[Morning Briefing] Trump’s ‘global tariffs’ take effect… Wall Street slides more than 1% on fatigue

◆ Wall Street hit by tariff whiplash fatigue… Dow down 1.7%

All three major U.S. stock indexes fell more than 1%. On the 23rd (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 48,804.06, down 1.66% from the previous session; the S&P 500 fell 1.04% to 6,837.75; and the Nasdaq dropped 1.13% to 22,627.27. The declines are seen as reflecting deepening ‘AI fear’—concerns that advances in artificial intelligence (AI) could hurt the software sector—along with growing fatigue over the U.S. administration of Donald Trump following a ruling that deemed the reciprocal tariffs unlawful and amid erratic tariff policy.

◆ Trump’s ‘blanket 15%’ global tariffs take effect

President Donald Trump’s ‘global tariffs,’ announced after reciprocal tariffs, are set to take effect abruptly as of the 24th (U.S. Eastern Time). After a U.S. Supreme Court ruling found the reciprocal tariffs invalid, the Trump administration shifted its legal basis to ‘Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974’ and imposed the tariffs. Section 122 grants the president authority to impose tariffs of up to 15% for 150 days. In South Korea’s case, the existing 15% reciprocal tariff and the 15% global tariff are the same, so no tariff changes are expected for most items that had been subject to reciprocal tariffs.

◆ Trump: ‘Countries playing games will face higher tariffs’

President Trump publicly pledged to impose even higher, retaliatory tariffs on countries that seek to take advantage of the ruling deeming the reciprocal tariffs unlawful. He said, “If they try to ‘play games’ because of the Supreme Court’s absurd decision, they will face higher tariffs than what they recently agreed to—and something even worse.” The remarks are interpreted to mean that if countries that had already reached trade deals with the U.S. attempt to reverse them citing the Supreme Court ruling, the U.S. would slap punitive tariffs.

◆ First State of the Union in Trump’s second term… ‘tough talk’ expected

President Trump will deliver the first State of the Union address of his second term at 9 p.m. on the 24th local time (11 a.m. Korea time on the 25th). The address is an event in which the president, the nation’s top executive, explains the state of the economy and outlines key legislative priorities and domestic and foreign policy directions. Trump previewed the speech, saying, “It will be a very long speech because I have a lot to say.” With his approval rating having fallen to 39%, he is expected to continue hardline remarks on major issues—including tariff policy, immigration policy, and prices, as well as ‘affordability’—in an effort to rally his core supporters.

◆ Miryang wildfire enters second day, 51% contained… all-out effort to stop spread

A wildfire in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, has continued into a second day. According to forestry authorities, as of 5 a.m. on the 24th, the containment rate was 51%. Of the total 5.8 km fire line, 2.95 km has been brought under control; for the remaining 2.85 km, 618 personnel and 159 firefighting vehicles have been deployed with a focus on preventing further spread. The affected area, where damage is expected, expanded to 124 ha. The Korea Forest Service changed the unified on-site commander for the Miryang wildfire to the acting head of the Korea Forest Service and is conducting suppression operations. At around 7:04 a.m., at sunrise, it plans to deploy 31 forest firefighting helicopters simultaneously to swiftly move to extinguish the main blaze.

◆ Snow and rain nationwide… up to 10 cm of heavy snow in the Gyeongsang region

On Tuesday the 24th, the nation will be mostly cloudy, with rain or snow in most regions. The Korea Meteorological Administration forecast, “In particular, heavy snow will fall and accumulate mainly in inland areas of the southern region.” Expected snowfall includes 3–8 cm (more than 10 cm in some places) in inland southwestern North Gyeongsang and inland western South Gyeongsang, and 1–5 cm in Daegu and North Gyeongsang (excluding the inland southwest). In the Seoul metropolitan area, around 1 cm of snow is expected in southern Gyeonggi. Expected precipitation is 10–40 mm in South Gyeongsang, 20–80 mm on Jeju Island, 5–30 mm in Gwangju and South Jeolla, and 5–20 mm in North Jeolla. Around 1 mm is expected in the Seoul metropolitan area. Morning lows will range from -6 to 5°C, daytime highs from 3 to 10°C, and fine dust levels nationwide will be ‘moderate’.

Oh Se-seong, Hankyung.com reporter sesung@hankyung.com