As a rule, business leaders and investors appreciate as much stability and certainty in the economy as possible. Six weeks into Donald Trump’s second term, the president and his White House team appear at times to be going out of their way to deliver the opposite.
There’s a looming government shutdown deadline. There are mass firings throughout the executive branch. Congressional Republicans are pushing a radical agenda, featuring massive domestic spending cuts and even larger tax breaks for those who don’t need them. There’s credible evidence that the national economy, which was the envy of the world in 2024, is starting to cool.
It’s against this backdrop that Trump imposed sweeping new tariffs on the United States’ largest trading partners — for reasons that no one seems able to explain.
The president’s burgeoning trade war, predictably, has already sparked a backlash and generated a rather dramatic decline on Wall Street. But as the major indexes fell, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick appeared on Fox Business and said Trump will “probably” announce some kind of compromise-driven reversal. NBC News reported:
The potential agreements would likely involve scaling back at least part of Trump’s brand new 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, [Lutnick] added. … The compromise with Canada and Mexico will likely be revealed as soon as Wednesday.
Can the public be confident that the White House will, in fact, back off? Lutnick didn’t say. How much of a scale back should people expect? Lutnick didn’t say. What will be the basis for the change? Lutnick didn’t say. When will the prospective shift be announced? Lutnick didn’t say.
But, the commerce secretary suggested, Americans can take comfort in the idea that there will “probably” be some constructive developments — in the near future.
“It’s not going to be a pause — none of that pause stuff,” Lutnick continued. “But I think he’s going to figure out, ‘You do more, and I’ll meet you in the middle some way.’”
Well, that ought to clear things up.
Imagine being an American executive at a company that relies on imports and exports. As part of your day-to-day responsibilities, you have to make decisions about product purchases, shipping, staffing and investments that will shape your business’ future.
Then imagine you’re watching your own country’s White House erratically threaten costly trade tariffs, impose costly trade tariffs, and make veiled assurances about “probably” scaling back costly trade tariffs directly impacting your business.
Could you do your job effectively? Could anyone in your industry do their jobs effectively?
A striking number of American business leaders are making their displeasure with Trump known. It shouldn’t surprise anyone when their ranks continue to grow.
