NY stock markets fall and Nasdaq more than 2% after Trump confirms tariffs on Mexico and Canada

The main US stock indices ended the trading session down, reflecting investors' concern about the potential harmful effects of the import tariffs announced by the country's president, Donald Trump, and indicators that showed weakness in the industrial sector.

Trump confirmed that tariffs of 25% on Canada and Mexico will come into force tomorrow. These tariffs had originally been announced in February, but were suspended for a month. The period was used for negotiations and there was an expectation among investors that they could be eased, which was not confirmed. The US president also confirmed a 10 percentage point increase in the 10% tariff on Chinese products.

According to Wells Fargo, in his first term, Trump's tariffs affected approximately 16% of US imports. This time, counting the tariffs that will come into force tomorrow on Mexico and Canada and the increase in the tariff on China, the percentage is 42%.

Next week, on the 12th, there will be tariffs on steel and aluminum, and on April 2nd "reciprocal tariffs", as yet unspecified, and tariffs on agricultural products, according to Trump's announcement today.

The confirmation of tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China comes on the same day that data on the US industrial sector showed signs of weakness in the country's industry, as well as negative impacts from the policy of taxing imports. The issue was even commented on by mega-investor Warren Buffet. In an interview with CBS News, he called the tariffs "an act of war" and "a tax on goods".

In a report, the brokerage firm Charles Schwab points out that there is an "epic level" of uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration's policies, whether they are related to tariffs or spending cuts. "Mentions of tariffs in company conference calls have surpassed the levels of the 2018 trade war," says the document, which also mentions the worsening macroeconomic picture, with the Atlanta Federal Reserve forecasting a 2.8% contraction in US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter.

This, the broker adds, has led to a search for more defensive sectors on the American stock exchanges, such as health care and financials, and to a worsening in the performance of technology stocks, which are under additional pressure from concerns about the merits of high investments in artificial intelligence.

The Nasdaq Composite was the biggest loser on Monday, down 2.64%. Nvidia recorded one of the sharpest falls, down 8.69%. Amazon was also down (-3.42%). The S&P 500 index fell 1.76%, while the Dow Jones closed down 1.48%.