Customs crisis: ATX and DAX overthrow-panic investors!

Customs crisis: ATX and DAX overthrow-panic investors!

Österreich - The stock markets today, on April 7, 2025, have a drastic decline that was influenced by recent developments in international trade. The indices ATX and DAX, both of which have suffered significant losses, are particularly affected. The ATX dropped from 3,761.20 to 3,504.93 points within just 15 minutes, which corresponds to a decline of over five percent. At a time at 11:41 a.m., however, the index stabilized at just over 3,560 points. The DAX also came under pressure and fell by about ten percent. The situation is tense for investors all over the world, since the Euro Stoxx-50 also had a minus of six percent and the US indices Dow Jones and Nikkei suffered strong declines in a similar way. This development is reported by the 5min.at

The nervousness of the investors is primarily due to the announcement of US President Donald Trump to raise tariffs for almost all trading partners, including the European Union and Austria. These customs measures are part of a persistent wave of trade disputes that have been burdening the financial markets for a long time. As early as March 2025, the DAX had the greatest loss in three years and fell 3.5 percent to 22,327 points. Trump also doubled the import tariffs to Chinese goods to 20 percent, which led to the countermeasures of China on US agricultural products. These developments show how fragile the situation has become of the markets, which also confirms the assessment of Tagesschau

The effects of customs policy

The recent decisions of the US government are in a larger context in which tariffs are increasingly used as an instrument of protectionism. According to the Deutschlandfunk , duties are taxes on imported or exported goods that serve to protect domestic producers. Historically speaking, tariffs often led to tensions and trade wars, as can be observed in the current situation. Jürgen Matthes from the Institute of German Economy has indicated an increased protectionism since the 2008/2009 financial crisis.

The United States has long been a pioneer in reducing trading tariffs and promoting free trade. But under Trump, the global economy experienced a reversal of this trend, which significantly unsettled the markets. Customs can be used to protect their own industries and generate income for states, but they can also have negative effects on consumer prices and disrupt complex supply chains, which is particularly relevant in the current situation.