US stocks fell on Monday as President Trump threatened tariffs on a handful of US trading partners, including moving forward with 25% levies on imports from Japan and South Korea starting in August.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI ) slipped more than 400 points, or almost 1%. The S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ) also backed off 0.8%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) dropped roughly 0.9% as Tesla ( TSLA ) stock sank amid worries about CEO Elon Musk's plan to launch a political party .
Stocks pulled back from all-time closing highs with Trump's new tariff deadline in focus. On Monday, Trump posted letters to social media directed at the leaders of South Korea and Japan. The president said the US will impose 25% levies on imports from those countries starting on Aug. 1.
Trump subsequently posted letters to the leaders of several other countries, including South Africa and Malaysia, outlining tariffs ranging from 25% to 40%.
Meanwhile, Trump said late Sunday that any country aligning itself with the "Anti-American policies of BRICS" will face an additional 10% tariff. "There will be no exceptions to this policy," he said in a post to social media . The warning came after BRICS — a group of countries including key US trading partners China and India — criticized Trump's tariff policy at its summit at the weekend.
The moves have ramped up already-high trade tensions as nations race to clinch tariff deals ahead of Trump's self-imposed deadline of July 9, when his "pause" on steep April tariffs would go back into effect. Global markets have been bracing for that potential shock, with the US only having reached deals with the UK and Vietnam, as well as a framework toward an agreement with China.
On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trump confirmed that while letters would be sent out this week informing countries of their tariff rates, those duties would not go into effect until Aug. 1 .
Read more: The latest on Trump's tariffs .
Meanwhile, earnings are coming back into the conversation this week, with Thursday's report from Delta ( DAL ) serving as the unofficial kickoff to the second quarter season.
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