Another week, another rollercoaster for the markets, driven yet again by Trump’s unpredictable trade policies and the continued fallout from geopolitical uncertainty. If you were hoping for some stability—think again.
The U.S. administration has been throwing tariffs around like confetti, with Canada and the EU the latest targets. At one point, the U.S. threatened to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum to 50%, only to backtrack just hours later. Then, in a retaliatory move against EU threats to tax American whiskey, Trump slapped a massive 200% tariff on European alcohol imports.
This kind of policy inconsistency makes it nearly impossible for businesses to plan ahead, let alone for investors to price risk effectively. It’s already having an impact—consumer confidence in the U.S. has dropped sharply, with the latest University of Michigan sentiment reading falling to 57.9—the lowest since late 2022. The real question is: will this translate into lower consumer spending? If so, the ripple effects on the economy could be significant.
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