How Trump's 'Liberation Day' might affect the economy

Tariffs will rise, but consumer confidence is down

Illustration of Donald Trump pushing a hot air balloon of US dollars into stormy weather
Liberation Day will expose the Trump administration's 'bark vs. bite ratio'
(Image credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images)

He is calling it "Liberation Day." It is a branding term for the moment when President Donald Trump's promised regime of retaliatory tariffs against America's trading partners goes into effect, perhaps on April 2. And it could shake up the global economy.

Trump has been "promoting April 2 as a kind of tariffs Super Bowl," said CNN. But it remains unclear how far the White House is willing to go. The president has sent "mixed signals" about the depth and breadth of new tariffs he will impose, said Yahoo Finance. He has talked about giving "a lot of countries breaks" from tariffs, but he has also said he does not want "too many" exceptions. "It's an ongoing discussion," Trump said to Newsmax.

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Joel Mathis, The Week US

Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.