The stock market is tumbling, and the U.S. dollar lost 3% of its value so far today as Donald Trump announced a new round of global tariffs. Now out Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is spending his time telling other countries not to retaliate with tariffs of their own.
Yesterday, Trump announced a new base of tariffs of 10% for all goods imported from other countries, with even higher rates depending on what country a product is from. Tariffs are a tax on imported goods that are passed along to consumers in the form of increased prices as a way to discourage Americans from buying foreign products. The new tariffs will go into effect on April 5 and April 9.
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World leaders – including the leader of the European Union, China’s Commerce Ministry, and South Korea’s acting president – have already said that they will take countermeasures like tariffs on U.S. goods of their own.
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Treasury Secretary Bessent, who has supported Trump’s calls for increased tariffs since before Election Day, asked other countries not to respond to the U.S. tariffs with further tariffs, threatening to respond to retaliatory tariffs with even more U.S. tariffs, sparking a trade war.
“I would advise none of the countries to panic,” Bessent said last night. “I wouldn’t try to retaliate because as long as you don’t retaliate, this is the high end of the number. I think the market could have certainty that this is the number, barring retaliation.”
Bessent: I would advise none of the countries to panic. I wouldn't try to retaliate because as long as you don't retaliate, this is the high end of the number. pic.twitter.com/VlqqabdhtJ
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) April 3, 2025
Bessent made similar comments on CNN.
“One of the messages that I’d like to get out tonight is everybody sit back, take a deep breath, don’t immediately retaliate, let’s see where this goes,” he said. “Because if you retaliate, that’s how we get escalation.”
Bessent: "One of the messages that I'd like to get out tonight is everybody sit back, take a deep breath, don't immediately retaliate, let's see where this goes. Because if you retaliate, that's how we get escalation."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) April 3, 2025 at 3:16 AM
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The tariffs strike a blow to globalism and trade liberalization that defined the 20th century. Experts warn that tariffs will not only increase prices for American consumers in the short term but will also lead to sluggish growth in the long term as the efficiencies brought by global trade are lost.
“Uncertainty will spiral and trigger the rise of further protectionism,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. “The consequences will be dire for millions of people around the globe.”
“It’s an immense difficulty for Europe,” said French Prime Minister François Bayrou. “I think it’s also a catastrophe for the United States and for U.S. citizens.”
Trump, though, celebrated on social media, posting to Truth Social: “THE OPERATION IS OVER! THE PATIENT LIVED, AND IS HEALING.”
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