'All products could get more expensive': Economist discusses impact of Trump tariffs

Record ID: 1987825

  • Title: 'All products could get more expensive': Economist discusses impact of Trump tariffs
  • Date: 2nd April 2025
  • Summary: NEWARK, DELAWARE, UNITED STATES (APRIL 2, 2025) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) THOMAS BRIDGES, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE, SAYING: "If this just isn't a strategic ploy to try to, you know, bargain one-on-one with other countries to bring tariffs down on both sides, if this leads to an environment where there's higher tariffs globally fo
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Analyst Tariffs Trump
  • Location: NEWARK, DELAWARE, UNITED STATES
  • City: NEWARK, DELAWARE, UNITED STATES
  • Country: US
  • Topics: North America,Government/Politics,International Trade
  • Reuters ID: LVA001375502042025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (April 2) that he would impose a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the United States and higher duties on dozens of the country's biggest trading partners, deepening a trade war that he kicked off on his return to the White House.
    The sweeping duties would erect new barriers around the world's largest consumer economy, reversing decades of trade liberalization that have shaped the global order. Trading partners are expected to respond with countermeasures of their own that could lead to dramatically higher prices for everything from bicycles to wine. U.S. stock futures sank following his announcement.
    Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Delaware's Lerner College of Business and Economics, Thomas Bridges, said the tariffs could have a significant impact on the "foundations of global economies."
    "If this just isn't a strategic ploy to try to, you know, bargain one-on-one with other countries to bring tariffs down on both sides, if this leads to an environment where there's higher tariffs globally for a sustained period of time, I think it could be quite significant, at sort of, an economy level," he said.
    "If I think we're going to apply it (tariffs) against a broad swath of countries on everything we import, I mean I think, you know all products could get more expensive," he added.
    Speaking at White House Rose Garden, Trump said about the tariffs, "it's our declaration of independence."
    Trump displayed a poster that listed reciprocal tariffs, including 34% on China and 20% on the European Union, as a response to duties put on U.S. goods.
    A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said those penalties will take effect on April 9 and will apply to about 60 countries in all.
    Canada and Mexico, the two largest U.S. trading partners, already face 25% tariffs on many goods.
    The baseline 10% tariff will take effect on Saturday, the official said.
    Following his remarks, Trump signed an order to remove a "de minimis" tariff exemption on low-cost products. Trump is also planning other tariffs targeting semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and potentially critical minerals, the official said.
    Trump's barrage of penalties has rattled financial markets and businesses that have relied on trading arrangements that have been in place since the middle of last century.
    The administration has said the new tariffs will take effect immediately after Trump announces them, though it has not yet published the official notice required for enforcement.
    The administration, however, did publish an official notice that a separate set of tariffs on auto imports that Trump announced last week will take effect starting on April 3.
    Trump has already imposed 20% duties on all imports from China and 25% duties on steel and aluminum and extended them to nearly $150 billion worth of downstream products.
    His advisers say the tariffs will return strategically vital manufacturing capabilities to the United States.
    Outside economists have warned that tariffs could slow the global economy, raise the risk of recession, and increase living costs for the average U.S. family by thousands of dollars. Businesses have complained that Trump's barrage of threats has made it difficult to plan their operations.
    Tariff concerns have already slowed manufacturing activity across the globe, while also spurring sales of autos and other imported products as consumers rush to make purchases before prices rise.
    (Production: Omar Younis)
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