US markets slide as US tariffs on imports from China now at 145%

US stocks tumbled on Thursday as the White House clarified that the tariff rate on Chinese imports has risen to 145 per cent, up from the 125 per cent figure that was communicated on Wednesday.

At noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down nearly 1,700 points, or more than 4 per cent; the S&P 500 slid 5 per cent; and Nasdaq had fallen nearly 6 per cent.

Confirmation of the higher rate is likely to escalate the stand-off between Washington and Beijing. .

“If the US wants to talk, our doors remains open, but dialogue must be conducted on the basis of mutual respect and equality,” Liu Pengyu, the spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said in a post on X earlier on Thursday.

“If the US is bent on waging a trade war, China will fight to the end,” he added.