Donald Trump has been warned against throwing the US into economic turmoil as his tariffs continue to wreak havoc on the markets. The US president announced “Freedom Day” levies last Wednesday, set at a baseline of 10% but reaching nearly 50% for some unlucky countries. In the aftermath, stock markets plummeted, with the FTSE 100 experiencing its worst day since the onset of the Covid pandemic in March 2020.
US markets also saw their worst week since February 2020 last week. Now, experts are sounding the alarm of longer-term economic uncertainty should the Republican continue to wage his trade war. Bill Ackman, a billionaire hedge fund manager, called for a “90-day time-out” to renegotiate the “massive and disproportionate” tariffs.
The CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management warned of an impending “economic nuclear winter” if the US president does not rethink his economic plan.
He wrote on X: “I have a lot of respect for our president and what he has accomplished so far, but I don’t think he is infallible, which is why I am stating loud and clear that I strongly believe launching tariffs on April 9 against the entire world – massively in excess of what we are being charged – is a mistake.
“The president has an opportunity on Monday to call a timeout and have the time to execute on fixing an unfair tariff system. Alternatively, we are heading for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter, and we should start hunkering down.”
He added: “[The US is] in the process of destroying confidence in our country as a trading partner, as a place to do business, and as a market to invest capital.”
Mr Tump has indicated that he is willing to negotiate his levies, writing on his platform Truth Social: “Countries from all over the World are talking to us. Tough but fair parameters are being set.”
The US president also told investors to be “strong, courageous, and patient” during the period of market uncertainty, which he believes will soon come to an end.
