Global financial markets are in a state of panic, with US stocks plunging over 10% in just three days amid fears of an escalating trade war triggered by President Donald Trump's sweeping import tariffs. The markets "fear a recession which is what’s also driving them down so sharply and potentially amplifying the phenomenon, and it will last as long as the American president remains in this standoff with his trading partners, notably Europe and China," explains Alexandre Baradez, head of market analysis at IG France. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES