Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)2025-04-07T04:29:37Z Asian markets plunged on Monday following last weeks two-day meltdown on Wall Street, and President Donald Trump said he wont back down on the sweeping new tariffs he announced on April 2 that have roiled global trade.Countries are scrambling to figure out how to respond to the tariffs, with China and others retaliating quickly.Trumps tariff blitz fulfilled a key campaign promise as he acted without Congress to redraw the rules of the international trading system. It was a move decades in the making for Trump, who has long denounced foreign trade deals as unfair to the U.S.The higher rates are set to be collected beginning Wednesday, ushering in a new era of economic uncertainty with no clear end in sight.___Heres the latest: Trump says hes not backing down on tariffs, calls them medicine as markets reelPresident Donald Trump said Sunday that he wont back down on his sweeping tariffs on imports from most of the world unless countries even out their trade with the U.S., digging in on his plans to implement the taxes that have sent financial markets reeling, raised fears of a recession and upended the global trading system.Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said he didnt want global markets to fall, but also that he wasnt concerned about the massive sell-off either, adding, sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something. His comments came as global financial markets appeared on track to continue sharp declines once trading resumes Monday, and after Trumps aides sought to soothe market concerns by saying more than 50 nations had reached out about launching negotiations to lift the tariffs. I spoke to a lot of leaders, European, Asian, from all over the world, Trump said. Theyre dying to make a deal. And I said, were not going to have deficits with your country. Were not going to do that, because to me a deficit is a loss. Were going to have surpluses or at worst, going to be breaking even. Asian markets plunge as tariff fallout intensifiesAsian markets plunged on Monday following last weeks two-day meltdown on Wall Street, and U.S. President Donald Trump said he wont back down on his sweeping tariffs on imports from most of the world unless countries even out their trade with the U.S.Tokyos Nikkei 225 index lost nearly 8% shortly after the market opened on Monday. By midday, it was down 6%. Hong Kongs Hang Seng dropped 9.4%, while the Shanghai Composite index was down 6.2%, and South Koreas Kospi lost 4.1%.U.S. futures also signaled further weakness.Market observers expect investors will face more wild swings in the days and weeks to come, with a short-term resolution to the trade war appearing unlikely.