Asian and European stocks drop as investors across the globe react to US president Donald Trump’s trade tariffs. Also: a BBC investigation into claims Palestinian prisoners were tortured in Israeli jails.
Chapter 1: Why are global stock markets plunging?
This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Valerie Sanderson and at 13.30 hours GMT on Monday the 7th of April, these are our main stories. All eyes turn to Wall Street as stock markets in Asia and Europe plunge. Karsten Brzeski is Chief Economist for Germany at the Bank ING.
We see that financial markets are currently completely repricing their view on the global economy, namely that they are now expecting a recession coming in the US and they also see the threat of a global recession this year.
We hear about the allegations of mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.
They cuffed me and beat me so much that blood was pouring down my arms and legs. I went three days without a single drop of water.
We would get tortured on the way from the barracks to the doctor's room.
as efforts continue to restore a ceasefire in Gaza. Also in this podcast, the Dominican Republic cracks down on migration from neighbouring Haiti, which is being ravaged by gang violence. And the new technology that could save honeybees in Europe from aggressive Asian hornets. We start with the global stock market turmoil as investors react to US President Donald Trump's trade tariffs.
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Chapter 2: What are the implications of Trump's tariffs on the economy?
European exchanges have plunged following heavy falls on the Asian stock markets as concerns grow over a global recession. Markets in Europe's big three economies, France, Germany and the UK, have recovered slightly but were down 3-4%. at the time of recording this podcast. EU ministers are meeting in Luxembourg to discuss countermeasures to the US tariffs.
Karsten Brzeski, chief economist for Germany at the bank ING, says markets fear a global downturn.
We see that financial markets are currently completely repricing their view on the global economy, namely that they are now expecting a recession coming in the U.S. And they also see the threat of a global recession this year. Markets are not finally understanding that these tariff threats are not short-lived or half-baked. This is really for real. They are here to stay.
Chapter 3: How are Asian markets and governments reacting to tariffs?
And it really will require big trade deals in order to see a reduction in tariffs again. And I cannot see how bigger countries like the EU, like China, will be able to deliver these great trade deals that Donald Trump is expecting.
Asian markets are now closed after heavy falls. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed with its steepest decline since the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Here's our business reporter Mariko Oi in Singapore.
Thank you. it usually takes an enormous shock like those events to trigger something like that. But now analysts think that these tariffs may actually be just as big to push the world economy into a recession. And that's why we're seeing the sell-off to continue as European markets reopen for trade. And how are Asian governments reacting?
Are some of them trying to do a deal with President Trump? Well, the White House says that more than 50 governments, global leaders, are in touch with Washington to negotiate a deal. So I would assume that many of them are Asian governments because, as we were talking about it last week, Asian countries have actually been hit some of the hardest, some of the highest levels.
tariffs by the United States. Of course, China is a key target. But of course, other governments have also been hit hard by those high tariffs. So I'm sure they are negotiating. It is interesting, though, to see somewhat of mixed reaction from Asian governments. So Beijing was one of the first and strongest to respond to those tariffs last week, announcing those retargetary tariffs.
But for example, the Taiwanese government said that they're not going to retaliate, they're going to lower tariffs. import duties on American products. And Vietnam was doing that even before the announcements of the tariffs were made last week. And other governments are also scrambling to offer support for businesses that are directly affected by these tariffs.
So we've so far heard from the South Korean government, the Indian government, as well as Taiwanese governments offering some kind of help to those businesses. So a lot of negotiating, I'm sure, are taking place behind closed doors, but also those talks of offering support to their businesses, that's continuing as well.
Our business reporter, Peter Ruddock, is following European market reaction.
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Chapter 4: What is happening with European markets amid tariff tensions?
There are usually winners and losers when you have sort of stock market declines. Every one of the 100 stocks in the FTSE 100 is in decline today. some of the big names that are particularly suffering, banks, oil and gas companies. We've seen the oil price falling today as well, so potentially that's one of the reasons they're falling by so much. British Airways, IAG, that airline firm.
I think if we talk about Friday's big move, that was driven by a very clear moment, China's retaliation to the original tariffs. Today it's not as clear there is a specific market reason. It appears to be real shifting expectations today. that these tariffs are not going anywhere.
Perhaps even that the initial market moves we saw in the hours after Donald Trump's Rose Garden address perhaps were a bit understated. If this loss possibly represents the fear we could be on the verge of a global recession, that appears to be what's going on in the markets today.
And I think we should make it clear, I mean, the tariffs haven't actually come in yet, have they?
No, absolutely. The sort of largest ones of those are not coming in until sort of just gone midnight US time on Wednesday. Worth saying, of course, that, you know, as I mentioned, the big move on Friday appeared to be China's retaliation. We still haven't had the EU response yet. So we know that European trade ministers are meeting right now.
Their response, if it is a retaliation, well, that could move things as well. This is quite a sort of a serious situation on the stock markets now. In a way, if you're sort of invested in the stock market, you're probably concerned. But actually, the likelihood is you've got sort of a longer term investment, especially if it's pensions.
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Chapter 5: What allegations exist regarding the treatment of Palestinian prisoners?
If you're not invested, I think potentially there's the suggestion that you could be more concerned that you might be because this might well signal, as I say, that we could be on the verge of a sort of much larger economic slowdown.
You called it serious. Some have called it carnage. I mean, is this a crash?
Which word? Which word do we use? Yes, which word? Tell us. Well, look, I mean, look, crash is quite a specific term which we use for when a sort of stock market falls by about 10% in a day or sort of 20% over the period of a couple of days. The FTSE is obviously down and it's been down over two or three days. We're nowhere near that kind of level.
Yet, if you compare it to a year ago, the level of the FTSE 100 in the UK here is sort of down about 2% or 3%. It's still long-term sort of doing pretty well. So we're not in crash territory yet. A couple of people I've spoken to have said it's a bit crashy, crash-like, but not quite a crash.
Peter Ruddock. Palestinians arrested in Gaza in the months after the 7th of October 2023 Hamas attacks, who were released in the ceasefire earlier this year, have told the BBC that they were subjected to mistreatment and torture in Israeli custody. Their accounts add to mounting reports of abuse within Israeli barracks and jails. Israel says they did not engage in systematic abuse of detainees.
Alice Cuddy reports about what the prisoners say happened to them.
Mohamed Abutuile used to be a mechanic. That was before he was arrested by Israeli forces last year. He says the torture began almost immediately.
They dunked my head in a bucket of chemicals. They hit me on the head and on the eye.
Now his body bears the scars of a year in detention. The skin around his eyes is badly damaged. He's lost a lot of weight. But most shocking is his back and arms, now covered in thick red welts. He said Israeli soldiers poured chemicals on him, beat him and set his back alight in the days after his arrest. In detention, he says, the mistreatment continued.
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Chapter 6: What efforts are being made to restore a ceasefire in Gaza?
Mohammed was one of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza released in the ceasefire earlier this year in exchange for Israeli hostages. During their time in detention, they were questioned about links with Hamas and the whereabouts of the hostages. But in the end, Israel said none of those released were found to have participated in the October 7th attacks.
Despite this, many prisoners say they endured hostility and hardship throughout their time.
The rice we got was uncooked. It was just soaked in water and they bring it to us. It caused us stomach cramps, diarrhea and constipation.
Abdul Karim Mujtaha used to work at a slaughterhouse in Gaza. He said he was arrested by Israeli soldiers while he tried to cross a checkpoint with his family. What followed, he says, was more than a year of torture and humiliation.
They cuffed me and beat me so much that blood was pouring down my arms and legs. My legs swelled up, bruising, swelling, and they began to smell.
He says he was denied water and soap, leading to skin blisters and infections.
I went three days without a single drop of water. When we asked for medical treatment, they said as long as you have a pulse, you are OK.
The BBC spoke to several other Gaza men after their release. They all said they were stripped, blindfolded, cuffed and beaten during their time in detention. Some said they were denied access to medical care. Others said they witnessed the deaths of fellow detainees.
The allegations are in line with reports by the UN and human rights groups of mistreatment of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli military barracks and prisons. We shared the allegations with Professor Lawrence Hill Cawthorn, an expert in international law from the University of Bristol.
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