This is an adapted excerpt from the May 8 episode of “The Beat with Ari Melber.”
Donald Trump’s erratic and unpredictable trade war is upending markets, stoking recession fears and alienating a growing number of Americans. A new Economist/YouGov poll found that 75% of Americans are concerned that tariffs will increase prices, while 61% want businesses to display how much the tariffs increased the price of the product.
You may recall that’s exactly what Trump feared. Late last month, the president angrily called Jeff Bezos to complain about a report that Amazon was considering displaying tariff costs on its product listings.
A new Economist/YouGov poll found that 75% of Americans are concerned that tariffs will increase prices.
But Trump’s rage can’t change reality. Ford has now increased its prices on three car models. According to company estimates, Trump’s trade war will reduce profits by $1.5 billion. Toyota is forecasting a 21% decline in profits due to tariffs.
It’s apparent that no one wants these tariffs: American businesses don’t, foreign businesses don’t, governments don’t and American consumers definitely don’t. Well, almost everyone. As Fox News’ Laura Ingraham noted, “No one wants what Trump is doing except, you know, the MAGA crowd, the reset crowd.”
Trump is trying to sell an austerity message completely at odds with his campaign promises of wealth and prosperity. Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said that while kids might have fewer dolls, they’ll have “economic freedom.”
MAGA figures have tried to explain Trump’s tariffs by citing large trade deficits between the U.S. and other countries, like China, Mexico and Vietnam. But, to be clear, mainstream economists say Trump’s understanding of trade deficits is way off base, and that there are many occasions when it is a good thing to run trade deficits. But Trump believes it’s a bad thing.
With that in mind, on Thursday, Trump announced that the U.S. has reached an initial agreement with the United Kingdom on trade. It’s worth noting that in 2024, the U.S. had a trade surplus with the U.K. of nearly $12 billion.
It’s also worth noting that this is not a finalized trade deal. As Bloomberg News reported, Trump’s framework lacks detail: “At this point, the president’s debut trade agreement is more about the hype than the substance.” The bottom line here is, despite what Trump says, there’s no final trade deal with the U.K. — and there’s not even the concept of a plan for a deal with China. Nobel-winning economist Paul Krugman suggested Trump is pretending to fix what he broke with a trade deal that “may or may not happen sometime in the future.” Krugman also called it “the tariff equivalent of ‘concepts of a plan’ for health care.” While tariffs would be reduced for cars and steel in Trump’s new framework, 10% tariffs on many, and perhaps most, U.K. products still remain. The bottom line here is, despite what Trump says, there’s no final trade deal with the U.K. — and there’s not even the concept of a plan for a deal with China, where Trump’s 145% tariffs are still in place. Experts are warning that without a deal, Trump’s tariffs on China could lead to barren shelves in a matter of weeks. No amount of headlines about partial deals with the U.K. can change that reality barreling toward American consumers.
Ari Melber
Ari Melber, an Emmy Award-winning journalist, writer and attorney, is the host of “The Beat with Ari Melber” airing nightly at 6 p.m. ET on MSNBC. He also serves as MSNBC’s chief legal correspondent and an NBC News legal analyst. Before joining MSNBC, Melber practiced First Amendment law and served as a legislative aide in the U.S. Senate. He received a J.D. from Cornell Law School and is a member of the New York Bar.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW.
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