CGTN poll: Tariffs deal a heavy blow to U.S. market confidence, global respondents fear negative spillover

In less than a month, $4 trillion in market value has evaporated, as international concerns over U.S. tariff policies continue to spread panic throughout the country's stock market. A CGTN-conducted survey targeting global netizens revealed that the respondents are unprecedentedly skeptical of the new U.S. administration's tariff policies, and deeply concerned about the negative spillover effects of the sluggish performance of U.S. stocks. As a CGTN netizen said, "Taxing all products from foreign countries has never been a good idea."

Recently, U.S. President Trump stated that "we cannot focus too much on the stock market performance." In response, 86.7 percent of global respondents believe that this is an attempt to downplay the negative impact of his tariff policies on the U.S. stock market. Shortly afterward, Trump announced an increase in tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum exports to the U.S., raising them to 50 percent and causing another significant turmoil in the U.S. stock market. 

Regarding this, 86.1 percent of global respondents stated that the new U.S. administration's erratic and escalating tariff policies have unsettled investors, triggering a sell-off in U.S. tech stocks and market volatility not seen in years; 86.8 percent of respondents believe that the recent sharp decline in U.S. stocks reflects a severe lack of confidence among market investors in the U.S. economy, with growing concerns that the U.S. market crash could spill over into global markets and undermine worldwide confidence.

Recently, Goldman Sachs Group released its latest research report, revising down the U.S. GDP growth forecast for 2025 from 2.4 to 1.7 percent. This is also the first time in two and a half years that Goldman Sachs has lowered its economic forecast for the United States.

The survey reveals that 85.6 percent of the respondents are concerned that the economic policies under the "America First" doctrine will continue to have a negative impact on the sluggish recovery of the world economy; 76.2 percent of the respondents believe that the U.S. stock market crash may signal the beginning of a recession in the U.S. economy; 70.6 percent of the respondents think that the economic policies of the new U.S. administration will not only disrupt the global economic order but also severely damage the U.S. economy, hindering its own economic development.

The survey was released on CGTN's English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Russian platforms, with 7,875 netizens voting and expressing their opinions within 24 hours.