Global markets tanked on Monday as gold surged to record highs after Donald Trump threatened an extraordinary tariff at 20 percent on all imports.

Dow futures crashed by more than 270 points (0.7 percent), while the S&P continued its brutal rout from Friday, plunging by 1 percent before the opening bell. The Nasdaq took a 1.4 percent hit – equivalent of $400billion.

Japan was first to wake to the Trump news as the Nikkei 225 index fell sharply by more than 4 percent. In London the FTSE 100 shed more than 1 percent and in Frankfurt the DAX dropped by more than 1.5 percent.

Trump spent his election campaign and his first three months in the White House touting his tariff plans, and this week he will unveil the highly anticipated plan to improve America’s economic future.

The president has pushed his team in recent days to ‘be more aggressive’ as they hammer out the finer details of the tariffs, the Wall Street Journal reported.

These advisers are considering far-reaching global tariffs of up to 20 percent which would hit virtually every single US trading partner and have very little room for exemptions. 

This plan was what Trump and his team first promised on the campaign trail, but as time wore on, the president began promoting reciprocal tariffs instead. 

Under that plan, the US would instead charge other nations ‘what they charge us’ in an effort to level the playing field.

Donald Trump is considering an extraordinary 20 percent global tariff on all imports, sparking fears of recession and a market bloodbath around the world 

Trump has pushed his team in recent days to ‘be more aggressive’ as they hammer out the finer details of the tariffs, which have already sparked protests across the nation

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei in Asia sunk 3.6 percent to a six-month low as stocks continued to suffer fallout from Trump’s yo-yoing tariffs

But the publication reports that Trump is eager to impose ‘a clean number’ on nations, giving an edict to make the policy ‘big and simple.’ 

The stock market is in a tailspin with genuine and mounting fears of recession and further pain to households’ hip pockets – despite voters turning out in droves for Trump partly in response to the cost of living crisis. 

‘For the first time in years, we find ourselves genuinely worried about risk assets,’  Ajay Rajadhyaksha, head of rates markets at Barclays, told Reuters.

‘If policy chaos and trade wars worsen much further, a recession is now a realistic risk across major economies,’ he added. ‘For the first time in many quarters, we favor core fixed income over global equities.’

Bruce Kasman, chief economist at JPMorgan, warned: ‘Recession risks have become elevated – to a 40 percent probability – on concerns that aggressive US policies hit business and household sentiment.

‘With the latest tariff increases set to push US core inflation above 4 percent next quarter, a household sector with a healthy balance will need to show a willingness to lower its saving rate to cushion this blow.’

US stocks have had a dismal March, and Nasdaq Composite COMP is on track to see the biggest monthly decline since December 2022. 

At the same time, S&P 500 SPX slumped 6.3 percent, meaning it is on track for its worst month since September 2022. 

The S&P 500 shed 1.97 percent to reach 5,580.94. This is the fifth time in six weeks it has ended the week down

Officials like Vice President J.D. Vance, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have pushed for a smaller, more targeted tariff plan

Internationally, people are being encouraged to ‘buy local’ and support their own nations as Trump seeks to inflict financial pain

Trump’s tariff threats have sparked protests among consumers who fear it will drive prices up

Some Trump aides quietly hope Trump’s affection for the stock market might steer him away from his most extreme plans.

‘The president isn’t looking at it like they are,’ said a source close to the inner circle.

‘If the economy tanks, then fine, the economy tanks – because the president truly believes that it will rebound and the countries will give in.’ 

Economists fear tariffs would get passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices for cars, groceries, housing and other goods. 

Corporate profits could be lower and growth more sluggish. While Trump maintains that more companies would open factories to avoid the taxes, that process could take years. 

And Trump has publicly hosed down concerns about rising prices as a result of his policy.

He told NBC News on Saturday that he didn’t care if foreign car makers jacked up their prices for US consumers after he imposed a 25 percent tariff on auto imports.

‘I couldn’t care less,’ he said.

‘Because if the prices on foreign cars go up, they’re going to buy American cars. I hope they raise their prices, because if they do, people are going to buy American-made cars. We have plenty.’ 

Behind closed doors, top administration officials are deeply concerned, with many quietly admitting they’re unsure what the president is actually going to do

The mood inside the White House ahead of ‘Liberation Day’ is said to be verging on panic as Trump looks set to ignore the advice of Vice President J.D. Vance, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who pushed for a smaller, more targeted tariff plan, or at least a structured rollout that allows businesses to prepare.

Behind closed doors, top administration officials are deeply concerned, with many quietly admitting they’re unsure what the president is actually going to do.

‘No one knows what the f*** is going on,’ one White House ally close to Trump’s inner circle told Politico. 

The president has signaled that more than $1 trillion in trade could be affected. 

But with less than a week to go, even the most basic details including which countries will be hit, at what rates, and for which goods, remain undecided or constantly shifting.

White House officials have spent the past several weeks privately assuring business leaders, financial executives, and Republican lawmakers that a clearer, more stable trade agenda is coming. 

Earlier this week Trump blindsided his staff with a sudden 25% tariff on auto imports, forcing the White House to delay afternoon programming and scramble to formalize the decision

One goal is to calm markets rattled by previous tariff announcements that has caused the S&P 500 to shed all gains made since November’s Election Day.

But the president has fluctuated wildly between levies on specific sectors and blanket tariffs on all countries.

‘I may give a lot of countries breaks,’ Trump said. ‘We might be even nicer than that.’ 

Days earlier, he insisted ‘every country will be hit with a tariff’ leaving analysts and foreign governments scrambling to adapt at a moments notice.  

As one official said behind closed doors, ‘we’re bracing for anything.’