US stocks end with losses as Trump announces new tariffs for some countries

ISTANBUL

The New York Stock Exchange ended Monday lower as US President Donald Trump released numerous tariff letters that set country-specific blanket tariff rates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.94%, or 422.17 points, to close at 44,406.36.

The Nasdaq composite was off 0.92%, or 188.59 points, to end at 20,412.52, and the S&P 500 dropped 0.79%, or 49.37 points, to 6,229.98.

The decline followed Trump's announcement Monday that Washington will impose blanket tariffs ranging from 25% to 40% on Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Laos, Myanmar, Tunisia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Serbia, Cambodia, and Thailand.

Trump posted letters to those countries' leaders, saying, “Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from Reciprocal."

Urging countries to produce their goods in the US as a way to bypass tariffs, Trump said the country-specific tariff rates were "far less than" the level needed to fully address their trade imbalances with the US.

Trump also warned that tariffs could be raised above the respective rates if the countries respond with their own tariffs on the US.

Tariffs to take effect Aug. 1

The White House later announced that Trump would sign an executive order Monday delaying his July 9 tariff deadline to Aug. 1.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also said that 14 letters would be sent on Monday, with more to be expected in the following days

Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told financial news outlet CNBC on Monday that the US would make "several" trade announcements in the next 48 hours.

Before high levies on goods from dozens of nations are expected to return, Bessent said, countries were scrambling to negotiate with the US.

"We’ve had a lot of people change their tune in terms of negotiations," he said. "It’s going to be a busy couple of days."

Shares of Japanese car companies Toyota and Honda fell around 4%, while South Korean telecommunications company SK's shares fell close to 8% and LG Display's shares fell more than 8%.

Tesla's shares plummeted around 6.8% Monday as CEO Elon Musk announced plans to launch a new political party.

After Trump's signature spending and tax-cut legislation, his so-called "Big, beautiful bill," was approved by Congress last week, Musk announced Saturday that he would found the “America Party,” possibly focusing on “just 2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts.”