HOW IT STARTED: Donald Trump’s reckless tariff agenda continues to inflict devastating damage on the American economy, with new evidence showing companies are finally passing the crushing costs directly onto struggling families as factory orders plummet and construction spending collapses…
New York Times: Companies are starting to shift more tariff-related costs onto consumers. Many businesses chose to absorb the additional tax during the early days of President Trump’s trade war. But evidence is emerging that they are running out of options to keep prices stable in the face of deteriorating profit margins, suggesting that the tariffs could have a more pronounced effect on prices in the months ahead.
Axios: The new tariff rates President Trump announced late Thursday are the highest in nearly a century and will cost the average family about $2,400 this year, the Yale Budget Lab said. Combined with the surprisingly weak jobs report Friday morning, it’s the latest sign that American households face a much more difficult economy in the months to come. […] There are already signs that inflation is creeping higher as tariffs pile up, even before the latest levies go into effect. It appears inevitable that most people will pay more for many things; the only question is how bad it gets.
HOW IT’S GOING: …all while former GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan publicly admits what everyone already knows: Trump’s destructive tariff war has no economic rationale whatsoever and is driven purely by his personal “whims” and “opinions,” warning that “choppy waters are ahead” for American families.
Former GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan on CNBC: “There’s no rationale for this other than the president wanting to raise tariffs based upon his whims, his opinions. I think choppy waters are ahead.”
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