CROSBY Research – Crosby Bi-noculars (Bi-weekly Issue 77)

8 Apr 2025

• China vowed not to bow to “blackmail” from the United States as a global trade war ignited by U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs showed little sign of abating on Tuesday, even as battered stock markets steadied, according to Reuter news. “The U.S. side’s threat to escalate tariffs against China is a mistake on top of a mistake, once again exposing the American side’s blackmailing nature,” China’s commerce ministry said. “If the U.S. insists on having its way, China will fight to the end.” The rebuke came after Trump threatened to ratchet up tariffs on U.S. imports from the world’s No. 2 economy to more than 100% on Wednesday in response to Beijing’s decision to match ‘reciprocal’ duties Trump initially unveiled last week. The European Union proposed counter-tariffs of its own to Trump’s tariff onslaught that swept up dozens of countries, sent financial markets into a tailspin and fuelled expectations that the global economy may be headed for recession.