Trump’s Tariff Shock: How It Affects Markets and What Experts Think!

Wall Street traders were surprised when President Trump followed through on his plan to shake up international trade. On “Liberation Day,” he announced major tariffs, which are taxes on imports, starting at 10% for all countries selling goods to the U.S. The European Union will face a 20% tariff, Japan will see a 24% tariff, and China will have even higher tariffs.

Stock prices dropped after the news, people rushed to safe investments, and oil prices fell due to fears of lower demand globally. Investors are now carefully reviewing these new tariffs as trade talks continue and U.S. economic data weakens.

Some market experts worry that these high tariffs will negatively affect profits and slow down the economy. Michael O’Rourke from JonesTrading warned that tariffs could lead to retaliation from other countries, creating more problems.

Others, like Matt Maley from Miller Tabak, believe investors didn’t get the relief they were hoping for, which could hurt earnings and the market. On a brighter note, Chris Zaccarelli from Northlight Asset Management hopes these tariffs are just the starting point for negotiations to lower rates.

Steve Chiavarone from Federated Hermes thinks that this could be a chance to buy stocks after a short-term drop. Priya Misra from JPMorgan is worried that tariffs could lead to slower growth and more uncertainty for businesses and consumers.

Ed Al-Hussainy from Columbia Threadneedle sees the new tariffs as a clear negative for the economy, meaning we have to prepare for possible tough times ahead. Max Gokhman from Franklin Templeton warns that if trade wars escalate, the global economy could suffer from stagflation, where prices rise while growth slows.