White House Leans Into An Economic Downturn

2025-03-10 16:05:00 ET

Summary

• After a month-long reprieve, U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports are set to begin.
• The S&P 500 has coughed up nearly the entirety of its gains following Trump’s election, while forecasters have slashed growth projections.
• Consumer confidence has declined rapidly since the administration began ratcheting up trade threats.
• The expected rate of inflation over the next year jumped to 4.3% in February from 3.3% in January, according to a survey by the University of Michigan, the second straight month of larger-than-usual increases.

By Breakingviews

It turns out that politicians really do have the power to wrest the economic cycle - in this case, to negative effect. After a month-long reprieve, U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports are set to begin. Between haphazard spending cuts and "will-he-won’t-he" trade broadsides, the S&P 500 has coughed up nearly the entirety of its gains following Trump’s election, while forecasters have slashed growth projections. The most important reason: consumers, the engine of the U.S. economy, are pulling back, and it looks like it’s due to policy choices....

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