By 9 April, tariffs on Chinese goods had soared to an effective rate of 54%. A 25% levy on imported cars took effect on 3 April. Trump says the goal is simple: end trade deficits and protect American jobs.
“A very beautiful thing”
For Trump, tariffs aren’t just a policy — they’re personal.
“We have massive Financial Deficits with China, the European Union, and many others. The only way this problem can be cured is with TARIFFS, which are now bringing Tens of Billions of Dollars into the U.S.A. They are already in effect, and a beautiful thing to behold,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, TruthSocial.
He added, “The Surplus with these Countries has grown during ‘Presidency’ of Sleepy Joe Biden. We are going to reverse it, and reverse it QUICKLY. Some day people will realize that Tariffs, for the United States of America, are a very beautiful thing!”
Market fallout and Recession anxiety
As the tariffs came into effect, markets recoiled. Futures for the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all dropped sharply on Sunday evening. Bitcoin fell nearly 6%. Oil prices tumbled below $60 per barrel — the lowest since 2021.Trump responded to the economic jitters in his typical fashion.“I don’t want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One. “What’s going to happen to the markets I can’t tell you. But our country is much stronger.”
He doubled down on the policy, saying, “Unless we solve that problem, I’m not going to make a deal,” referring specifically to the US-China trade imbalance.
Allies hit, tempers rise
The backlash has been swift. Israel, one of America’s closest partners, was slapped with a 17% tariff. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected in Washington for urgent talks. Vietnam, a key US trading partner, has asked for a 45-day delay on the 46% tariffs imposed on its exports.
Italy’s Premier Giorgia Meloni expressed strong disagreement but said her government is “ready to deploy all the tools — negotiating and economic — necessary to support our businesses and our sectors that may be penalised.”
Yet Trump insists the global reaction proves his point.
“I spoke to a lot of leaders, European, Asian, from all over the world,” he said. “They’re dying to make a deal. And I said, we’re not going to have deficits with your country. We’re not going to do that, because to me a deficit is a loss. We’re going to have surpluses or at worst, going to be breaking even.”
“Maximum leverage” or maximum risk?
Trump’s advisers have tried to temper the fallout. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told NBC’s Meet the Press, “At this moment he’s created maximum leverage for himself… I think we’re going to have to see what the countries offer, and whether it’s believable.”
Still, Bessent admitted, “Other countries have been bad actors for a long time, and it’s not the kind of thing you can negotiate away in days or weeks.”
Kevin Hassett, head of the White House National Economic Council, told ABC’s This Week that “more than 50 countries have reached out to the president to begin a negotiation.” But he defended the decision to apply pressure. “They understand that they bear a lot of the tariffs,” he said. “I don’t think that you’re going to see a big effect on the consumer in the US.”
Musk breaks silence, sparks clash
Elon Musk, who now heads Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, has largely stayed quiet on trade matters — until now. Speaking at a weekend event in Italy, Musk said he hoped for “a zero-tariff situation” between the US and Europe.
That drew a sharp rebuke from Peter Navarro, Trump’s trade adviser. “Elon, when he is on his DOGE lane, is great. But we understand what’s going on here. Elon sells cars,” Navarro told Fox News. “He’s simply protecting his own interest as any business person would do.”
Trump appeared to back Navarro. “They want to talk,” he said of the EU, “but there’s no talk unless they pay us a lot of money on a yearly basis.”
Congress pushes back
While Trump has long railed against foreign trade deals, his move to bypass Congress with these new tariffs is now facing growing resistance from lawmakers — including his own party.
Several Republican senators are backing a bill to curb presidential power on trade. The bipartisan proposal would force the president to justify new tariffs to Congress, which would then need to approve them within 60 days.
“We gave some of that power to the executive branch. I think, in hindsight, that was a mistake,” said Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican. “Unless the markets keep sliding and we see shifts in inflation or unemployment, it’s going to be tough to pass.”
Senator John Barrasso, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, defended Trump’s right to act but admitted, “There is concern, and there’s concern across the country. People are watching the markets.”
Economists warn of long-term damage
Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who served under President Bill Clinton, criticised Trump’s trade strategy for its contradictions. “If it’s a permanent revenue source and trying to get businesses to relocate to the United States, then we’re going to have these tariffs permanently. So the president can’t have it both ways,” he said on This Week.
Summers added, “There is a very good chance there’s going to be more turbulence in markets the way we saw on Thursday and Friday.”
Even in Saudi Arabia, markets felt the impact. The bourse closed 6.78% lower on Sunday — its worst single-day loss since the COVID-19 crisis.
A divided world, an uncertain path
The White House says Russia was excluded from the tariff list because trade with the US is already minimal due to existing sanctions. Still, questions remain. Trump insists that countries have “ripped off” the US for decades and that tariffs are finally levelling the playing field.
“WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy,” Trump posted online from Florida, where he spent the weekend golfing.
The message is clear: Trump isn’t backing down. But neither are the markets, nor America’s trading partners. What comes next may reshape the rules of global commerce — or plunge it into further chaos.
