Tariffs and Iran Oil Jitters Trigger Sharp Market Declines

Higher costs for imported goods and rising energy prices now confront American households and businesses after the Trump administration imposed new tariffs on 60 trading partners and oil prices climbed above $100 a barrel amid renewed fighting in the Middle East.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced the duties late Thursday under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, citing failures by those partners to block goods made with forced labor. Rates stand at 10 percent for countries that maintain import bans and 12.5 percent for those that do not. The action replaces an expiring 10 percent global levy that followed a February Supreme Court ruling against earlier emergency tariffs. The new measures cover 99.4 percent of U.S. imports.

Asian equity markets fell sharply overnight. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 11.4 percent at one point, South Korea’s Kospi lost more than 5.7 percent, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 2.7 percent. European indexes opened mixed before paring losses. U.S. futures pointed lower, with the Nasdaq composite on track for a decline exceeding 2 percent and shares of the largest technology companies erasing hundreds of billions in market value.

Brent crude settled near $96.88 a barrel after touching $100.69 the prior session, the highest since May 2025, on concerns that Houthi attacks on tankers in the Red Sea could further restrict supply routes already strained by the Iran conflict. West Texas Intermediate closed near $88.96.

Australia’s trade minister Don Farrell called the 12.5 percent tariff on Australian goods unjustified and inconsistent with the free-trade agreement. Brazil labeled its tariff arbitrary. Canada, facing the lower 10 percent rate with an exemption for USMCA-compliant goods, said it would continue talks. No major partner announced retaliation.

Democratic lawmakers criticized the move as an attempt to raise consumer prices. Republican sources close to the White House told Politico that actual revenue collection from tariffs creates political difficulty even if threats alone are tolerated. The administration maintains the Section 301 process supplies a durable legal basis after the earlier court setback.

Four U.S. service members killed in weekend fighting with Iran were named in a Pentagon press release on the return of their remains but do not appear on the department’s public casualty list, a discrepancy reported by one outlet and not corroborated elsewhere. Trading in U.S. markets resumes Friday with attention on whether oil prices stabilize and how companies absorb the added tariff costs.