Trump and TACO: New tariff rates issued after deadline
The on-again-off-again tariffs have been a theme of Trump's second term, leading to the creation of the term TACO. Here is what to know:
Live updates: Trump fires head of labor statistics bureau after weak jobs report
What does TACO mean?
Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong coined "TACO trade" in May, describing how some investors anticipate market rebounds amid Trump's on-again, off-again tariff policies.
The acronym stands for "Trump always chickens out."
Armstrong describes TACO trade as many investors' strategy to buy into the market that dips when Trump announces steep tariffs on the assumption that he will back off his tariff order, and the market will rebound.
Trump hit back at a reporter who asked about the term on May 28, saying, "you ask a nasty question like that. It's called negotiation."
Trump's tariffs have been on-again-off-again
Back in February, Trump announced a 25% tariff on goods from top trade partners Mexico and Canada and 10% on goods from China. Such was the start of a series of delays and negotiations that left Canada and Mexico relatively untouched when Trump expanded steeper tariff orders to the rest of the world in April.
China and the U.S. were caught up in an intense trade war where the economic powerhouses retaliated until both sides issued tariffs in the triple digits. They reached a truce in May and have discussed extending the 90-day pause while they work out a deal.
Trump on April 2 announced widespread tariffs in what he called "Liberation Day." Shortly after, he paused the climbing rates for 90 days.
That pause was set to expire on July 9, but instead of the tariffs going into effect, Trump extended the deadline. That deadline was Aug. 1, and Trump had said the deadline would not change, but the recent order gives it another week.
Mexico remains at 25% while it continues to work on a trade deal for the next 90 days, Trump said.
Contributing: Joey Garrison, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.
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