Trump's tariffs rollout beset by confusion, uncertainty and mixed messages
Trump has fulfilled a campaign promise to unleash sweeping tariffs, which has sparked fears of a global trade war and prompted a question: What's his endgame?
President Donald Trump on Wednesday officially fulfilled a campaign promise to unleash sweeping tariffs, a move that has sparked fears of a global trade war and prompted a major question about what has become the centerpiece of his economic agenda: What’s his endgame?
In both size and scope, Trump’s ultimate blueprint for global tariffs — a 10% baseline tariff on virtually every country, with higher numbers on countries with which the United States has larger trade deficits — was more than most expected. It has left global financial markets tumbling and Trump’s Republican supporters trying to thread the political needle of not criticizing him while also understanding the economic peril the tariff plan may usher in ahead of 2026 midterm elections in which the GOP will try to defend its slim House and Senate majorities.
Trump’s team has so far not had a clear message to either explain the strategy behind the tariffs that his political allies can echo or his thought process behind the decision to go much further than even supporters were expecting.
What’s more, multiple elements of the sweeping measures made it seem as if the administration rushed through the process — including its decision to levy tariffs on uninhabited islands and its initially listing tariff numbers on the White House list published Thursday that were different from the ones on the chart Trump held in the Rose Garden on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump speaks about his tariffs Wednesday at the White House as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick holds a chart showing the rates. Brendan Smialowski / AFP - Getty ImagesOne day after the announcement, Trump was not helping provide any of that clarity, posting cryptic messages on Truth Social that the “patient lived,” an apparent reference to the U.S. economy, and that the “operation is over,” though the tariffs have yet to be imposed.
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