Filtered by Topic: Trump's second term Use setting Trump's second term
China is among a minority of countries that apply lower tariff rates on the US than vice versa, so it is not as obviously exposed to reciprocal tariffs as many others. But President Trump’s latest announcement underscores just how serious he is about …
14th February 2025
Reciprocal tariffs a bigger deal than universal tariff President Trump appears to have abandoned the idea of imposing a flat universal tariff of 10% or 20% on imports from all other countries. But the broad criteria that will be used to assess his new …
13th February 2025
Gaza will remain key sticking point for MENA President Donald Trump’s doubling down on the future takeover of Gaza and displacement of the Palestinian population has continued to spark backlash from governments across the Middle East and could derail …
If the Trump administration pursues a reciprocal tariff strategy rather than a 10% universal tariff, then it could result in a smaller rise in the overall effective tariff rate than we have assumed. But while most DMs would come out relatively unscathed, …
China added five critical minerals to its export control list last week but stopped short of banning their sale. The move was intended as a warning to the Trump administration and to increase China’s leverage during future negotiations. If the US …
12th February 2025
Due to the relatively small size of the federal workforce and the large number of exempt positions, the federal government hiring freeze should have only a modest impact on payroll employment. More pain would be felt if the President follows through on …
11th February 2025
The Trump administration’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum come at a time when domestic capacity utilisation and import intensity are low, implying they will have less of an impact on overall prices than was the case during Trump’s first term. The …
10th February 2025
Trump’s curveballs have limited sway in oil markets With oil prices back to where they were at the start of the year, the oil market has offered a collective shrug to the geopolitical curveballs thrown its way. Although Canada and Mexico have been granted …
Less than a month into the new Trump administration and already it feels as though enough has been written about trade, tariffs and US foreign relations to last four years. With events moving quickly – the president’s latest comments suggest steel and …
It’s been a drama-filled week in Trumpland and Group Chief Economist Neil Shearing is on The Weekly Briefing from Capital Economics to take stock of what happened, what didn’t happen, and the implications for macro and markets. As well as discussing the …
7th February 2025
Do not write off tariffs President Donald Trump’s U-turn on 25% tariffs for Canada and Mexico this week, seemingly in exchange for a few trivial concessions from both countries, has reignited speculation he is using the threat of trade barriers as a bluff …
Note: Join us as we discuss how Donald Trump's moves to build out his policy agenda will affect energy, soft commodities, and metals markets in a Drop-in on Thursday 13th February 15:00 GMT/10:00 EST . Register here for the 20-minute online briefing. …
Tariffs on energy suppliers. Tariffs on metals suppliers. A push to end the Ukraine war. A National Energy Emergency. Less than one month in. Donald Trump has roiled commodities markets with a slew of orders in the opening phase of his administration. …
We’d previously argued that President Trump was likely to try to bring the MENA region into the US’s sphere of influence, but controversial statements on the future of Gaza have brought that into question. In a joint press conference with Israeli Prime …
6th February 2025
President Donald Trump’s eleventh-hour decision to delay the 25% tariffs he had threatened to impose on Canada and Mexico is a good reminder of his unpredictable nature. We don’t think Trump’s U-turn necessarily means he’s bluffing about other tariffs – …
5th February 2025
While we expect the US to start a trade war this year, we doubt that the initial reaction to the tariffs on Monday will necessarily set the tone for 2025. To re-cap, US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada over the …
4th February 2025
Although President Trump has hit pause on tariffs on Canada, his communications suggest he still wants a broader agreement on various trade issues. Given the chaotic political situation in Canada, it seems unlikely that such an agreement can be made in …
Tracking the knock-on effects of US tariffs on oil …
After initially promising unspecified "countermeasures", the Chinese authorities have now fleshed out their retaliation to the Trump administration's 10% tariff hike on all US imports from China. The measures are fairly modest, at least relative to US …
The additional 10% tariff that Donald Trump has applied on Chinese goods will have a relatively modest impact on China’s economy, especially if the PBOC allows the renminbi to adjust. But this is likely just the first round in a protracted trade war with …
3rd February 2025
The past week was bookended by developments in two areas that will play a significant role in shaping the year ahead: tariffs and technology. Tariff man strikes On Saturday, President Trump announced sweeping tariffs on Canada and Mexico, as well as on …
Donald Trump raised the stakes for the global economy with an announcement of 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports, and 10% tariffs on goods from China. What are the immediate macro and market consequences of this move, which countries could be …
31st January 2025
Donald Trump ended weeks of speculation on Saturday with the formal announcement of 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and 10% on China. As those countries respond Group Chief Economist Neil Shearing joins David Wilder on this special episode of The Weekly …
2nd February 2025
Trump hits Canada, China & Mexico with tariffs President Donald Trump’s decision to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and an additional 10% tariff on China from this coming Tuesday, (with the only partial exemption for Canadian energy imports that …
Fed in no hurry with tariffs coming soon Underlying economic growth remains solid The 2.3% annualised gain in fourth-quarter GDP came broadly in line with the updated nowcast estimate maintained by our data team. (See here .) Although GDP growth slowed …
We’re only a month in and it’s already been an eventful 2025 for financial markets. What do the coming months hold in store as Donald Trump builds out his policy agenda, central banks try to calibrate policy after the great post-pandemic inflation surge, …
29th January 2025
The inflationary impact of tariffs for all President Trump’s various tariff threats would, if implemented in full, trigger a rebound in consumer price inflation later this year to between 3% and 4%, which would make it much harder for the Fed to resume …
28th January 2025
This Update answers some key questions about the likely implications of the US imposing 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico. Our current forecasts are based on the assumption of a 10% universal tariff and hence growing speculation about more aggressive …
27th January 2025
Tariffs are coming. That seems to be one of the key takeaways from an extraordinary week which began with relief that the new president’s inaugural address skipped talk of tariffs, but was followed by a stream of threats from Donald Trump to start raising …
The first week of the new Trump administration hasn’t thrown up any huge surprises in terms of policy announcements. But there remains considerable uncertainty about the impact of those policies and others mooted on commercial real estate. In this note we …
24th January 2025
Trump ups the ante against Russia Comments by President Trump that he would tighten US trade and sanctions policy against Russia if Putin does not agree to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine are likely to have been received with anger in Moscow. The …
President Donald Trump’s first week back in office kicked off with a bang. He signed around 100 executive orders and strongly signalled that there were more policy changes to come. The week’s developments give us more confidence in our earlier assumptions …
Saudi-US relations already on a stronger footing Over the past year, Saudi Arabia’s shift toward China appears to have been on pause as it awaited to see the victor of the US presidential race. With Donald Trump now back in the White House, there are …
23rd January 2025
We held an online briefing yesterday on Mexico’s economy and how it may be impacted by the Trump administration. (Listen to the on-demand recording here .) This Update answers some the key questions that came up. How do you interpret the threatened 25% …
The declaration of a National Energy Emergency underlines President Trump’s aspiration to extend the US’s dominance in global energy markets, and his willingness to use the US’s clout as leverage will reshape global energy flows during his term. That …
President Trump’s threats to retake ownership of the Panama Canal reflects its importance for US trade and the country’s strategic interests. It’s possible that these threats are simply another attempt to gain concessions, such as lower fees charged to …
China’s surging exports have been gaining international attention, but concerns about overcapacity have focussed on “strategic sectors”. Far less acknowledged is the fact that China has been gaining significant global export market share across the board, …
22nd January 2025
The “America First Trade Policy” White House memorandum makes it clear that tariffs are coming, although we still have little clarity on the timing. There are some signs that a universal tariff could come later than in the second quarter as we have …
21st January 2025
President Donald Trump returned to the White House today with pen already in hand to sign what is expected to be close to 100 executive orders. That flurry of executive action will set the tone on what we can expect from his administration in a wide range …
20th January 2025
Weeks of speculation have been building to the moment at midday DC time today when Donald Trump will, for a second time, place his hand on the Bible and swear to faithfully execute the office of the president. His return to the White House should finally …
Group Chief Economist Neil Shearing calls in from Singapore to The Weekly Briefing from Capital Economics to talk about what’s known and unknown about Donald Trump’s policy agenda just days before he is sworn in again. He discusses the tone set by Trump's …
17th January 2025
Peso a Damocles sword over stabilisation process This week’s CPI data marked another victory for Argentinian President Javier Milei. Inflation came in at 2.7% m/m in December, the third consecutive sub-3% reading, prompting the government to announce a …
Real economy still firing on all cylinders The strong December employment figures were followed by news this week of solid gains in control group retail sales, industrial production and housing starts. As a result, we now estimate that fourth-quarter GDP …
US sanctions on Russian energy cause a stir Oil prices had a strong start to the week following the news of further US sanctions against Russia's oil sector. We outlined our thoughts here but in short, the disruption from these sanctions could take time …
More rupee weakness a sign of shifting priorities Data released this week showed that headline consumer price inflation fell from 5.5% y/y in November to 5.2% y/y in December. (See Chart 1.) Our initial response to the data can be read here . Food …
Donald Trump’s election win two months ago has already contributed to a rally in the US dollar, and we think there is a bit more to come this year. More broadly, the second Trump administration will probably be a key driver of volatility in currency …
15th January 2025
Mexico is arguably the most vulnerable economy to US trade protectionism. This in-depth analysis maps out economic and financial linkages between Mexico and its northern neighbour to provide a clearer sense of how tariffs would affect the economy and how …
There is already some evidence of US importers increasing orders, at least for goods from China, before Trump’s proposed tariffs come into effect. We think this may continue in the next few months, and could broaden out to imports from other countries …