Podcast•Apr 1, 2026•22 min
208. It's Been One Year Since Trump's "Liberation Day" Tariffs
In this episode, Chad Bowne and FT reporter Amy Williams review the fallout from President Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs announced on April 2, 2025, which imposed a baseline 10% duty on most imports and higher rates on select countries. They explain how exemptions for key products like iPhones, AI semiconductors, and data‑center equipment spurred a rapid shift of supply chains toward India, Vietnam, and Mexico, while overall U.S. imports still rose. The discussion also covers limited retaliation—primarily from Canada and China—resulting in a steep drop in U.S. exports to China, especially agriculture, and the subsequent series of bilateral trade deals and investment pledges with the EU, Japan, and Korea. Finally, they assess the tariffs' limited impact on the trade deficit, modest revenue gains, and the Supreme Court’s ruling curbing Trump’s emergency tariff powers, setting the stage for new Section 301 and 232 investigations.
