The Business Times
business-time-50

Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ is set to whack US economy

A rush of new tariffs will hurt growth, raise prices and worsen inequality

Summarise
google-preferred-sourceAdd BT as a preferred source
Published Tue, Apr 1, 2025 · 05:00 AM
    • With multiple rounds of tariffs already implemented against China, Canada and Mexico – plus the 25 per cent tariff on cars announced last week which is due to start on Apr 3 – he has already lifted America’s effective tariff rate to about 8 per cent, up from 2 per cent last year, the highest it has been since the 1940s.
    • With multiple rounds of tariffs already implemented against China, Canada and Mexico – plus the 25 per cent tariff on cars announced last week which is due to start on Apr 3 – he has already lifted America’s effective tariff rate to about 8 per cent, up from 2 per cent last year, the highest it has been since the 1940s. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

    EVEN his most ardent detractors would grant that Donald Trump is a masterful marketer. So it goes for the barrage of tariffs that he is set to unveil on Apr 2. The US president has promised they will mark “Liberation Day” for America – a turning point when the country starts to claw back the respect and money that, he thinks, it has lost over the decades.

    In practice, there will be nothing liberating about it. Over the two months since returning to the White House, Trump will have brought America’s overall tariff level to its highest since the second world war, setting the country up for slower economic growth, higher inflation, more inequality and, quite possibly, fiscal trouble.

    How bad will things get? Everyone, reportedly including Trump’s closest advisers, is awaiting the final details. The president has swung between hinting at lenience and insisting his administration must take a hard line. Yet, as he has done so, the outline of his approach has come into focus.

    US tariffsDonald Trump

    TRENDING NOW

    Eugene Lai (left) says that he was sharing a view with Tan Chian Khong that the board needed a refresh and that it was not an explicit direction to resign.

    CSE Global independent director quits after clashes with chairman Eugene Lai over board refresh

    In the last round of bidding, the premium for Category B was S$980 more than that for Category A.

    Cat A COE rate exceeds Cat B for third time in 4 months; premiums largely down

    Some industry watchers wonder if Orchard Road can hold its own next to competing retail destinations, both global and local.

    What’s wrong with Orchard Road? Experts weigh in on the street’s cachet and its future

    Those whose employers actively discourage the use of AI at work have the lowest mental health score.

    Singapore workers experiencing rising anxiety; signs of fallout from pressure to use AI

    Latest T-bills Treasury Bills Results & Interest NewsLatest SSB Singapore Savings Bonds NewsLatest COE Certificate of Entitlement News
    Latest Johor-Singapore SEZ NewsLatest BTO Build To Order & Sales of Balance NewsLatest STI Straits Times Index NewsLatest SGX Dividends, Share Price NewsLatest Bonds Market NewsLatest Singapore Stocks To Buy NewsLatest Singapore Economy News
    View More