Tariffs between 10% and 41% were applied to nearly 70 countries beginning at 12:01 AM Thursday, significantly expanding the reach of Trump’s confrontational trade policy.
"IT’S MIDNIGHT!!! BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN TARIFFS ARE NOW FLOWING INTO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!" President Donald Trump crowed shortly before midnight on his social media platform. The tariffs arrived roughly a week after Trump delayed so-called reciprocal tariffs, opting to modify some levies.
In fact, the lead-up to Thursday fit the slapdash nature of Trump's tariffs, which have been variously rolled out, walked back, delayed, increased, imposed by letter and frantically renegotiated.
The process has been so muddled that officials for key trade partners were unclear at the start of the week whether the tariffs would begin Thursday or Friday. The language of the July 31 order to delay the start of tariffs from August 01 said the higher tax rates would start in seven days.
And, the US stock market has been solid during the recent tariff drama, with the S&P 500 index climbing more than 25% from its April low. The market's rebound and the income tax cuts in Trump's tax and spending measures signed into law on July 04 have given the White House confidence that economic growth is bound to accelerate in the coming months.
As of now, Trump still foresees an economic boom while his fellow Americans as well as the rest of the world wait nervously.
No comments:
Post a Comment