Dow Plummets Over 1,400 Points Amid Trump Tariffs

Global markets plummeted in response to tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on U.S. foreign trade partners, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling by over 1,400 points in early trading Monday.

The sell-offs followed a tumultuous week after the president's announcement of a baseline 10% tariff on all U.S. imports that went into effect Saturday. Additional duties are set to go into effect Wednesday on countries the White House describes as the "worst offenders." In response, countries like China and Canada have responded with their own retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports.

Economics professor Keith Maskus said, "In the end, it is pretty much always the domestic consumers that pay almost the full share these tariffs. And again, it's just the way tariffs work."

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sought to alleviate fears of a potential recession, saying Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that Americans should be skeptical of day-to-day market volatility.

"Who knows how the market is gonna react in a day, in a week," Bessent said. "What we are looking at is building the long-term economic fundamentals for prosperity that I think the previous administration had put us on a course toward financial calamity."