ECB’s Nagel Says US Tariff News Almost Caused Financial Meltdown

European Central Bank Governing Council member Joachim Nagel said financial markets were close to a meltdown after last month’s US trade announcements, highlighting their vulnerability to erratic economic policies.

“‘Disruptive’ is a nice description of what I had in mind after April 2,” Nagel said of the situation after President Donald Trump’s introduction of reciprocal tariffs, which included a global-stock slump and a weakening dollar. “It was close to a meltdown.”