On April 5, the Trump administration unilaterally imposed a 10% tariff on everything the U.S. imports. That’s not just Chinese goods — it’s every single product coming into the country. The justification? A sweeping use of emergency powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

The fallout was immediate. Within days, China hit back with tariffs of up to 125% on U.S. exports. Trump escalated again, this time threatening a 145% tariff on Chinese-made electronics like iPhones, semiconductors, and laptops. Markets panicked.

Then came the walk-back. On Friday, the administration announced a carve-out for electronics. But by Monday morning, Trump was back online insisting “nobody’s off the hook” and threatening to revoke the exemption. So… the tariffs are on? Off? Coming back?

Even Wall Street is baffled. The S&P 500 dropped nearly 5% just trying to interpret the messaging.

Markets Are Flailing

This isn’t just political drama. It’s economic instability on a global scale. The U.S. market lost $6.6 trillion in just two days, the single largest value drop in history. A temporary 90-day pause for some tariffs brought a small bounce, but the markets haven’t recovered to where they were a year ago.

Goldman Sachs now predicts a -5% return on the S&P 500 over the next three months and says there’s a 35% chance of a full-blown recession within the year. It’s not just speculation anymore. This is the new economic reality.

Consumers Are Already Feeling It

Prices are up. People are stockpiling. Coffee, olive oil, soap — anything that might spike next. And it’s not just panic buying. Analysts say the average household will pay an extra $3,800 this year just to keep up with tariff-driven price hikes.

Inflation is no longer “transitory.” It’s being actively stoked by policy decisions coming straight from the White House.

Let’s Talk About Manufacturing

The supposed point of all this is to bring jobs back home. But Americans aren’t lining up to work in factories. Polls show people support “Made in America” — in theory. But ask if they want to do the job themselves? Most say no.

Even if they did, those jobs have been gutted by decades of union-busting and race-to-the-bottom labor conditions. Warehouse workers without bathroom breaks. Truckers barely scraping by. That’s not an industrial renaissance, it’s a dead end.

And don’t forget the numbers. Building something like an iPhone in the U.S. could cost $30,000 to $100,000 per unit, per Forbes. This is not just because of wages, but because the supply chains and facilities simply don’t exist here. Even if they could make the manufacturing transition, production would be limited to only a few million units a year.

Where This Leaves Us

We’re not getting a plan. We’re getting chaos.

The 10% blanket tariff is still in place. Prices are rising. Markets are stumbling. Businesses have no idea what to prepare for next.

And the most powerful man in the country can escalate things at any moment — with no checks, no strategy, and no regard for the fallout.

We’ll be tracking this closely, and holding the administration accountable every step of the way. If we come together, we can build a better future.

With hope for change,