Tariff medicine backfires as markets fall sick worldwide

Asian and European shares plunged and oil prices plummeted ds investors feared the duties Trump likened to medicine to Tix something” at the weekend could lead to higher prices

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President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff plans battered global markets again on Monday after he said foreign governments would have to pay a "plant or money" to get the levies removed, while US stocks saw a brief lift on news of a pause, only to slide again.

Asian and European shares plunged as investors feared the duties Trump likened to "medicine to fix something" at the weekend could lead to higher prices, lesser demand and potentially a global recession.

US stocks initially tumbled as well, then rebounded after White House adviser Kevin Hassett said contrary to China, that Trump was considering a 60-day pause in tariffs for all countries except China. Stocks then slid again after the broadcaster cited the White House as saying the pause comment was "not new."

The European Union, which has been divided on how strongly to push back against Washington without risking more pain for its own companies and consumers, said it wanted to negotiate but would also react to retaliate if necessary. President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU had offered Trump "zero-for-zero" tariffs on industrial goods.

Goldman Sachs raised the odds of a US recession to 45% in the next 19 months, joining other investment banks in revising their forecasts. JPMorgan now estimate the tariffs pushing the US economy into a 0.3% contraction, down from an earlier estimate of 1.3% growth of gross domestic product.