Trump tariffs: US, Canada go big; Australia, China tone down — how world media reported reciprocal taxes

US President Donald Trump's "huge" reciprocal tariffs against more than 180 countries and territories, including India and China, has left the world and global markets in "surprise".

From the US to China to Canada to Australia to the UK, media outlets worldwide covered the "steep", “sweeping” Trump tariffs in different ways.

While Chinese media didn't go as big as the media outlets in the US and Canada on the Trump tariff news, an Australian news website focused on PM Anthony Albanese falling off a stage during a conference.

Here's a look at how world media reported on Trump tariffs.

US media

1. New York Times: The US' leading news website, the New York Times, titled his front-page article as: 'Trump Imposes Sweeping Tariff on Imports'. Another article — 'Escalation of Trade Fight Is Likely to Ripple Through Economy' — warned about the fallout of Trump tariffs.

Another NYT report on initial market reaction to Trump tariffs suggested that "the scale of the tariffs on Wednesday had come as a surprise and analysts were still trying to figure out how they had been derived." The headline of the article was: '‘It’s a Disaster’: Market Reaction Indicates Surprise at Tariffs’ Scale.

2. Washington post: The Washington Post headlined its first article as "US announces 10 percent tariffs on all imports, additional taxes for some 60 countries". It cited economists as warning that the tax increase on imported goods will mean "sticker shock" on some of Americans’ most important purchases, including groceries, cars and homes.

3. Fox news: The top headline on Fox News website was about Treasury Secretary's comments on Trump tariffs: "Treasury Secretary Bessent tells countries not to retaliate after sweeping 'Liberation Day' tariffs".

As per the report, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered a three-word reply to countries looking to respond to the US’ broad tariffs: “Do not retaliate.”

Fox News called President Donald Trump's declaration of "Liberation Day" as "self-proclaimed".

4. CNBC: CNBC reported that “President Donald Trump signed an aggressive and far-reaching 'reciprocal tariff' policy at the White House.”

Chinese media

1. Global Times' top news was China's "strong" response to Trump's tariffs. "China strongly opposes US 'reciprocal tariffs,' to take countermeasure: commerce ministry," the front-page headline read.

2. Xinhua News: Trump's tariffs failed to take a significant spot on Xinhua News website. Somewhere, in the corner of the front display of the website, a news headline read, "China will resolutely adopt countermeasures against US "reciprocal tariffs": commerce ministry"

Japanese media

The Japanese times also put the Trump tariff news upfront with the titled: "Trump unveils 10% global tariff, with Japan levy set at 24%". The follow up news told the readers about Trump tariffs "piling stress on ailing world economy".

The next news highlighted the drop in Japan’s stocks “on Trump’s 24% tariffs and stronger yen.”

Canadian media

The Globe and Mail went big with Trump tariff news. It reported, “Trump’s sweeping new levies on US trade partners threatens to fracture global systems of trade.”

Meanwhile, the media outlet also put Prime Minister Mark Carney's reaction upfront. He said Canada will fight with “purpose and force” against the trade war unleashed by Donald Trump. He also warning that tariffs will harm the global economy and affect millions of Canadians and Americans.

Australian media

1. The Sydney Morning Herald: At 10 am, the top news in Australian media was "Albanese falls off stage at union conference". Trump's steep tariff news was next in line with an opinion piece on trade war titled: “Donald Trump just hit the self-destruct button.”

2. The Australian: The media outlet's top headline at 10 am read, "Relief as beef escapes ban, medicines exempt from tariffs; Dutton says ‘weak’ PM ‘missing in action’". One of the analysis published by the media outlet stated, “China faces 60 per cent tariffs and Australia will feel their pain.”

UK media

The Guardian headlined one of its articles as on front-page as: 'Trump announces sweeping new tariffs, upending decades of US trade policy'. Another on the side read, "War-torn and struggling countries among those facing steepest Trump reciprocal tariffs."