iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 400 points Thursday as traders appeared concerned about a global trade war erupting over President Donald Trump’s decision to impose stiff tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.
The Dow dropped 420 points, or 1.68 percent, to end the session at 24,608. The other major indexes also took a hit with the Nasdaq tumbling 92 points to 7,180 and the S&P 500 sinking 36 points to 2,677.
Just hours before the market closed, Trump summoned steel and aluminum executives to the White House to inform them that he will levy 25 percent tariffs on steel and 10 percent penalties on aluminum imports. He said the tariffs will be imposed for “a long period of time.”
“What’s been allowed to go on for decades is disgraceful. It’s disgraceful,” Trump told business leaders in the Cabinet Room. “You will have protection for the first time in a long while and you’re going to regrow your industries.”
Increased foreign production of aluminum and steel, especially by China, has driven down prices and hurt U.S. producers, creating what the U.S. Commerce Department has called a national security threat.
There was no immediate indication that China would retaliate with counter tariffs, but many on Wall Street fear that is what the future holds.
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