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This is an adapted excerpt from the April 3 episode of “Morning Joe.”
Stocks plummeted Thursday after Donald Trump unveiled a slew of new tariffs on the United States’ closest trading partners. Speaking from the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday, the president announced that dozens of countries would now be subject to so-called reciprocal tariffs. Under Trump’s plan, China, one of the United States’ largest trading partners, would be hit with a 54% tariff, the European Union with 20% and India with 26%, among many others.
Since that announcement, I’ve spoken to former administration officials from Trump’s first term, CEOs of consumer products companies, Wall Street investors and economists — what they’ve talked about is a massive loss of trust.
Trading is all about long-term partnerships. Last time Trump was in the White House, the United States told manufacturers to stop doing business in China because they’re our adversary; as a result, many companies moved production to places like Vietnam. But on Wednesday, Trump went back on what he told those companies during his first term and slapped Vietnam with a 46% tax.
We keep hearing this argument from the White House and other Republicans that this is just short-term pain for long-term gain and that all these jobs will come roaring back. But, in the wake of Trump’s announcement, have we heard a single CEO say they plan to build a manufacturing plant in the U.S.?
It can take a company five years to build a plant and start manufacturing in the United States. Five years from now, Trump won’t be in office — and who knows if he’ll change his mind and reverse course on tariffs in the meantime, as he’s done before.
In order for a business to make any sort of investment, especially a long-term one, it has to trust the information that is given so it can plan accordingly. These massive companies can’t do that with Trump.
The truth of the matter is, the president is not trusted in a business sense. He’s great at branding. He’s great at marketing. He’s a phenomenal politician. But what he’s not great at is business. He has declared bankruptcy six times. He drove a casino into the ground. He’s known for not holding to his contracts and not standing by deals he agreed to. That reputation isn’t doing the president any favors.
Trump’s tariffs are costing the United States the trust of our allies and global partners, and that puts our country at grave risk.