Trump tariffs are weakening the dollar instead of boosting it—further adding to the price Americans will pay for costlier imports.
- The US dollar has been falling as President Donald Trump rolls out his tariffs, and it plunged after he unveiled much steeper-than-expected duties on “Liberation Day.” That goes against what markets had anticipated before he launched his trade war. The weaker greenback makes imports more expensive, adding to the costs from Trump’s aggressive import taxes.
President Donald Trump’s tariffs have slammed the dollar, defying expectations for a stronger greenback and adding to the price Americans will pay after import taxes are passed on.
So far this year, the US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other global currencies, has tumbled 4.7% as investors increasingly price in the economic impact of the widening array of duties.
After imposing tariffs on China, Canada, Mexico, steel, aluminum and autos earlier this year, Trump shocked global markets on Wednesday with fresh tariffs on nearly every trading partner that were much steeper than expected.
Fitch Ratings estimated that the overall effective tariff rate will be about 25%—the highest since 1909—up from its prior estimate of an 18% rate and more than 10 times last year’s rate of 2.3%.
Source: Fortune
