Amid the tariff frenzy, what are Trump’s actual goals?
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Good morning. It's Wednesday, March 12th. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, the Trump administration threatens big funding cuts for higher education, lessons learned from the last major measles outbreak, and a possible beginning of the end of the war in Ukraine.
But first, widespread tariffs from the Trump administration on foreign steel and aluminum are expected to take effect today, which would impact all countries the U.S. imports these resources from. Both steel and aluminum will be tariffed at 25 percent. And for one of those countries, Canada, Trump initially planned to double the tariff rate in response to a recent surcharge on electricity announced by Ontario. But he withdrew that threat after Ontario rolled back their tax. Trump's tariff strategy has been a roller coaster so far, with threats and reversals. The stock market has been on a similar volatile ride. And it's left many wondering what exactly the president is trying to achieve with these tariffs. So we called up Dan Flatley, who covers national security and economics for Bloomberg News, for more insight into Trump's goals.
Essentially, what Trump is trying to do here is reorder international trade and try to revitalize American manufacturing. At the same time, he's also trying to raise revenue to extend his tax cuts from 2017 that were enacted in his first term.
But Flatley told us it's difficult to know if the threats, delays, and reversals are part of Trump's strategy and an indicator that it's working as intended because he's getting some concessions from foreign leaders, or if these walkbacks signal that his plans are flawed.
Of course, that is all sort of this grand experiment that's happening in real time. And so there is a school of thought that all of these moves on tariffs may be ultimately, you know, him trying to get some sort of grand bargain with Canada and Mexico and with China to basically bring in more revenue to the United States, achieve what he calls a more even playing field for U.S. workers, and to resource U.S. manufacturing.
In Trump's first term, he did not issue tariffs as widely as he has in this term. But those tariffs didn't result in the promised increase in American factory jobs or heightened inflation that those for and against the tariffs had forecasted. This time, the president has said he believes being more aggressive with tariffs could lead to bigger economic impact. He also didn't rule out the possibility of a recession in a recent interview with Fox News.
I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition because what we're doing is very big. We're bringing wealth back to America. That's a big thing. And there are always periods of, it takes a little time.
Trump has claimed credit for the market in more bullish times, but he says right now he's not paying attention to how the stock market reacts to tariffs to consider adjustments to his policy. However, Flatley told us the Treasury and Commerce Secretaries certainly are watching the markets. They say Americans just have to be patient during this period. However, economists by and large do not agree with the president's approach to tariffs. They've warned shoring up American manufacturing could take a long time, and the risk of tariffs could scare off companies that are considering making long-term investments in the U.S. Ultimately, Flatley says, Trump's tariff strategy appears to be a big gamble.
If we do enter into a recession, what it means for Trump's economic plans, he may have to dial some of those back, depending on what happens. It's all kind of playing out in real time, and we'll just have to sort of see how it all shakes out.
Let's turn now to education news. Yesterday evening, the Department of Education said it will cut its workforce nearly in half this month as President Trump works to eliminate the agency altogether. Meanwhile, the DOE's Office of Civil Rights on Monday sent letters to 60 colleges and universities telling them that they're under investigation or being monitored for alleged violations relating to, quote, anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination.
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