(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump’s tariffs continued to rattle markets around the world Monday, fueling recession fears.

Asian markets have plunged, with Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index dropping nearly 8% shortly after the market opened Monday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 13.2%, Shanghai Composite index 6.2% and South Korea’s Kospi 5.57%, per Google Finance.

India’s stocks saw the biggest single-day drop in percentage since March 2020, and the Australian dollar fell to its lowest since the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The global market meltdown comes after a massive sell-off that sent Wall Street into a frenzy late last week. Stock futures are pointing toward another down day in the United States, with all three major indices — Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 — remaining firmly in the red.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that by Sunday, “more than 50 countries” had reached out about a deal to lift tariffs.

On Monday, a spokesperson for Beijing accused the U.S. of “unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying” and “putting the U.S. first over international rules.” 

On his so-called “Liberation Day,” Trump increased tariffs on Chinese goods to 54%. China responded by adding a 34% tax on all U.S. imports.

Those tariffs and retaliatory measures are set to take effect Wednesday.

On Sunday night, Trump downplayed Wall Street’s reaction and defended the tariffs as necessary.

When asked how far markets would have to fall, Trump said, “I think your question is so stupid. I don’t want anything to go down. But sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.”

In a social media post later that night, Trump said, “We have massive Financial Deficits with China, the European Union, and many others. The only way this problem can be cured is with TARIFFS … Some day people will realize that Tariffs, for the United States of America, are a very beautiful thing!”

The levies are expected to be a major topic of discussion when Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. The U.S. has slapped a 17% tariff on Israel.

NewsNation’s Anna Kutz and the Associated Press contributed to this report.