Reshoring, protectionism, revenue
With the “Big Beautiful Bill” crossing the finish line, President Trump has been turning his focus back to tariffs. Since power over the levies is consolidated in the executive branch, it makes them an immediate and effective tool that can be utilized at a moment’s notice. It also mirrors Trump’s negotiating style through direct discussions as opposed to slower trade treaties, domestic subsidies, or other things that have to make their long way through Congress.
Bigger picture: Today, July 9, was actually supposed to be the deadline for all tariff deals, though that date just got punted to Aug. 1. There has also been a slew of other headlines in recent days and weeks, making it difficult to keep track of the White House agenda. Recently notching new record highs, markets have been moving sideways pending updates to the Trump administration’s multi-pronged approach to trade, which could be known as the “tariff triad.” Here is the latest:
Reshore American manufacturing: “They’re building the plants now. About seven have started, but we’re going to have hundreds starting within a short period of time,” President Trump said at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. “Those plants, when they open up, you’re going to see numbers like you haven’t seen ever. They’re coming in because of the tariffs – they’re not going to pay 25%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 70% and 100%.”
Protect U.S. industries: “The idea [of 50% tariffs on copper] is to bring the ability to make copper, which is key to the industrial sector, back home to America,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC. “With pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, those studies are being completed at the end of the month.” Earlier, Trump announced that tariffs on foreign drugs are going to be “at a very high rate, like 200%.”
Source of government revenue: “We have taken in $100B in tariff revenue thus far this year. That’s with the major tariffs not having started till the second quarter, so we expect that could be well over $300B by the end of the year,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declared. “We don’t agree with Congressional Budget Office scoring, but for those who do, the CBO scored tariff income over the next ten years at $2.8T, which we think is probably low.”
#Keeping #Trumps #Tariff #Triad