Economics
Tariffs Aren’t Trump’s Only Trade War Weapon
- Lack of certainty is presidential tool akin to tariff threat
- Markets and companies recoil and demand more policy clarity
Donald Trump listens during a bilateral meeting at the G-20 Leaders' Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Nov. 30.
Photographer: Erica Canepa/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
President Donald Trump has used tariffs as one of his most powerful tools for fighting his trade wars, but he’s also wielding leverage with another weapon: uncertainty.
Through his trade threats and the doubts he has raised about the future of even America’s longest-term economic relationships, Trump has created what could easily be called an uncertainty economy. And it is one that has baffled leading economists.