Washington: US President Donald Trump said he has "hereby ordered" American companies to leave China, after Beijing announced plans to slap new tariffs on US goods. The White House did not immediately say what authority the President had to compel private firms to quit a country, the BBC reported on Friday. Trump announced a 5 per cent increase on tariffs on Chinese imports, after China unveiled plans for duties of 10 per cent on $75 billion of US goods. The latest salvos in the trade war sent global financial markets tumbling.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 620 points, or 2.4 per cent, while London's FTSE 100 and the German DAX also turned negative. Stock markets in the US fell following news of China's tariffs, but then recovered, only to fall again in response to Trump's tweets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 2.4 per cent at 25,629. The S&P 500 dropped 2.6 per cent while the Nasdaq was 3 per cent lower.
