[Text/Observer Network Zhang Jingjuan] Local time on April 2, US President Trump signed two executive orders related to the so-called "reciprocal tariff" at the White House, announcing that the United States would impose a "minimum benchmark tariff" of 10% on trading partners and impose higher tariffs on certain trading partners.

The US Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) cited analysts as saying that the uncertainty surrounding the additional US tariffs has been dragging down global markets for the past month, but Trump's much-anticipated tariff statement may not end this turmoil.

Ozak Ozkural, founding managing partner of investment and advisory firm Tanto Capital Partners, said on April 1 that although Trump called April 2 the "liberation day," it might be better described as a "slaughter day" for the market.

Ozak Ozkural said that this is just typical Trump-style intimidation, attempting to bring opponents to the negotiating table and secure greater benefits for the United States.

He claimed that Trump's approach makes it very difficult to price any assets right now.

"If you look at the commodity market, it's completely crazy. On one hand, there's talk about secondary sanctions on Venezuelan oil, and on the other hand, it could be a deal between Russia and Ukraine, which might bring Russian crude back to the market, completely changing the supply and demand landscape. Now, with possible new sanctions on Russian oil, it's really hard to price anything. So we sometimes have to reassess every day, even every hour," Ozkural said.

On March 30, Trump stated in an interview that if the failure to reach a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine was due to Russia, the United States might impose a "secondary tariff" of 25% to 50% on buyers of Russian oil. Not long ago, Trump also claimed he would impose a "secondary tariff" of 25% on countries purchasing Venezuelan oil and natural gas.

Local time on March 31, 2025, Washington D.C., USA, US President Trump signs an executive order. IC Photo

Although Trump's "America First" strategy has left global markets struggling with uncertainty, Zoe Gillespie, a chartered wealth manager at RBC Brewin Dolphin, part of Canada's Royal Bank, believes that "it will be difficult to look away from the United States in the long run due to its broad reach and company quality."

Gillespie told CNBC's "European Squawk Box" program that even after the announcement of the tariff measures, uncertainty may continue to have a "shock effect" on the market.

She said: "As events unfold, there may be more uncertainty. I think the risk lies in our inability to obtain too much clear information for a longer period of time and the impact on economic growth... This may delay any signal of market recovery."

Gillespie believed that Trump might not reveal all the details of the tariffs on April 2, and other unknown factors include whether trade partners such as the EU will announce retaliatory tariffs, as well as the impact of tariffs on inflation and interest rates.

"This is really difficult because you are trying to prepare for something you don't fully understand... The question for each industry is whether the global supply chain will be affected to some extent, or whether you should focus on companies that are more domestically oriented and less dependent on the global supply chain at this stage. The service sector is another unknown factor."

Arnaud Giro, head of economic and cross-asset strategy at Kepler Cheuvreux, said that April 2 might mark the peak of market "uncertainty".

"I hope there will be a sense of relief tonight, let's wait and see. Certainly, analysts have shared a lot of data, they have simulated various scenarios. So I hope tonight is the worst case, the peak of uncertainty, followed by negotiations and discussions, hoping the impact will be slightly smaller than the worst case... Hopefully this can help the US market recover," Giro said.

According to a Reuters report, Mark Spindel, chief investment officer of investment firm Potomac River Capital LLC, said, "I think the market is really holding its breath."

He predicted that the so-called "fear index" would rise to around 30, a level usually indicating high risk aversion in the market.

Sonu Varghese, global macro strategist at financial advisory firm Carson Group, said: "Ideally, we just need to get an exact number for the tariff rate, then we can calculate its downstream impact, but I am worried that we won't get such an exact number, or even if we do, it may be subject to debate."

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