(WASHINGTON) — After days of market tumult, President Donald Trump on Wednesday makes good on his long-sought goal of imposing aggressive tariffs against dozens of U.S. trading partners.
But his gamble comes with major political risks for his legacy amid mounting concerns from Republicans and business leaders that’s he’s making a mistake by going too far in exacting economic retaliation.
Chief among his new trade moves is a hefty 104% tariff rate on China, which was set to go into effect with the rest at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday.
Trump has painted what he calls “reciprocal” tariffs as retribution for a grievance he’s held for “35 years” — that the U.S. is being “ripped off” by trade imbalances.
“Nobody but me would do this,” he said in the Oval Office on Monday. “You know it would be nice to serve a nice, easy term. But we have an opportunity to change the fabric of our country. We have an opportunity to reset the table on trade.”
On Tuesday night, on the eve of realizing what he’s said he considers one of his crowning political achievements, he boasted in freewheeling remarks to congressional Republicans, “I know what the hell I’m doing. I’m telling you, these countries are calling us up kissing my ass. They are. They are dying to make a deal.”
“Many countries have ripped us off left and right. But now it’s our turn to do the ripping,” he continued.
By doing so, he’s moving full steam ahead on a campaign promise that turned real on April 2 in a flashy event in the White House Rose Garden — a move prompting economic and political backlash.
U.S. markets experienced their worst week since the coronavirus pandemic, with trillions lost in retirement and college savings accounts in just 48 hours after Trump’s tariff announcement. Looking ahead at potential future fallout, economists increased their odds of a recession this year.
Stocks rallied early Tuesday amid optimism on the administration beginning negotiations with various countries, but turned back into red territory before day’s end as the world braced for the additional Trump tariffs soon being put in place.
China — the world’s second-largest economy behind the U.S. — says it’s ready to “fight to the end” on Trump’s tariffs.
Up on Capitol Hill, some Republicans started to express increasing anxiety about the president’s approach.
“Whose throat do I get to choke if this proves to be wrong?” Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, pointedly asked U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer as he testified before the Senate Finance Committee on Trump’s agenda.
Tillis and other GOP members of the panel joined Democrats in questioning why the administration’s refused to consider exemptions on certain goods critical to American industries, such as farming and garment manufacturing.
“I’m somewhat disappointed to hear that exclusions of some of these things are being ruled out at this point in time,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Greer.
Greer defended Trump’s policies as he noticeably sidestepped questions from Democrats on how much “short-term pain” American consumers can expect to face from higher prices and inflation.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll published Tuesday found that a majority (57%) of American adults oppose Trump’s new tariffs.
“These measures are aimed squarely at achieving reciprocity and reducing our massive trade deficit to restore production in the United States,” Greer told lawmakers. Greer said Trump was “fixed in his purpose” on the issue when asked if he’d reverse course if inflation rose as a result.
The White House has said nearly 70 countries have reached out to Trump officials to talk about tariffs.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce on Tuesday morning that agreements with some big trading partners could happen “very quickly.”
But at the podium later that afternoon, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to provide any timeline for when Trump would like to see deals completed, only that he is moving at “Trump speed.”
“The president likes to get things done, but he’s very much focused on ensuring that these deals are good for the American worker, they are good for American manufacturing, and again, that they tackle these crippling deficits with these countries,” Leavitt said, adding that these will be “tailor-made” agreements for each nation rather than wholesale changes.
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