The stock market plummeted after President Donald Trump confirmed tariffs on Canada and Mexico would go into effect at midnight.

The S&P 500 fell 1.8 percent, marking its worst day since December, the Dow Jones Industrial Index lost 1.5 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 2.6 percent at market close.

Speaking from the White House alongside Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Trump confirmed 25 percent tariffs on America’s largest trading partners would start on Tuesday.

He said there was ‘no room left’ for negotiations, dashing investors’ hopes of any possible last-minute deals.

‘Tomorrow, tariffs - 25 percent on Canada and 25 percent on Mexico,’ Trump said during a press conference. ‘And that’ll start. … What they have to do is build their car plants, frankly, and other things in the United States, in which case they have no tariffs.’

Following Trump’s comments, Wall Street’s fear gauge - which is known as the VIX - soared to its highest point this year so far.

‘Whether the stock market can survive this change remains to be seen,’ Chris Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS, said in a note. ‘One way or another, tariffs will be a shock for the economy.’

The sweeping tariffs on Canada and Mexico had been due to come into force in February, but had been delayed for a month. The stock market fell after President Donald Trump confirmed tariffs on Canada and Mexico would go into effect at midnight

Some investors fear the levies will be inflationary, as well as pushing up the cost of everyday products for American consumers.

Monday’s stock market sell-off comes after the three major Wall Street indexes recorded losses for February.

The losses were largely due to fears about the impact of tariffs - which also includes an increase to duties imposed on China - alongside fears over sticky inflation and a slowing US economy.

Stocks set to take a direct hit from the tariffs or from retaliation from the targeted countries also fell on Monday, CNBC reported.

Automakers GM and Ford fell following the announcement, over fears the duties could disrupt a quarter of a trillion dollars in trade.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq was down over 3 percent in afternoon trading Following Trump’s comments, Wall Street’s fear gauge - which is known as the VIX - soared to its highest point this year so far

Nvidia led the losses in the technology sector, losing more than 9 percent in afternoon trading.

Bitcoin also plummeted 9 percent, reversing an earlier rally which saw the cryptocurrency rise as high as $95,000.

Crypto investors had been optimistic about Trump’s proposal on Sunday to create a strategic reserve fund, which would mean the US Government would purchase and hold a variety of digital assets.

But this enthusiasm seemed to quickly fade as traders grappled with the potential volatility that tariffs could cause.

Trump has said the tariffs are to force the two US neighbors to step up their fight against fentanyl trafficking and stop illegal immigration, AP News reported.

But he has also indicated that he wants to even the trade imbalance with both countries as well and push more factories to relocate in the US.

The Trump administration remains confident that tariffs are the best choice to boost manufacturing within the US and attract foreign investment.

In February, Trump put a 10 percent tariff on imports from China and reemphasized on Monday that the rate would be doubling to 20 percent on Tuesday.