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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Melts Down at ‘Why Do You Always Chicken Out' Question
Donald Trump had an Oval Office meltdown over Wall Street's new acronym for his tariffs: TACO Trade, which stands for Trump Always Chickens Out. As Trump took questions during a swearing-in ceremony for Washington D.C.'s new acting attorney general, Jeanine Pirro, a reporter asked the president what he thought of the new phrase. He was clearly unimpressed. 'I chicken out?' he asked. 'I've never heard that. You mean because I reduced China from the 145 percent that I said, down to 100, and then down to another number, and I said: 'You have to open up your whole country? 'And because I gave the European Union a 50 percent tax tariff, and they called up and they said, 'Please let's meet right now? 'It's called negotiation!' he added. The term TACO trade was coined by Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong earlier this month as the world struggled to make sense of Trump's on-again-off-again trade wars. But the chicken moniker has since taken off among the investors on Wall Street, given the president's tendency to walk back many of his threats. For instance, Trump postponed so-called reciprocal tariffs against trading partners a week after his Liberation Day announcement on April 2. He had threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods, including steel and aluminum, but later announced a one-month pause. And for all the tough talk on China, he slashed tariffs against the country not long after they were announced. Over the weekend, Trump also delayed a 50 percent tariff on imports from the European Union until July 9. However, he insists the rollercoaster negotiations are all part of the plan. As for the question about being a chicken? 'Don't ever say what you said,' he told the reporter. 'That's a nasty question.' Later, he added: 'I usually have the opposite problem. They say I am too tough.'
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Trump erupts over Wall Street's 'TACO trade' nickname for his tariffs
"Oh, I chicken out. Isn't that nice? I've never heard that," Trump said during the exchange, before defending his recent decisions to slash his tariffs on China for the next 90 days and extend his deadline for a 50% tariff on goods from the European Union until July 9. More: Trump, China agree to slash tariffs for 90 days: What to know "Six months ago, this country was stone cold dead. We had a dead country. We had a country that people didn't think it was going survive," Trump said. "And you ask a nasty question like that. It's called negotiation." "TACO trade" was coined this month by Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong to describe how many investors have responded to Trump's whiplash tariff policy by buying into the market dip that follows Trump's tariffs, on the assumption that the market will rebound once Trump flip flops. More: Trump says he will delay 50% tariffs on EU imports until July 9 Trump has backed off from some of his steep tariffs repeatedly since announcing a series of hefty duties on imports from most of the world's countries on April 2 - a moment he hailed as "Liberation Day." The Trump administration has announced new or revised tariff policies more than 50 times since Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration, according to an analysis from the Washington Post. But several actions were quickly rescinded. After the stock market plunged in response to the levies, Trump paused the reciprocal tariffs for most countries, lowering the tariffs to a universal 10% rate. He initially kept 145% tariffs in place for China, but later lowered it to 30%, where it remains. He also paused tariffs he set for Canada and Mexico, created tariff carve-outs for electronic imports and most recently backed off a June 1 deadline he set for 50% tariffs on goods from the EU. "You call that chickening out?" Trump said, arguing he reduced the tariffs on China - which he acknowledged had gotten too high - after Beijing agreed to open its country to trade. He said he extended the EU deadline after European leaders called and asked "please, let's meet right now" to discuss trade policy. "Don't ever say what you said because that's a nasty question," Trump said. Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
Gulf Insider
an hour ago
- Business
- Gulf Insider
Saudi Arabia to Review Spending Priorities
Saudi Arabia will review its spending priorities after the oil price decline, and will consider whether to delay or accelerate some projects, the Kingdom's Finance Minister, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, told the Financial Times in an interview published on Thursday. Saudi Arabia needs oil prices at about $90 per barrel to balance its budget. The world's top crude oil exporter is already running a higher-than-planned deficit, which is set to swell with the oil price dip in the second quarter. With oil prices having crashed into the $60 a barrel range, the Kingdom will look to avoid falling again into the 'trap of booms and busts,' Al-Jadaan told FT. A 'crisis provides us an opportunity to take stock and consider', the minister added. 'Should we delay? Should we reschedule? Should we accelerate?' Al-Jadaan said. Last week, Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning, Faisal Alibrahim, said that the Kingdom is always ready for multiple oil price scenarios. 'We have the long-term fiscal planning and medium-term frameworks that help us adjust depending on what scenario actually plays out,' Alibrahim said at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha. Saudi Arabia booked a hefty budget deficit for the first quarter of the year, even before oil prices plunged in April. Saudi Arabia's budget deficit jumped to $15.6 billion (58.7 billion Saudi riyals). That's already more than half of the deficit the Kingdom had forecast for the full year—a deficit of $27 billion (101 billion riyals). The second-quarter deficit will be even higher than in Q1, as oil prices have languished in the low $60s per barrel Brent since they crashed in early April. All the deficit in the first quarter was covered by borrowing, suggesting that Saudi Arabia prefers to continue tapping debt markets to using central bank foreign currency reserves. With oil at $60-$65 per barrel, Saudi Arabia may have to accelerate borrowings and defer planned investments in its mega initiatives such as the futuristic city of Neom, analysts say. Also read: Refiners Expect Saudi Arabia to Cut Oil Price
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Business
- Indian Express
‘Trump Always Chickens Out': TACO jibe draws US President's ire; ‘that's the nastiest question,' he retorts
US President Donald Trump isn't known for taking kindly to questions that challenge his authority or decision-making — a recent exchange over his tariffs game particularly drew his ire. On Wednesday, a reporter asked the US President whether the term 'TACO trade' might be a valid description of his approach to tariffs. The TACO in question is not a Mexican dish made with tortillas, but is used to describe how markets respond to his tariff policies. This is in reference to the markets generally selling off when he makes Trump tariff threats and then recover after he backs down. TACO trade, short for 'Trump Always Chickens Out' is a term coined by the Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong, as reported by the New York Times. It has been widely adopted by analysts and commentators to describe a recurring market pattern: Trump threatens sweeping tariffs, markets tumble, but then he pulls back or delays, giving countries more time to negotiate. The reporter asked the question while speaking to President Trump in the Oval Office of the White House. The reporter asked: 'Mr President, Wall Street analysts have coined a new term called the 'TACO' trade. They're saying Trump always chickens out on your tariff threats, and that's why markets are higher this week. What's your response to that?' Trump's response: 'This country was dying. Six months ago, this country was stone-cold dead. We had a country of people who didn't think it was going to survive. And you ask a 'nasty' question like that. It's called negotiation.' 'I chicken out? I've never heard that,' added Trump. 'Don't ever say what you said,' he told the reporter. 'That's a nasty question. To me, that's the nastiest question.' Trump also claimed he 'helped' China by easing the 'very high' tariffs he had initially imposed. 'We were very nice to China. I don't know if they're going to be nice to us. We helped them, they were having difficulty because we were basically going cold turkey with them.' However, Trump's recurrent retreats have become a key factor in how global markets react to US trade policy. A week after Trump announced his tariffs, global markets plunged in what many described as a stock market bloodbath. The Dow Jones and S&P futures dropped sharply, while Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index tumbled nearly 9 per cent shortly after opening. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 8 per cent in early trade. A US court earlier this week invalidated Trump's so-called 'Liberation Day' trade orders. The court ruled that the President had overstepped his authority by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify a broad set of tariffs announced last month. The ruling was met with relief in financial markets. Following the court's decision, domestic indices like the Sensex and Nifty, along with most major Asian markets, recorded gains. An appeals court later agreed to a temporary pause in the decision pending an appeal hearing. (With inputs from the New York Times)
Free Malaysia Today
2 hours ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
A bad wrap: An angry Trump blasts the ‘TACO Theory'
Donald Trump's tariff rhetoric, once a source of market volatility, has since been viewed as reversible and unreliable, tempering investor reaction. (EPA Images pic) WASHINGTON : President Donald Trump made no pretense at hiding his irritation this week when he was asked by a reporter about 'TACO' – an acronym that has been gaining traction among Wall Street traders who believe that 'Trump Always Chickens Out.' The so-called 'TACO Theory' was coined by Robert Armstrong, a Financial Times writer seeking to underline the US president's tendency to backtrack on policies when they start to roil the markets. Investors have come to realize that the US administration 'does not have a very high tolerance for market and economic pressure and will be quick to back off when tariffs cause pain,' the journalist concluded. 'This is the TACO Theory: Trump Always Chickens Out.' Armstrong was writing earlier this month, after stocks had just rebounded sharply on Trump's announcement of a pause in massive tariffs imposed on the rest of the world by the Republican leader. Worsening the whiplash, Trump announced last week that tariffs of 50% on imports from the European Union would come into force on June 1 – but two days later declared a pause until July 9. At the heart of Trump's flip-flops is an acute sensitivity for the ups and downs of market trading that he honed as a brash New York property developer and business magnate in the 1980s. During his first term in office, a sharp reaction on Wall Street could sometimes be the only way to change the billionaire's mind. Beyond the columns of the Financial Times, the 'TACO Theory' is having a viral moment, and has entered the lexicon of investors who see it as more than just a snarky in-joke, according to analysts. 'TACO trading strategy gets attention again,' blared the headline on a podcast released Monday by John Hardy, head of macroeconomic strategy at Danish investment bank Saxo. The phrase eventually found its way back to the 78-year-old president, who furiously denied on Wednesday that he was backing down in the face of stock market turmoil. 'I chicken out? I've never heard that… don't ever say what you said, that's a nasty question,' the mercurial tycoon thundered, rounding in the journalist who had asked for his take on the expression. Far from caving, Trump said he was merely engaging in the high-stakes cut and thrust of international dealmaking, he snarled — adding, with a sardonic edge: 'It's called negotiation.' For Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers, the TACO Theory is a 'nonpolitical way of the markets calling the administration's bluff.' Sam Burns, an analyst at Mill Street Research, told AFP he has noticed a new equanimity in Wall Street's reaction to each new tariff announcement, with traders' responses initially 'much larger and more direct.' Where they once convulsed markets, Trump's tariff talk now tends to be viewed as 'easily reversible or not reliable,' said Burns, and investors are accordingly more willing to ignore the instinct to act rashly. This new calm was evident among traders at the New York Stock Exchange who held steady in the face of Trump's EU tariff threats, and again when they did not overreact to successive court rulings blocking and then temporarily reinstating most of the tariffs. But Hardy, the Saxo analyst, warns that the vagaries of Trump's day-to-day announcements should not distract from the protectionist bent of his broader political outlook. 'Trump might 'chicken out' at times,' Hardy wrote in a recent commentary on Saxo's website. 'But the underlying policy moves are for real, and a deadly serious shift in US economic statecraft and industrial policy that is a response to massive instabilities that have been growing for years.'
