President Donald Trump won the 2024 elections immediately after the Wall Street moved to direct celebration mode. Investors in New York said that they had tax deductions, that the regulation would be interrupted, and that the President will do everything necessary to push the stocks higher. This was November.
Until January, the merchants had priced in another “animal souls” tour, assuming that the economy would fly again as it was after Trump’s first win in 2016. There was no hesitation. There was no planning for the worst scenarios. Everyone acted as if they knew exactly what happened, but no one could explain it.
At the same time, in Washington, the first Trump trade war authorities were already watching signs. At that time – and still now – they said Trump’s view of global trade was never related to tactics or leverage. His use of tariffs was never about negotiation. It was about control. Trump does not use tariffs to make an agreement. He uses the trading partners to get the things they see as surrender. This time, these officials in questionIt goes much further than 2018.
Trump is locked on April 2 as Tariff Trigger Date
On Wednesday, President Trump, April 2, “The Day of Independence in America !!!” The truth published in Social. The first trade policy of the American trade policy was signed with the execution order on the first day he returned to office. This order allows the tariffs on the board, gives the management authority to retaliate, and eliminates public interpretation requirements, which are part of the trade decision.
The execution order does not require any congress approval. It gives full strength to management to move unilaterally. The language in the order gives them the authority to apply wide tariffs without making almost no input from public or industrial leaders. However, many investors still hope that policy will be irrigated through the back channels. However, the current White House does not give these signs.
Trump’s economic team emphasizes full vapor. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Secretary Howard Lutnick supported tariffs publicly. Bessent and Wall Street CEO, who run a hedge fund, had to be the ones who would calm down. Everyone on the street assumed that. However, instead of slowing down, both supported Trump’s plan from the beginning.
In a recent look at Meet The Press, Bessent said, “This Sunday withdrawal is healthy ve and repeated that the administration would not change direction. Lutnick is in various financial programs that reflect the same thing. Both are now seen as the highest public defenders in Trump’s economic approach. They did not move away from politics. They stand in front of a microphone.
As Greer pushes the structure, others get headlines
While Bessi and Lutnick were doing media tours, the new US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer adopted a different approach. He’s not on TV. He doesn’t give an interview. He’s doing a grumbling job. He is trying to establish an internal structure on how the tariffs are applied. Greer sets up internal systems on how to make decisions, trying to create a step -by -step process instead of chaos. Especially when volatility is already crawling to the markets, it sees the risk of making undisciplined trade decisions.
Greer’s efforts are ignored by most Wall Street. Traders, analysts and managers are focused on lower sounds and larger topics. However, Greer’s work can be the only long -term part of the administration. According to the internal notes examined by more than one authority, his office focuses on creating transparency – but under Trump, such planning does not always get traction.
Apart from the management, more than one expert warned that uncontrolled tariffs will cause real damage. Matt Goodman from the Council of Foreign Relations, Bill Reinsch from CSIS and Scott Miller and Kevin Nealer from Scowcroft Group have all alarms. Economists, such as Brad Setser, write detailed notes on how this tariff plan can reach supply chains, increase costs for companies, and increase consumers’ prices. Most of these effects will be largely descended in Trump -prone states, which are largely dependent on imports and exports.
All these experts either opened to the public or informed business leaders specifically. His warnings were consistent. Aggressive tariffs mean retaliation. They break the supply chains. They damaged the US business. And still, the message is still not going to Wall Street. Technology, automatic and retail managers continue to ask for special meetings with the White House, trying to get exemption or carving outputs before April 2. Most of them still act like a bluff. Not like that.
Markets respond with confusion and denial
In the last few weeks, the market has begun to shake. Analysts had short -term corrections and real symptoms of tension. Large investment companies began to change their positions and adjust the estimates. However, what many of them call “uncertainty” is actually the opposite. There is no confusion here. Trump clearly revealed what he was doing. There are tariffs. What is missing is the desire of the market to accept it.
Great industrial groups, such as the Chamber of Commerce, still explain this as it can negotiate. They call it a bargaining position. This logic did not work in 2018 and now does not work. In calls for earnings, bank managers carefully protect their words, are still trying to be confident. But they revive. Everyone is watching April 2.
In the meantime, the congress did not do much. President Jason Smith and ranking member Richard Neal, the Assembly Committee and Tools Committee has the authority to organize and examine politics. No hearing has been announced so far. However, there is increasing pressure for the Congress to take action. MPs are called to recreate their roles and to push back how much trade authority has been given to the executive organ.
In accordance with the current law – especially the 1974 Commercial Law and the International Emergency Economic Authorities (IEEPA) – President may apply tariffs with minimum supervision. These forces were used in a more aggressive way than any modern president under Trump. Nevertheless, the Congress did not step into re -processing the rules.
There are a few senators expressing concerns. Chuck Grassley, Todd Young and Bill Cassidy asked questions about how much the president has in trade. Grassley said Congress should “play a bigger role”. Young and Cassidy warned that if the policy continued without control, the US competitiveness may be damaged by long -term damage. However, it is still unclear whether these concerns will lead to action.
Speaker Mike Johnson and Senator John Thune, such as the current magazine aligned with figures, the Congress, Trump’s forces did not show no sign of trying to limit. And without their support, there is very little chance for any legislation to pass.
The assumption that business leaders could direct Trump through the rear channels failed. The idea that the proximity was equal to the effect died. Trump listens to himself. Always exists. It will always be. “Tariffs Politics” said an official close to the President. “This does not change.”
As April 2 approaches, the merchants in New York and the officials in Washington begin to realize that the return plan is not available. There is no negotiation waiting on the wings. No reset button.
Wall Street and Washington still claim that it can explode. But they are. The rest of the world is already moving. April 2 is not just a date. This is a line. And nothing will return to normal after passing.
