What happened with Trump's tariffs this week: Everything you need to know
Tariffs were on, then they were off. At least temporarily, and only some of them — but not for China, which got hit with steeper duties and promptly hit back.
Tariffs were on, then they were off. At least temporarily, and only some of them — but not for China, which got hit with steeper duties and promptly hit back. Wall Street reeled, then rebounded to its strongest weekly gain in well over a year.
The past week has seen a head-spinning series of U.S. trade policy changes that economists, investors and ordinary consumers increasingly worry will drive up inflation or even trigger a recession.
“The economy is facing considerable turbulence,” JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said Friday, when the bank reported strong earnings while warning of pitfalls ahead. Both JPMorgan — which sees 50-50 odds of a recession this year — and Morgan Stanley saw revenues jump from stock trading activity as investors raced to adjust their holdings in the face of growing uncertainty.
The major U.S. stock indexes ended on a high Friday after a volatile week of massive losses and gains. The eleventh-hour rebound came after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt signaled that President Donald Trump is “optimistic” for a trade deal with China.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 4.9% on the week, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished up 7.3%. The S&P 500 had its best week since November 2023, ending up 5.7%. That broad-based index was still down 5.5% since April 1, the day before Trump unveiled a sweeping slate of fresh tariffs.
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