The U.S. stock market’s recent zigs and zags have triggered considerable excitement. Wall Street pros, private money managers, and Millennial index fund enthusiasts have all been whipsawed by the market’s swift up and down movements. No one can seem to stay ahead of President Trump’s ‘make it up as you go’ tariff games.
Trump clarified the rules of the game to reporters in the Oval Office on March 21. Specifically, he intends to be flexible on tariffs when it is to the advantage of American companies. Trump stated:
“I gave the American car companies a break, because it would have been unfair if I didn’t, and everybody said, ‘Oh, he changed his mind on tariffs.’ I didn’t change my mind. I helped our sort of Big Three, Big Four [automakers].”
“Instead of taking it properly, they said, ‘Oh, he changed.’ I don’t change. But the word flexibility is an important word. Sometimes it’s flexibility, so there’ll be flexibility, but basically it’s reciprocal.”
What does this mean? Continue reading