A new Economist/YouGov poll finds 75% of Americans think that President Trump’s tariffs will increase the prices they pay, and most who do expect they will increase prices a lot rather than a little.
Majorities of Democrats and Republicans think Trump’s tariffs will lead to price increases. Among Republicans, the share who think tariffs will raise prices “a lot” has increased 8 percentage points in the past two weeks, to 22% from 14%.
President Trump took questions in the Oval Office:
REPORTER: The ports here in the U.S., the traffic has really slowed and now thousands of dock workers and truck drivers are worried about their jobs.
TRUMP: That means we lose less money… when you say it slowed down, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing.
Annie Lowrey: “A tariff-induced recession is here and not here, visible and invisible—about to happen or already happening. The economy is in a state of imminence. And we should be preparing, even if we are not sure what we are preparing for.”
New York Times: “A year ago, the world’s biggest automaker was on a tear. American consumers were snapping up Toyota Motor’s hybrids, and a weak yen inflated the value of the company’s earnings. That May, Toyota reported the highest annual profit ever recorded by a Japanese firm.”
“On Thursday, Toyota presented a significantly more somber outlook, projecting that its operating profit would decline by about one-fifth for the fiscal year ending in March. It cited headwinds from a stronger yen and predicted a $1.3 billion hit from President Trump’s tariffs in April and May alone.”
A new Gallup Poll finds only 30% of adults who don’t own a home believe they will purchase one in the next five years, while 23% say they will do so in the next 10 years and 45% don’t anticipate it happening in the foreseeable future.
Axios: Where starter homes cost at least $1 million.
“Ford Motor is hiking prices on three of its Mexico-produced models effective May 2, becoming one of the first major automakers to adjust sticker prices following President Donald Trump’s tariffs,” Reuters reports.
“There aren’t shortages of goods in U.S. stores yet, but if the deterioration in global shipping is any indication, they are on the way,” Barrons reports.
“That could complicate the White House’s pleas for Americans to be patient as trade officials rush to strike dozens of deals.”
“The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is sparking employer worries over workplace raids and staffing challenges, a new survey of executives out Wednesday finds,” Axios reports.
“A drastic reduction in immigration could lead to labor shortages, especially in some critical roles — building houses, taking care of the growing elderly population, or staffing farms and meatpacking plants.”
“There’s the potential for a longer-term slowdown in economic growth, as well.”
“There has been a mantra spreading among weary corporate executives who are becoming resigned to President Trump’s tariffs while still hoping to avoid the worst of their effects: Ten percent is the new zero,” the New York Times reports.
“The statement refers to the 10 percent tariff that Mr. Trump put in place on most U.S. imports one month ago. Such a significant increase in U.S. tariffs would have been unthinkable a few years ago. But it no longer seems like such a big deal, compared with the truly large tariffs that Mr. Trump has already imposed or threatened elsewhere.”
“Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer will meet with their Chinese counterparts in Switzerland this week to discuss economic and trade matters,“ CNBC reports.
“The meetings appear to be a major step toward Washington and Beijing beginning negotiations to potentially resolve an ongoing trade war ignited by President Donald Trump.”
Bloomberg: “It will be the first confirmed trade talks between the countries since President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs, led by punishing levies on China.”
“Everyone says ‘When, when, when are you going to sign deals?’ We don’t have to sign deals. We could sign 25 deals right now if we wanted to. We don’t have to sign deals. They have to sign deals with us. They want our market. We don’t want a piece of their market. We don’t care about their market.”
— President Trump, quoted by the New York Times, on trade deals his administration is supposedly negotiating.
CNN: “Ships now pulling into U.S. harbors from China are the first to be subject to the massive tariffs that America is imposing on most Chinese imports. That means, in a matter of weeks, consumers will face higher prices and shortages of certain items…”
“The drop-off in imports from China on the boats now coming into port is more than 50%… Many importers have canceled previous orders because U.S. businesses aren’t interested in paying the steep tariff, which can more than double the price of Chinese goods.”
Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz told CNBC he does not foresee toy manufacturing coming to America.
Instead, the company expects to raise prices in the U.S. to offset President Trump’s 145% tariff on Chinese imports.
Washington Post: “Almost two-thirds of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of tariffs, and a lasting backlash could be especially consequential for Republicans in areas such as the Lehigh Valley, a perennial Rust Belt battleground where Trump’s campaign pitch resonated with many voters.”
“Trump’s tariffs have put pressure on some of the GOP’s most vulnerable incumbents in Congress — including the local congressman, freshman Ryan Mackenzie — as they try to defend Trump’s agenda while also acknowledging their constituents’ concerns.”
“Officials here are doubtful that any tariffs, no matter how drastic, can recreate the economy of the past, when one steel company’s facilities in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, alone employed 30,000 people.”
“President Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on film imports to the U.S. could risk retaliatory actions in international markets, where American film studios make the bulk of their box office revenue,” Axios reports.
“Studios are already reeling from a weakened box office following the pandemic. Tariffs could send the industry into a tailspin.”
“The U.S. trade deficit widened to a record high in March as businesses boosted imports of goods ahead of tariffs, which dragged gross domestic product into negative terrain in the first quarter for the first time in three years,” Reuters reports.
“President Trump’s grand economic vision relies on a simple tradeoff: that Americans will accept short-term personal sacrifice — higher prices, fewer options, slimmer profits — in service of long-term national strength,” Axios reports.
“Trump is breaking sharply from free-market orthodoxy in his second term, blending bursts of anti-capitalism with a top-down, nationalist agenda for American dominance.”
“Critics on the left and right warn of an emerging ‘MAGA Maoism’ — a movement that demands ideological purity, glorifies economic sacrifice, and embraces state power as a means to reshape society.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.