On March 29, 2025 Donald Trump’s administration announced a set of globally applied tariffs with a minimum tax of at least 10 percent.
This has been condemned by economists and most of the business community as an unworkable and poorly thought out idea that will not achieve its aim of lowering trade deficits; instead it will likely worsen the outlook for the US and world economies.
The sheer incompetence of the idea has led many to believe that the administration is providing wilfully misleading information on its likely impact, while others point to the possibility that it may be an intentional ploy to shake up business and gain leverage in future negotiations.
Whatever the motivation behind the plan, there is already a high risk of recession in the US and this move will increase that risk considerably.