to the Americans with Disabilities Act that helped stores, hotels and other businesses understand their obligation to the law.

The guidance included tips on how to create accessible parking and fitting rooms, talk to hotel guests about accessible features and decide when a person with a disability could be assisted by a family member during hospitals’ COVID-19 no-visitor bans. Five pieces of guidance were from the pandemic, while the oldest two were issued in 1999.

The Department of Justice said removing the guidance was done as part of a broader effort to reduce regulatory burdens on businesses.

Alan Suderman and Alanna Durkin Richer write:

The Justice Department is disbanding a team of prosecutors who targeted cryptocurrency crimes and is shifting its focus away from complex crypto-related cases involving banking and securities law, according to a memo reviewed by The Associated Press.

“The Department of Justice is not a digital assets regulator,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a memo sent to prosecutors on Monday.

It’s the latest move by the Trump administration to try to boost the cryptocurrency industry while undoing the Biden administration’s efforts to crack down on wrongdoers in the industry. The Trump administration’s effort has included a similar shift in crypto-related enforcement priorities at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Blanche’s memo is part of a larger move by the Justice Department to step back from certain white-collar enforcement to align with President Donald Trump’s priorities of tackling illegal immigration, gangs and drug crimes.