Reciprocal tariffs teased, markets react

President Donald Trump has just signed a sweeping reciprocal tariff plan. The directive instructs the U.S. to develop new levies on a country-by-country basis but stopped short of implementing any immediate levies.

The Dow reached an intraday high after the market realized the reciprocal tariff process could take weeks or months. In forex, the biggest gainers have been the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc, although the British pound is performing well too.

Wells Fargo predict that the tariffs could slow economic growth this year, describing them as a “modest stagflationary shock”. A study from the Peterson Institute estimates that existing import tariffs on Chinese, Mexican, and Canadian goods already cost the average American household over $1,200 annually, with reciprocal tariffs likely adding to that burden.