Global financial markets plunged Tuesday after President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs, including a blanket 10% levy on all imported goods and additional targeted measures on key trading partners. The shockwaves were immediate. Investors dumped equities and fled to safety, wiping out billions in market value within hours of the news.

Stock futures signaled panic before the opening bell. The S&P 500 plummeted 3.1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 2.6% in early trading. Nasdaq fell even further, hammered by tech and manufacturing sectors likely to be caught in the crossfire. In Europe, Germany’s DAX slid nearly 2%, while France’s CAC 40 and the UK’s FTSE 100 both took major hits. Asian markets had already dropped overnight, acting as the canary in the coalmine.

The selloff wasn’t just broad—it was ferocious. Retailers, automakers, and chip manufacturers were hit hardest, with Ford, Nvidia, and Amazon each down more than 5% by midday. Even previously resilient sectors like energy and financials were dragged down by fears of inflation and global slowdown.

Behind the volatility is deep investor anxiety about the long-term fallout. Economists are warning of higher consumer prices, global retaliation, and another round of supply chain disruptions. “What we’re seeing is a market that no longer trusts the White House to behave rationally,” said one strategist at Morgan Stanley. “This is not a policy adjustment—this is economic vandalism.”

Trump, celebrating what he called “Liberation Day,” claimed the tariffs would “rebalance global trade” and punish countries he accuses of “decades of theft.” But there was no sign of stability from allies or adversaries. Instead, the message to the market was unmistakable: the U.S. is now fully committed to a unilateral trade war.

With central banks already warning of limited tools to manage another recession, analysts say this may be the moment global investors stop giving Washington the benefit of the doubt.

“We’re not just pricing in tariffs anymore,” said another trader on the floor of the NYSE. “We’re pricing in chaos.”

The Crustian Daily will continue tracking the global economic fallout as Trump’s trade war unfolds.