Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that the increasing tariff tensions between the United States and China are adding more pressure to the world's economy, noting that Turkey is working to keep stability and make sure the country recovers during these difficulties.

"The escalating tariff tensions between the US and China are increasing the burden on the global economy. In this situation, Turkey is trying to avoid crises, heal the wounds inflicted by the February 6 [2023] earthquakes, and achieve its economic goals," Erdogan declared during a speech in Ankara.

Trade tensions between Washington and Beijing have deepened as both nations start charging new port fees on each other's ships beginning on October 14, which widens their economic conflict beyond goods and into global maritime trade.

US and China enter shipping standoff

Beijing said its new fees are a countermeasure to US policies and will apply to American-owned, operated, built, or registered vessels, but not to ships built in China, mirroring new US port charges that Washington says are meant to support its domestic shipping industry, which has struggled to compete with Asia's subsidized shipyards.

Chinese state media said the US fees break a bilateral maritime agreement from over twenty years ago, and in response, Beijing will charge 400 yuan per net tonne on ships linked to the US, a rate that will increase each year to 1,120 yuan per tonne by April 2028.

The Chinese Ministry of Transportation said the fee will apply to vessels owned by US companies, organizations, or individuals, as well as ships where US entities hold 25% or more ownership or those sailing under the US flag, starting on October 14.

Previously, on October 9, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced that export restrictions would take effect starting November 8 on a range of goods critical to high-tech and green industries, including medium and heavy rare earth elements, lithium batteries, artificial graphite anode materials, extraction and processing equipment for rare earth metals, and ultra-high-strength materials.

In a late-night Truth Social post on October 11, Trump accused Beijing of taking an "extraordinarily aggressive position" by imposing broad export controls on rare earth materials and other critical goods, and he said the US response would be "swift and decisive," adding that the tariffs could take effect "sooner if necessary."

Overarching consequences

Gold surged to an unprecedented level on October 13 as investors sought safety from the growing uncertainty caused by renewed US-China trade friction and increasing expectations of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, while silver also followed suit and reached a record peak.

As of 2:53 am GMT, spot gold climbed 0.7% to $4,044.29 per ounce after it reached a new record of $4,059.30 earlier in the day, and US gold futures for December delivery advanced 1.6% to $4,062.50.

Meanwhile, silver rose 2% to reach an all-time high of $51.52 per ounce, supported by the same macroeconomic factors as gold and by a tight physical market. Goldman Sachs projected that silver could see continued price gains in the medium term, driven by investor inflows, though it cautioned that volatility and downside risks remain higher than for gold.

In the stock market, Wall Street selloff fears returned in force on October 12 as US President Donald Trump reignited his tariff war with China, triggering the sharpest losses in US markets since April.

The S&P 500, which is widely seen as the leading barometer of US equities, dropped 183 points or 2.7% to close at 6,552, marking its steepest daily decline since April 10 when it lost 3.5%, and before this drop, the S&P had been on a near five-month rally and had repeatedly hit record highs.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell even further, plunging 820 points or 3.6% to 22,204, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average also posted a significant drop, losing 880 points or 2% to end at 45,480.