Trump announces sweeping 'reciprocal' tariffs, sparking mixed reactions
President Donald Trump has announced broad new "reciprocal" tariffs, which some business owners fear will increase costs while others see as a potential economic boost
President Donald Trump has announced broad new "reciprocal" tariffs, which some business owners fear will increase costs while others see as a potential economic boost
President Donald Trump has announced broad new "reciprocal" tariffs, which some business owners fear will increase costs while others see as a potential economic boost
President Donald Trump today announced sweeping new "reciprocal" tariffs on American trade partners, a move the White House says will punish what they see as unfair trade practices.
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"My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day," President Donald Trump said. "It鈥檚 our declaration of economic independence.鈥�
President Trump says the tariffs are designed to bring back manufacturing and wealth to the nation.
鈥淔or years, hardworking American citizens were forced to sit on the sidelines as other nations got rich and powerful, much of it at our expense. But now it鈥檚 our turn to prosper,鈥� President Trump said.
D.C.-based Pop Fizz Bar owner Brett Kroll said the tariffs could be "death by a thousand cuts" as prices gradually increase.
"This is probably the biggest uncertainty since COVID," Kroll said. "We're getting caught in the crossfire of this, and we're not being necessarily thought of in terms of our, like, livelihood and our path forward."
Kroll said he is considering a new menu for when he has to raise prices, just as he did during the president's first term.
"We were showing a before and after tariff price, and I would say that over 75% of people coming in weren't really aware of tariffs or what that would mean to them," Kroll said.
The Budget Lab at Yale University estimates that a 20% universal tariff would cost the average household an additional $3,400 to $4,200.
"The likely outcome is, in some form, that Americans have to face higher prices," Bankrate.com senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick said.
But for some industries, tariffs bring hope. Louisiana Shrimp Association president Acy Cooper said they are drowning in foreign, cheaper, lower-quality imports.
"It is exciting because you got to understand when you really feel the effects of countries dumping product into this country, it really hurts," Cooper said. "There's nobody coming to Louisiana to eat Indian shrimp."
Cooper said his industry's value has been cut in half over the years, with licensed fishermen down from 20,000 to 3,000 in the last 20 years.
"I've been a fisherman all my life, and yet here I am struggling. I never struggled my whole life," Cooper said."If we don't turn it around, our fishing communities are just gonna die."
Experts say it's an economic gamble with the future of America's economy at stake.
"What we don't know is how sustainable these policies are. We don't know what the unintended consequences may be," Hamrick said.
Canada and the European Union are already preparing retaliatory tariffs. If the Trump administration responds to that, a full-scale trade war may be just beginning.