China struck back today against President Trump’s new tariffs, promising to match his plan to place a 34 percent fee on goods from China with its own 34 percent tariff on imports from the U.S. The escalation intensified fears of an economic slowdown and helped fuel a further sell-off in U.S. stocks.

The S&P 500 plunged nearly 6 percent, ending its worst week since March 2020, the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The dollar fell, as did oil prices. Tariff concerns seemed to overshadow a positive report about the U.S. labor market.

Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, warned that Trump’s tariffs could stoke higher inflation and slower growth. But the president has stuck to his guns; he likened the levies to a painful medical procedure to rescue an economy that he described as a “sick patient.”

What to consider:

• For those who are tempted to panic, my colleague who writes the Your Money column recommends sitting down and having a $1.50 hot dog instead.

• For upcoming retirees, the current financial environment can be perilous. Here are steps to weather the volatility.

• Grocery shoppers are likely to see the effects in the produce aisle first.

A judge ordered the return of a mistakenly deported man

A federal judge today gave the Trump administration three days to secure the return of a Maryland man who was inadvertently deported to El Salvador last month despite a court order allowing him to stay in the U.S.