Jonathan Lis’

Political
Culture

Political Culture – Trump’s Tariffs: Starmer’s Moment of Danger and Opportunity

For one week after Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ on 2 April – when he introduced tariffs on worldwide imports ranging from 10% to 50% – the alarms flashed red on the US economy.

The stock market plunged, the dollar fell, and then bond yields sharply rose: investors were not only abandoning American companies and shares, but America itself.

And so Trump mostly caved. At the time of writing, the tariffs had all been reduced to 10% – except for the US’ nearest neighbours, Canada and Mexico, inexplicably stuck with 25%; and China, America’s second- largest source of imports, punished with a rate of 145%. That, in itself, remains devastating for US businesses and supply chains (including domestic manufacturing that depends on China for parts) and, of course, for US consumers – who now face price increases across the board.

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