President Donald Trump plans “the big one” this Thursday, implementing reciprocal tariffs on imports from countries that contribute to the U.S. trade deficit. The new taxes will be in addition to the 25 percent tariffs imposed last week on imported automobiles and parts, the postponed taxes on goods from Canada and Mexico, and the 25 percent tariffs he has promised to impose on semiconductors, microchips and pharmaceutical imports.
President Trump contends the tariffs will cause temporary pain but force industries to relocate manufacturing in the U.S. over the long term. Economists warn the taxes are usually passed on to consumers, increasing inflation that remains above the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target.
Analysts say the tariffs are contributing to consumer gloom, with indexes showing major drops in consumer confidence in the future. They are probably a factor in President Trump’s declining job approval, according to Gallup, among independents (46 percent in January to 35 percent in March), non-white voters (36 to 27 percent) and people aged 30-49 (52 to 37 percent).
Senate Democrats plan to force a vote Tuesday on blocking the President’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs on Canada, hoping to attract a handful of Republican votes to pass the resolution. Should it pass the Senate, action is unlikely in the House, where Republican leaders have suspended the process by which Democrats could force a vote.
House and Senate Republican leaders have reached agreement on how to advance a budget resolution that would unlock reconciliation procedures to pass major elements of the Trump agenda. The plan is for the House to pass legislation to enact its larger reconciliation targets, for the Senate to pass its smaller bill, and negotiate the differences later. It is unclear why negotiations are more likely to succeed this summer as opposed to now.
