Tariffs Hit At Midnight, Small Business Reactions, National Security Firings
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What are the implications of President Trump's new tariffs?
President Trump's tariffs on nearly all imported goods will go into effect at midnight.
This is the reordering of global trade.
Will the U.S. come out ahead or fall behind? I'm Leila Fadil, that's Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News. Small business owners are reacting to the magnitude of the White House's new tariffs.
I had to come up with $15,000 of extra cash to release my goods just this last month.
How are they thinking about their future? And several National Security Council staffers have been fired following a meeting between President Trump and far-right activist Laura Loomer.
Always we let go of people. People that we don't like or people that we don't think we like.
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From Wall Street to Main Street, businesses are reeling from President Trump's expanded trade war.
Steep new tariffs are set to take effect at midnight on nearly everything the U.S. imports, and even higher taxes are due to kick in next week. Big businesses are losing market value, and small businesses feel like they're caught in the middle of something they can't control.
How are small businesses reacting to the new tariffs?
We're going to talk this through with two of NPR's business correspondents, Scott Horsley and Alina Selyuk. Welcome to you both. Hello, hello.
Good morning.
So, Scott, I'm going to start with you. Judging by the stock market's reaction, a lot of investors have been really rattled by these tariffs. But, you know, Trump had been talking about this for weeks. So why are they so spooked?
Yeah, this was a seismic shakeup. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled more than 1,600 points yesterday, or nearly 4%. The Nasdaq dropped nearly 6%. It was the biggest one-day sell-off in the stock market since early in the pandemic. President Trump has ordered a minimum 10% tax on nearly everything the U.S. buys from other countries. He's also ordered much higher levies on things we buy from China, Japan, the European Union. Altogether, we are looking at about a nine-fold increase in tariffs now compared to what we were paying last year. And businesses are worried that it's going to cause higher prices for them. For weeks, investors have been waving the caution flag, stating they don't want a wider trade war.
But Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNN the president's not about to change course.
I don't think there's any chance that President Trump's going to back off his tariffs. This is the reordering of global trade.
If these tariffs stick, it's going to upend the global trading system that the U.S. has spent decades building and leave this country more isolated from the rest of the world.
Scott, how will these tariffs affect the economy more broadly?
These tariffs are going to bring higher prices. They're also going to bring slower economic growth, and there could be some fallout in the job market. We're going to get the monthly jobs report later this morning, and that could also start to show the impact of the large-scale layoffs that Elon Musk's team has been carrying out in the federal government. And remember, President Trump took over an economy that was in solid shape. Unemployment was low. GDP was growing at a respectable clip. Inflation was a little high, but it was much improved from a few years ago. And Trump made the decision to turn over the furniture and kick up a lot of dust. So where that dust settles now is going to be on him. It's the old pottery barn rule.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What are the implications of President Trump's new tariffs?
0:02–2:07
2
How are small businesses reacting to the new tariffs?
2:07–4:20
3
Who are the key players discussing the tariffs in this episode?
4:20–5:45
4
How will the new tariffs affect the U.S. economy and consumers?
5:45–9:30
5
What challenges do small businesses face with increased tariffs?
9:30–12:46
6
How are small business owners planning to cope with the tariffs?
12:46–15:55
Speakers
10 identifiedMore from Up First from NPR
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