During afternoon trading on Tuesday, US stocks experienced a significant decline after the White House announced intentions to implement a 50% tariff on Chinese goods, which would raise the total rate to 104%. The tariffs are set to be enforced at 12:01am ET.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite, which had both been up over 4%, reversed course, dropping around 1.8% and 2.2% respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell by 1%, decreasing approximately 400 points after gaining over 1,300 points earlier in the day.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated during a briefing that the US is less dependent on other countries than they are on the US. She emphasized President Trump's strong resolve in these decisions.

China responded by promising to persevere in the face of US actions they labeled as "blackmail."

Following a volatile session on Monday, where the Dow fell 350 points and the S&P 500 suffered a historic three-day loss, buyers had been returning to the market. The announcement of trade talks with Japan by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent initially boosted investor confidence.

Despite ongoing negotiations, the White House confirmed that reciprocal tariffs would be implemented as scheduled. Concerns over the impact of Trump's tariffs have been raised by prominent figures on Wall Street, such as JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink. Even Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who serves as a Trump adviser, has shared mild criticism regarding the tariff decisions.