The Trump administration’s 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports are now in effect but South Korea, Japan and Australia remain hopeful of exemptions.

Trump's action to bulk up protections for American steel and aluminum producers restores effective global tariffs of 25% on all imports of the metals and extends the duties to hundreds of downstream products made from the metals,

Asian benchmarks skidded on Tuesday, as worries grew about ripple effects of President Donald Trump's tariffs on regional economies and companies.Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 sank 0.8% to 36,793.11, its lowest close in six months but up from a more than 2% loss earlier in the day.

Asia-Pacific markets mostly lower on Wednesday, tracking a fall on Wall Street overnight amid global tariff uncertainty. Traders continued to monitor global trade policy after President Trump's threat to double his planned tariffs on steel and aluminum for Canada.

Stocks markets have fallen in the US and Asia over concerns about the negative economic impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs. It followed the president saying in a TV interview that the world's biggest economy was in a "period of transition",

Donald Trump never told voters there might be a recession on the road to his new “golden age.” The president’s refusal – twice – to rule out an economic contraction this year set off a stock market plunge on Monday that hammered Americans’ retirement accounts.