Financial markets
Financial markets generally responded negatively to the announcement. S&P 500 index futures, which had gained 0.7% during normal trading hours, tumbled more than 3% following Trump's announcement. Similarly, Japanese Nikkei 225 futures fell approximately 2%. [10]
Financial analysts expressed surprise at the tariffs' magnitude. Head of macro strategy at Academy Securities Peter Tchir described the rates as "shockingly high compared to what people were expecting" and called the announcement "a disaster". Others suggested the high rates might represent an opening position for subsequent negotiations rather than permanent policy. [10]
Domestic
Outside the White House gates following the ceremony, protestors gathered with signs depicting the Mr. Monopoly character and messages criticizing the policy as "liberating" money from consumers' wallets to benefit wealthy interests. [10]
Senate Democrats voiced opposition to the tariffs. Oregon Senator Ron Wyden characterized them as "a tax on almost everything families buy" that "won't rebuild American manufacturing or help working families get ahead." [10]
Representative Suzan DelBene (D-WA-01), chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, characterized the tariffs as part of broader "chaos and dysfunction" and argued that the president should not have unilateral authority to impose such measures. [11]
Republican leadership generally supported the president's tariff actions, while acknowledging potential short-term economic disruption. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA-04) expressed confidence that despite initial difficulties, the policy would ultimately "make sense for Americans and help all Americans." [11]
New York governor Kathy Hochul called the impending tariffs "nothing but a reckless tax on hard-working New Yorkers" that would severely damage the state's economy, particularly businesses dependent on Canadian tourism. [10]
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who served in Trump's first presidency, criticized the tariffs as the "largest peacetime tax hike in U.S. history". He also stated that they are "nearly 10x the size of those imposed during the Trump-Pence administration and will cost American families over $3,500 per year". [12]
The Washington Post reported that Elon Musk made personal appeals to Trump to reverse the tariffs. [13] On April 5, Musk criticized Peter Navarro, Trump's trade advisor and one of the key official behind the tariffs, questioning his educational qualifications from Harvard on X and writing "He ain’t built shit." [14] Navarro responded by saying Musk is not a "car manufacturer". In response, on April 8, Musk called Navarro "a moron" and "dumber than a sack of bricks", and said he should consult "the fake expert he invented, Ron Vara". [15]
Business organizations
American experts and business organizations raised concerns about potential inflationary effects and supply chain disruptions. The National Retail Federation issued a statement warning that the tariffs would "cause more anxiety and uncertainty for American businesses and consumers," emphasizing that U.S. importers, not foreign countries or suppliers, would bear the initial financial burden. [10]
The National Association of Manufacturers expressed concern that the large scale of the tariffs would threaten jobs, supply chains, investment, which in turn would threaten "America's ability to outcompete other nations and lead as the preeminent manufacturing superpower." [10]
The National Restaurant Association similarly predicted that tariffs at the scale they were presented would create "change and disruption" restaurant owners would have difficulty with bearing to keep their businesses open, noting that food and packaging costs would likely increase. [10]
Economic experts from the libertarian Cato Institute think tank warned that the tariff levels approached those of the 1930 Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act, legislation widely believed to have exacerbated the Great Depression. [11]
