The Tariffs Get More Confusing

President Trump pulled back on some tariffs but it's hard for businesses to know which goods are subject to those that remain.

Good Morning!

Here are today’s highlights:

• Businesses sometimes pay the tariff rather than investing the time to figure out whether they actually owe the tariff.

• The Wall Street Journal editorial board calls for someone to sue the president.

• The SBA is closing its offices in “sanctuary cities.”

• With so many distractions out there, Lou Mosca says you should focus on what you can control.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

After two days, President Trump suspended tariffs he’d placed on North American trade: “The suspension effectively abandons many of the tariffs that Mr. Trump had placed on Canadian and Mexican products — levies he said were necessary to stem the flow of drugs and migrants into the United States. His decision came a day after he said he would grant a 30-day reprieve to automakers, who had complained to the president that the levies would cause severe damage to U.S. carmakers. Mr. Trump implied that any relief would be short-lived, saying that other tariffs on Canadian and Mexican products are coming in April.”

• “Mr. Trump’s chaotic, stop-and-start approach has sent stock markets tumbling and generated anxiety among industries that depend on trade with Canada and Mexico, which account for more than a quarter of U.S. imports and nearly a third of U.S. exports. After Mr. Trump imposed his tariffs, Canada retaliated with levies on $20.5 billion worth of American goods, including agricultural products, and Mexico was threatening to impose its own import taxes on U.S. goods on Sunday if Mr. Trump did not relent.”

• “Speaking from the White House on Thursday, Mr. Trump said his decision would protect American carmakers and farmers. He insisted that there were ‘no delays at all’ and his order had ‘nothing to do with the market.’”

• “‘I’m not even looking at the market, because long term, the United States will be very strong with what’s happening here,’ he said. ‘Now these are countries and companies, foreign companies, that have been ripping us off, and no president did anything about it, until I came along.’” READ MORE