The US has finally formalized the 104% tariff to China. Act then Apple has ceased to be the most valuable company

There is no truce for large technological ones. This same afternoon, The White House has made official A 104% tariff to imports from China. The decision, which marks a new tension peak in the commercial war that Donald Trump unleashed, has not taken to agitate the markets. The consequences have been immediate.

Apple, the great victim. Although in Spain it is almost midnight, in The east of the United States the markets have just closed with red numbers. Apple led the falls with a collapse of almost 5% in a single daywhich adds to the accumulated retreat of 23% since this new wave of tariffs began last week. The company has seen how its stock capitalization fell to 2.59 billion dollars.

That decrease has been enough for Cupertino’s firm to lose the most valuable quoted company title in the world. The throne is again for Microsoft, which has closed the day with an even more pronounced fall (-7%), but with a slightly higher capitalization: 2.63 billion.

A rivalry that remains alive. In the last five years, Apple and Microsoft have alternated several times the leadership in the markets. However, since mid -2024, Apple had established itself at the top, benefited by the good behavior of their income and the trust of investors. Microsoft, meanwhile, suffered a correction in the middle of last year, when doubts began to emerge about the sustainability of their investments in artificial intelligence. The market feared that the expense was excessive and unprofitable in the medium term.

Falls in chain. The punishment has not been exclusive to Apple. Other great technology have also closed in red. Nvidia, third company for stock market capitalization globally, has dropped 1.37%. Amazon has retreated 2.62%, while Alphabet (Google) has lost 1.78%. Nor has Asml, the Dutch giant of the semiconductors, who has suffered a 3.32%drop.

The origin of the conflict. It all started last week, when the Trump administration decided to reactivate commercial pressure on China with a 34% tariff on certain products. The measure was presented as a “reciprocal” action, but in Beijing it did not like. The Ministry of Commerce responded with a warning: “If the United States insists on following its own path, China will fight until the end.”

Trump imposed an ultimatum: if China did not turn before Tuesday, it would impose a new 50%tariff. Beijing did not yield, and Washington either. In fact, in the last hours it had been leaked that the Chinese government even valued the distribution of American films as a form of symbolic retaliation.

The result: confirmed climbing. The lack of agreement has led to the announcement that the markets have exploded: the new 50% tariff comes into force on Wednesday, shortly after midnight in Washington. In addition to existing taxes, the total exceeds 104%.

Images | Xataka with chatgpt

In Xataka | The US tariffs are already hurting two of the companies that support Taiwan’s economy: TSMC and Foxconn