U.S. futures fell after U.S. President Donald Trump's Monday evening announcement that he had asked for $200 billion worth of Chinese products to be identified and potentially subject to additional tariffs.
The implied open for the Dow Jones industrial average, based on futures, was more than 220 points to the downside at 12:03 a.m. ET. Other stock index futures also pointed to declines, with S&P 500 e-mini futures down 0.95 percent and Nasdaq futures lower by 1.07 percent.
In a statement released Monday, Trump said he had requested the U.S. Trade Representative to identify $200 billion in Chinese goods for additional tariffs at a rate of 10 percent.
The duties would take effect "if China refuses to change its practices" and if Beijing went ahead with new tariffs it had recently announced, the statement added.
Trump "has to carry out this threat because the Chinese were so quick and prompt in retaliating. I think the stock market correction will get worse from here," said Komal Sri-Kumar, president of Sri-Kumar Global Strategies. "It has gone from bad to worse and it was completely predictable it would go from bad to worse."
The latest development in the ongoing trade dispute between the world's two largest economies came after the Trump administration announced last week that it will put a 25 percent tariff on up to $50 billion in Chinese goods. An initial list of $34 billion worth of Chinese products will be subject to duties on July 6.
In response, China announced tariffs it will impose on U.S. goods worth the same total amount, with duties on $34 billion in U.S. products also set to take effect early in July.
U.S. markets had closed moderately lower on Monday, with the Dow closing down 103.01 points at 24,987.47 amid investor concerns over the escalation in trade tensions.
Over in Asia, China markets fell more than 1 percent during Tuesday afternoon trade, with the down 2.18 percent and the tumbling almost 3 percent.
— CNBC's Fred Imbert contributed reporting.