Dollar Slides as Trump’s 15% Global Tariff Raises Market Concerns

By Mintesinot Nigussie
Published on 02/23/26

The US dollar weakened against all major currencies on Monday after President Donald Trump announced a global 15% tariff, stirring concerns about the outlook for the world’s largest economy, Bloomberg reported. The Bloomberg dollar index fell as much as 0.3 percent, extending losses from Friday amid light trading while Japan’s markets were closed for a holiday.

The yen, Swiss franc, and Swedish krona led gains against the greenback following the tariff announcement, while futures on the S&P 500 Index dropped 0.6 percent in Asian morning trade.

Trump’s latest tariff threat follows a ruling by the US Supreme Court that struck down his previous reciprocal tariffs. Analysts are weighing how global trading partners may respond to the new levy, adding to uncertainty over both US economic growth and international trade flows.

Despite the Supreme Court decision, senior US officials stressed that existing trade agreements remain intact. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday that deals with China, the European Union, Japan, and South Korea continue to operate under the administration’s trade policies.

The ripple effects of tariff friction emerged internationally, with Europe’s trade chief signalling a possible halt to ratifying a US deal, while India delayed talks to finalise an interim trade agreement, Bloomberg noted.

Market strategists highlighted that policy uncertainty is a key driver of the dollar’s decline. “Policy uncertainty is a particularly important channel for the dollar as it can negatively influence investor and business activity,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists, including Kamakshya Trivedi, wrote in a note.

The Bloomberg dollar index recorded an 8.1 percent drop last year, the largest annual decline in eight years, pressured by the Federal Reserve’s easing policies and the initial wave of Trump’s global tariffs.