Asian stocks fell on Friday with heavy selling in South Korea and Japan while safe-haven gold hit a record high as the latest tariff salvo from U.S. President Donald Trump stoked investor worries of an all-out trade war.
Trump moved ahead with a 25% tariff on auto imports due to kick in next week, drawing fierce criticism from politicians and industry executives across the globe and a warning from global car makers that price hikes were likely on the way.

The widening of the global trade war that Trump kicked off upon regaining the White House has jolted the markets, with shares of global automakers hit particularly hard.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei, opens new tab fell more than 2% led by sharp drop in Toyota, opens new tab and Honda, opens new tab. South Korea’s benchmark index, opens new tab touched a two-week low and was last down 1.3%. The auto industry is a pillar of both countries’ economies.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index, opens new tab was 0.6% higher, largely shrugging off the auto tariff threat. Trump said he would be willing to reduce tariffs on China to get a deal done with TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance to sell the popular app.

“U.S. tariffs on auto imports do not come as a huge surprise, having been flagged for some time,” said Fred Neumann, chief Asia economist at HSBC.
“To some extent, producers can shift supply chains and production locations to mitigate these effects. At the same, they may also be able to pass some of the price increases to U.S. consumers, given that tariffs affect nearly all producers.”
Some automakers, including Volvo Cars, opens new tab, Volkswagen’s Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai, opens new tab, have already said they will relocate portions of their production. Ferrari opens new tab, which makes all of its cars in Italy, said it would raise prices up to 10% on some models.
The focus is now on reciprocal tariffs the U.S. is due to announce on April 2. Trump indicated the measures may not be the like-for-like levies he has been pledging to impose.

SOURCE: REUTERS