Recently, President Trump has imposed tariffs on imports from several countries. According to CNBC, Trump has planned to have a 10% tariff for all countries, but some countries will have higher rates, like China, who is facing a 245% tariff on imports to the US (MSN). Many countries retaliated with their own tariffs on US products, which has impacted consumers and businesses. People will have to pay higher prices for goods from these countries, which means that almost everything will have a higher price tag.
While these tariffs are affecting the US, they are also affecting China, Mexico, and Canada, especially the latter two. Nonetheless, the US is still losing about 0.4% GDP, which equivalates to a loss of $100 billion (AP News).
Since international trade is a vital part of the US economy, imposing these tariffs have caused ripples throughout the globe. It’s hard to predict what will happen in the future, which is similar to its impact on stocks. On April 2, 2025, after President Trump imposed several tariffs, the S&P 500 had its worst performance since 2020, the start of the pandemic (MSN). Memes have circulated all over Instagram and Tiktok about the fall of their stocks and many have joked about losing all their money.
Trump has made some changes to his tariffs, as he has selected a few products that are exempt (Newsweek). These include:
- Computer Components and Storage Devices
- Smartphones and Communication Devices
- Semiconductors and Electronics
These tariffs are currently in effect and are a constantly changing topic. Only the future knows what will happen next.
