On April 2nd of last year, President Trump announced his policies and the scope of tariffs, which he named "Liberation Day." These targeted his trade partners around the world, creating a desire for stagnation and leading to a sharp downward trend in stock markets. This practice was promoted as contributing to the strengthening of the industrial and employment sectors in the United States, despite economic warnings that the burden of these tariffs would primarily fall on American consumers.
Subsequently, the implementation of some central aspects of the policy began, and new adjustments were made. These were marked by the suspension of most of the core powers for 90 days, while maintaining an acceptance rate of 10%. This effect contributed to some gains for Wall Street, although it has not generally stopped the decline since the beginning of last January.
Domestically, this trade disruption led to a 0.3% decrease in the United States' GDP during the first quarter, the weakest since 2022. 1 The Bureau of Economic Analysis clearly attributed this in part to increased imports, as new companies sought to import early before the tariffs were applied. The Bureau also indicated that government investments – those working towards administrative tasks – also contributed to this outcome.
Source: Forbes