The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 2.4 per cent, or by 191.9 points, to 7667.8 points by the bell.

With the exception of consumer necessities, most sectors faced notable declines. Energy sector stocks suffered substantial losses, plummeting nearly 8 percent due to worries about increasing oil supplies.

The round of tariffs jolted financial markets, with the US Standard & Poors 500 off 3.7 per cent in afternoon trading.

The STOXX Europe 600 index saw a 2.7 percent decrease, and Tokyo’s main index fell by 2.8 percent, contributing to losses in Asia. Meanwhile, oil prices dropped by over $2 per barrel.

It now looks like a full-blown global trade war will be unleashed as China the EU. South Korea, Mexico and India pledged retaliatory measures on US goods.

Analysts fished for superlatives to a step that disrupts the global trading order and overturns decades of efforts to lower tariffs through trade talks and free trade agreements.

“The magnitude of the rollout — both in scale and speed — wasn’t just aggressive; it was a full-throttle macro disruption,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid called it “radical policy reordering” and said the US now had an average tariff of 25 per cent-30 per cent, the “worst end of expectations” and the highest since the early 20th century.