1st LD: Dow plunges over 500 points amid trade concerns

NEW YORK, April 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened sharply lower on Wednesday, with the Dow slumping over 500 points, more than 2 percent, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs on a proposed list of Chinese goods amid widespread objections.

China on Wednesday unveiled a list of products worth 50 billion U.S. dollars imported from the United States that will be subject to higher tariffs, including soy bean, automobiles and chemical products.

The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council has decided to impose an additional tariff of 25 percent on 106 items of products under 14 categories, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said in a statement on its website.

The move came after the U.S. administration announced a proposed list of products subject to additional tariffs, which covers Chinese exports worth 50 billion dollars with a suggested tariff rate of 25 percent.

The date of implementation will depend on when the U.S. government imposes the tariffs on Chinese products, the MOF said.

The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said in a statement that the U.S. move was "an evident violation of relevant rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO)."

The U.S. move "severely infringed on the legitimate rights and interests that China enjoys in accordance with the WTO rules, and threatened China's economic interests and security," the MOC said.

The VIX Index, which measures the market's expectation of future volatility, surged 9.91 percent to 23.19 in morning trading on Wednesday.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 415.19 points, or 1.73 percent, to 23,618.17. The S&P 500 decreased 30.81 points, or 1.18 percent, to 2,583.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 85.73 points, or 1.24 percent, to 6,855.55. Enditem