Trump Media share price tanks over 5% ahead of reciprocal tariffs announcement; stock down 44% YTD

Trump Media share price: Trump Media and Technology Group's share price declined over five per cent on Wednesday, April 2, ahead of US President Donald Trump's much-awaited reciprocal tariffs announcement. The company also disclosed the possibility of significant stock sales in an official securities filing, including by insider shareholders such as the US President’s trust. 

The parent company of Truth Social said in an April 1 filing that it could soon sell roughly 8.4 million shares of common stock related to existing warrants issued during the public offering. The company said insiders and major stakeholders could also sell up to about 134 million shares. That includes the more than 114 million shares held by the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust.

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Trump Media share price today

The stock was down more than five per cent in midday trading on the US stock exchanges and has crashed 44 per cent year-to-date (YTD). Donald Trump has previously said he does not plan to sell his stake in the leading media company. His son, Donald Trump Jr., oversees the revocable trust.

“The sale of the Resale Securities being offered pursuant to this prospectus, or the perception that these sales could occur, could result in a significant decline in the public trading price of our Common Stock,” the prospectus warned. The company said the total shares available for resale amounted to 129.2 per cent of the public float of shares, a measure of the amount of stock available for trade. The company said the filing does not indicate that insider sales are planned.

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Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs

US President Donald Trump will appear at the White House Rose Garden today for a "Liberation Day" ceremony. He is expected to announce sweeping tariffs that could escalate a trade war and upend the global economy. Trump has kept the world guessing ahead of the event about the details of the new tariffs, which are expected to prompt countermeasures from trading partners. 

He has said he will impose reciprocal tariffs to match US rates with higher levels charged by other countries but has not said how high the levels would be or which countries would bear the brunt. The uncertainty has rattled financial markets and businesses that have relied on trading arrangements, which have been in place since 1947.

Also Read: Donald Trump transfers nearly $4 billion worth of his Trump Media shares to revocable trust

The new tariffs will take effect immediately after Trump announces them, though the administration has not yet published an official notice as required. The administration, however, did publish an official notice that a separate set of tariffs on auto imports that Trump announced last week will take effect starting on April 3. 

Trump has already imposed 20 per cent duties on all imports from China and 25 per cent duties on steel and aluminium and extended them to nearly $150 billion worth of downstream products. He has postponed a 25 per cent tariff on most Canadian and Mexican goods to pressure them to crack down on drug trafficking and immigration, though that is due to expire on Wednesday.