Tariffs News and Blog Posts

Donald Trump’s approach to tariffs and international trade may yet have the same impact. Last week, we discussed the likely economic effect of Trump’s approach. Now let’s consider the potential political consequences.

President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday via Truth Social a 90-day pause on tariffs for countries that have reached out to address trade deficits, and a 125% tariff on China. The pause comes a week after “Liberation Day,” the day in which the tariffs were first introduced.

By imposing the largest tax increases on international imports in more than a century, and by the sheer unpredictability and haphazardness of the decision-making process, Trump has undermined consumer, business, and investor confidence to cause one of the most significant stock market corrections in history—caused not by war, natural disaster, or pandemic, but by the capriciousness of a single political leader.

On April 2, President Donald Trump introduced two new forms of tariffs aimed at equalizing trade deficits between the US and its trade competitors. The first tariff introduced is a universal 10% import tax on all imported goods in the US. The second, deemed the "reciprocal tax”, will charge 60 nations 50% of what they charge for US products in tariffs and non-tariff barriers.

Donald Trump is a businessman. He is also a showman. For most of his career before entering politics, Trump has expertly leveraged these two aspects of his persona to his benefit. But now Trump the businessman and Trump the showman stand in conflict.

President Donald Trump enacted 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico on Tuesday, and 35% tariffs on China. The countries responded by placing equal tariffs of their own, with China blacklisting 20 US companies. Earlier today, Trump announced he would delay tariffs on Mexico for USMCA compliant goods. On Monday, the Dow fell by nearly 650 points as the market prepared for the tariffs.

We learned last week that Donald Trump is not unstoppable. But no one has figured out how to stop him.

But after Trump’s second week in office, we are beginning to see the downsides of the old/new president’s unrelenting offensive. Just as his various audiences inevitably miss some of his most debatable and less popular ideas, they’re also going not going to notice some of the things that the White House wants them to see.

How Trump weighs his political considerations around immigration and tariffs against economic realities could determine the fate of both his presidency and the U.S. economy.

There are occasionally days that can accurately sum up the state of the campaign with sufficient accuracy to provide a reliable overview of the state of the race. Last Thursday, June 13, was such a day.