Molly Ball

Well, it's interesting because, you know, we talked before about how there's this school of thought that says that Trump doesn't really want to put on the tariffs. He just wants to use it as a negotiating tactic to get leverage for other parts of his agenda, some economic, some not. That seems to have pretty much played out with these Canada and Mexico tariffs specifically.

They were never imposed. The leaders of Canada and Mexico came rushing to the proverbial negotiating table to offer up various concessions, mostly related to border security. It's not clear how much they were even real concessions versus just announcements of things they were already doing, right? Like troop deployments to the border that

They were never imposed. The leaders of Canada and Mexico came rushing to the proverbial negotiating table to offer up various concessions, mostly related to border security. It's not clear how much they were even real concessions versus just announcements of things they were already doing, right? Like troop deployments to the border that

They were never imposed. The leaders of Canada and Mexico came rushing to the proverbial negotiating table to offer up various concessions, mostly related to border security. It's not clear how much they were even real concessions versus just announcements of things they were already doing, right? Like troop deployments to the border that

the Mexican and Canadian governments had already planned to do, spending for drug interdiction that they may have already been in the process of doing, things like that. So the main thing that Trump got out of this may have been a sort of PR win. But it is a 30-day extension. It's not a permanent suspension of the tariff threat. So this cycle is going to repeat itself.

the Mexican and Canadian governments had already planned to do, spending for drug interdiction that they may have already been in the process of doing, things like that. So the main thing that Trump got out of this may have been a sort of PR win. But it is a 30-day extension. It's not a permanent suspension of the tariff threat. So this cycle is going to repeat itself.

the Mexican and Canadian governments had already planned to do, spending for drug interdiction that they may have already been in the process of doing, things like that. So the main thing that Trump got out of this may have been a sort of PR win. But it is a 30-day extension. It's not a permanent suspension of the tariff threat. So this cycle is going to repeat itself.

We don't know how it's going to go in the next phase. And the tariff against China did go into effect. It's 10%. It's not as high as the other two countries. But that is going into effect, and there is some possibility that that could escalate as well.

We don't know how it's going to go in the next phase. And the tariff against China did go into effect. It's 10%. It's not as high as the other two countries. But that is going into effect, and there is some possibility that that could escalate as well.

We don't know how it's going to go in the next phase. And the tariff against China did go into effect. It's 10%. It's not as high as the other two countries. But that is going into effect, and there is some possibility that that could escalate as well.

Well, we could be headed for a trade war. The Chinese government has announced retaliatory measures. They're adding more tariffs on American goods, investigations into American businesses. So this is going to keep going back and forth in a tit for tat, and I don't think we know yet. where it's headed.

Well, we could be headed for a trade war. The Chinese government has announced retaliatory measures. They're adding more tariffs on American goods, investigations into American businesses. So this is going to keep going back and forth in a tit for tat, and I don't think we know yet. where it's headed.

Well, we could be headed for a trade war. The Chinese government has announced retaliatory measures. They're adding more tariffs on American goods, investigations into American businesses. So this is going to keep going back and forth in a tit for tat, and I don't think we know yet. where it's headed.

And we should say that that is another sort of consequence of these tariff wars is even if tariffs don't end up getting imposed or end up getting rolled back, it takes a toll on the business climate because of the certainty that businesses need in order to plan their operations. There's a lot of uncertainty in the forecast.

And we should say that that is another sort of consequence of these tariff wars is even if tariffs don't end up getting imposed or end up getting rolled back, it takes a toll on the business climate because of the certainty that businesses need in order to plan their operations. There's a lot of uncertainty in the forecast.

And we should say that that is another sort of consequence of these tariff wars is even if tariffs don't end up getting imposed or end up getting rolled back, it takes a toll on the business climate because of the certainty that businesses need in order to plan their operations. There's a lot of uncertainty in the forecast.

And we didn't settle the underlying question of, right, does Trump want to do the tariffs and use that as a way of raising money for the federal budget? Or is he more about threatening tariffs to get other things? The evidence so far is kind of mixed.

And we didn't settle the underlying question of, right, does Trump want to do the tariffs and use that as a way of raising money for the federal budget? Or is he more about threatening tariffs to get other things? The evidence so far is kind of mixed.

And we didn't settle the underlying question of, right, does Trump want to do the tariffs and use that as a way of raising money for the federal budget? Or is he more about threatening tariffs to get other things? The evidence so far is kind of mixed.

It's already been pretty well walked back in the sense of the administration has already done a little bit of cleanup. And Trump himself has also posted on social media to clarify that he would not propose to put U.S. troops on the ground. And the administration says, you know, the U.S. would not be paying for this move.