Businesses Sound Alarm as Trump Tariff Chaos Hits the Economy

• With each day, evidence is mounting across the corporate world that the chaotic implementation of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs is translating into caution on Main Street. The uncertainty brought by Trump's threats of tariffs and his shape-shifting trade policies is starting to have a chilling effect across many industries, businesses warn, as consumers pull back on everything from basic goods to travel.
• The president's back-and-forth tariff moves against major trading partners have kept markets on edge, and prompted companies to warn they may have to raise prices, which could boost inflation and dent economic growth. The White House fired another salvo on Tuesday, when Trump said he would double the planned tariff on all steel and aluminium imports from Canada to 50%
• While Trump has said his policies could cause short-term pain, investor concerns about their economic fallout have intensified in the last two days. Those worries have translated into a market selloff that has wiped out nearly $5 trillion in market value from the S&P 500's peak last month when Wall Street was cheering much of Trump's agenda.
• Even as markets have stumbled, CEOs have largely refrained from publicly criticizing Trump's trade policies, instead citing "uncertainty" for ebbing confidence. Several of Trump's economic advisers have alternated between downplaying the market's concerns and stressing the need to reorient the economy toward domestic manufacturing, even if it causes near-term damage.

(Source: Reuters)