U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, on April 10.Nathan Howard/Reuters
Euphoria over U.S. President Donald Trump’s global tariff reprieve faded on Thursday as the reality of his escalating trade war with China once again rattled financial markets and stoked fears of a broad economic downturn.
Mr. Trump’s decision to pause steep tariffs on dozens of countries for 90 days had sparked a historic stock market rally on Wednesday. This went into reverse on Thursday after the White House confirmed that its latest tariff increase on most Chinese goods would bring the total tariff rate to 145 per cent,…