Trump's tariff turmoil a warning for corporate America
United States president Donald Trump began his second term by taking world financial markets on a daylong rollercoaster ride over his tariff policies, in a sign of turbulence ahead for investors and executives.
After campaigning for months on a plan to impose steep tariffs on goods from China, as well as Mexico and Canada, Trump appeared poised early Monday to stay his hand for the time being.
Stock futures rose and the dollar declined on a report that the administration wouldn’t immediately begin putting tariffs in place. Investors had been bracing for an economic show of force from Trump, who had said a few weeks before the election that “tariff” was the most beautiful word in the dictionary.
By day’s end, however, Trump had partially reversed course, saying that he would put 25 per cent tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada by Feb. 1. The news caused the Mexican peso and the Canadian dollar to drop.
Trump, who was sworn in with a coterie of smiling tech billionaires and chief executives at his side, has positioned himself as the most business-friendly of presidents. Executives flocked to visit him at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Florida, after the election.
If that celebratory-feeling stretch of days marked the Trump honeymoon, for business leaders across the U.S., the hard part starts now.
A fast-paced rollout of policies on Monday offered a preview of how Trump is likely to force companies, corporate leaders and investors to adjust in real time to his shifting priorities. The opening hours of the new administration also sent a reminder to American business: Don’t bank on what Trump promised — watch what he does.
Other policy pledges with the potential to bring significant changes for major U.S. industries were
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