Donald Trump looks closed and invited to start his tariff war

Donald Trump returned to office in January and promised a trade war. He has not yet delivered the war, but he certainly delivered a lot of uncertainty.

Instead of refraining on new tariffs on the first day, Trump announced on February 1 that he imposed Canada, Mexico and China.

Trump returned almost immediately in the parts of Canada and Mexicos of the tariffs and achieved what he described as agreements with the neighbors of the United States in the north and south.

Both Canada and Mexico agree to support border protection and lead Trump to move the tariffs by 30 days. This period will be completed on Tuesday, March 4, on time for Trump's first joint speech to the congress of his second term.

According to Bloomberg News, Trump plans to double a levy in China, of 10 to 20 percent.

Time for retaliation?

All three countries consider retaliation against the United States, which could mean that the trade war is officially switched on.

The Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, according to Bloomberg, will wait until Trump's decision on Tuesday before taking further measures. Canada and China have also pointed out their own retaliation. Canada's Minister of Energy said this week that the proposed tariffs would increase gasoline and electricity prices in the United States

Not even the amount of the planned tariffs is determined, and Howard Lutnick, the Minister of Commerce, said in an interview about the weekend that the exact tariff “liquid” remained.

Lutnick also said that Trump will probably make his final decision on tariffs on Monday afternoon and he seems that he is going forward.

Economic effects of uncertainty

In view of the constant threat from new tariffs and persistent uncertainty as to whether they will happen or not, there were indications of poor economic news.

On Monday, the Manufacturing Index of the Institute for Supply Management was published and showed that the factory activities in the USA “were used closer to stagnation”. The report reported by Bloomberg states that after Trump's victory, the factory managers had shown optimism that this positivity “increased as a threat to tariffs and geopolitical risks, and the geopolitical risk increases uncertainty”.

On X, journalist Joe Weisenthal found that practically all comments on the report made an indication of uncertainties related to tariffs.

There are also bad signs of the economy.

A CNN analysis this week showed that the economy “already flashes yellow lights”.

Consumer expenditure has decreased as well as the trust of consumers. The stock exchange has had a few bad days lately, including a decline in the DOW on Monday, the first trading day in March. The DOW, NASDAQ and S&P 500 declined in February, the first full month of the second Trump presidency.

The Tax Foundation publishes a metric called the Trade Policy uncertainty index, which in January has reached the highest level since the index started in 1960.

Trump's theory of the case

Trump was a fan of tariffs or at least threatened her and returned to his first run for the president. Trump's policy in his first term was to place tariffs for China and other countries and mostly prevent them when it comes to countries.

In his 2024 campaign and even in his second term, Trump sometimes considered whether income from tariffs could replace income tax. He also proposed an “external Revenue service” that would theoretically replace the IRS and collect revenue from tariffs.

Economists do not seem to consider the idea for not, an economist CNN reports that the government that the government collects on taxes every year would be necessary for at least 100 percent of the tariffs for all imported goods, and prices would certainly increase considerably.

The oracle of Omaha speaks

The most prestigious investor in America, Warren Buffett, spoke about Trump's Tatiffans this week and described her as a “act of war” and not as a compliment. He noticed that the question that is to be asked according to the tariff, “and then?” Is: then?

With Trump's tariff plans, the catchphrase seems to be “uncertainty”. And this uncertainty does not seem to be good for anyone.

About the author: Stephen Silver

Stephen Silver is a award -winning journalist, essayist and film critic and participant of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish telegraphic agency, Broad Street Review and Splice today. Stephen, co -founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, lives with his wife and two sons in a suburb of Philadelphia. For over a decade, Stephen has written thousands of articles that focus on politics, technology and business. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @StephensilverAnd Subscribe to your Substack newsletter