In a recent press interaction, President Donald Trump expressed delight over a question regarding his tariff plan's impact on financial markets.
The question was prompted by a statement from Torsten Slk, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, suggesting that Trump may have 'outsmarted everyone' with his tariffs.
The reporter queried, "Mr. President, a leading global economist just did a one-eighty and says your tariff plan, you may have outsmarted everybody with it. What is your message?" Trump, visibly pleased, responded, "I love this. I love this question. This is the favorite. This is the best question Ive ever been asked because Ive been going through abuse for years on this. Because, as you know, were taking in hundreds of billions of dollars, no inflation whatsoever."
When asked about critics who believe his tariff plan caused a recession, Trump retorted, "I think they should go back to business school. Its so obvious. Its so obvious. I mean, were taking in billions and billions of dollars from China and a lot of other countries." According to the Daily Mail, these remarks come as Wall Street continues its recent rally, with the S&P500 and Nasdaq reaching all-time closing highs.
In his report, Slk speculated that Trump might maintain tariffs below his most aggressive rates to alleviate market uncertainty while using them as leverage for better trade deals. He wrote, "Maybe the strategy is to maintain 30% tariffs on China and 10% tariffs on all other countries and then give all countries 12 months to lower non-tariff barriers and open up their economies to trade."
Slk suggested that Trump should consider extending the 90-day pause on 'reciprocal tariffs' to a full year, allowing global markets to adjust to a 'new world with permanently higher tariffs.' He said, "This would seem like a victory for the world and yet would produce $400 billion of annual revenue for US taxpayers. Trade partners will be happy with only 10% tariffs and U.S. tax revenue will go up. Maybe the administration has outsmarted all of us."
Despite Trump terminating trade negotiations with Canada over its digital tax on technology companies, the stock market continues to soar. This rise is fueled by hopes for trade deals, economic data supporting expectations for rate cuts from the U.S. Federal Reserve, and investor risk appetite. Chuck Carlson, CEO at Horizon Investment Services, noted, "This market's been pretty resilient. Investors are riding momentum and looking for breakouts. They don't want to get caught on the wrong side of this thing."
While tariffs have not yet impacted price growth, inflation remains above the Fed's 2% annual inflation target. A report from the University of Michigan confirmed that consumer sentiment has improved this month, albeit still below December's post-election bounce.
The U.S. and China have agreed to expedite rare-earth shipments to the U.S., a White House official confirmed. This agreement comes well ahead of the July 9 expiration of the 90-day postponement of U.S. President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs.
Furthermore, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the Trump administration's trade deals with 18 of the main U.S. trading partners could be finalized by the September 1 Labor Day holiday. This development underscores the administration's commitment to fostering robust trade relationships, a cornerstone of conservative economic policy.
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