The Next Shoe to Drop

President Trump says that, thanks to his reciprocal tariffs, April 2 will be “Liberation Day.” The results so far suggest April 1 would have been more appropriate.

Good Morning!

Here are today’s highlights:

• The tariffs are making things harder even for companies that manufacture domestically.

• The Federal Reserve is now less likely to lower interest rates.

• The pandemic was especially tough for restaurants, but it did make them more productive.

• Florida is considering reducing or even eliminating property taxes (but sales taxes would likely rise).

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

So far, the tariffs have hit billions of dollars of imports; on April 2, administration officials say, it will be trillions: “Through his first two months in office, the president has raised tariffs on roughly $800 billion in imports from China, Mexico, and Canada, although estimates vary widely. These tariffs have sent the stock market careening and raised the risks of a U.S. recession, while inviting retaliation against domestic industries by trade partners. Despite the blowback, senior Trump advisers are now publicly pledging to create a new tariff regime that would impose new duties on goods from most countries that trade with the United States. A person familiar with internal planning, speaking on the condition of anonymity to reflect private deliberations, confirmed administration officials are preparing tariffs on ‘trillions’ of dollars in imports.”

• “The internal preparations suggest Trump remains unbowed in his push to upend the global trade order, despite deepening unease among allies on Capitol Hill and Wall Street and outright fury from overseas. Trump has said the tariffs are necessary to encourage companies to move production back to the U.S. and force concessions from foreign trading partners, but the fallout has rattled investors and consumers, leading to declines in several key economic indicators.”

• “‘It’s a liberation day for our country because we’re going to be getting back a lot of the wealth that we so foolishly gave up to other countries, including friend and foe,’ Trump told reporters on Monday.” READ MORE