, Columnist
Even Talking About Tariffs Can Cause Inflation
Repeated threats of tariffs are making consumers nervous and putting the US economy at risk.
Could they all soon be facing tariffs?
Photographer: Carlos Moreno/Bloomberg
In his first week in office, President Donald Trump sent mixed signals about tariffs. None were enacted on his first day, but he repeated his warnings to Mexico, Canada and China. Then there was a short-lived threat of emergency tariffs on Colombia over the deportation of migrants.
Yet just because he didn’t impose any tariffs doesn’t mean that Trump’s tariff policy isn’t already having an impact. Even the threat of tariffs comes with costs, because it can change people’s behavior — and there are signs that Americans are wary of tariffs.