Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
“Investors got some ephemeral relief from Donald Trump’s tariff nonsense on Tuesday when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced formal negotiations with Japan aimed at reaching an agreement, signaling that much of the tariff implementation was perhaps a prelude to a deal. But then Trump announced that an additional 50 percent tariff would be placed on China, in retaliation for their own retaliatory tariffs in response to the initial order, making clear that at least with respect to the world’s largest manufacturer, a trade war is far more likely. Stocks fell on that news. And today, the largest tariffs all take effect. The important thing to understand is that the economy was spiraling in ways that Americans were feeling before the tariff announcements last week.” (04/09/25)
https://prospect.org/economy/2025-04-09-economic-consequences-tariff-war/