APPLETON, Wis. (WFRV) – There’s a lot of uncertainty about how the Trump administration’s sweeping new tariffs will impact the economy long term.
The president insists that it will bring manufacturing back to the United States and create jobs. He did acknowledge that consumers could feel some temporary pain in terms of higher prices which is a major concern of those opposed to tariffs.
“It’s going to make it tougher for people in the middle class or below to survive,” said Appleton resident Morgan Walters.
The Yale Budget Lab estimates an average household will spend about $3800 per year because of these tariffs.
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On Thursday, many stocks plummeted in response to the administration’s new tariffs. According to the Associated Press, it was the biggest one day drop for financial markets since COVID-19 first ravaged the country back in 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by over 1600 points.
Johna Scovronski from Larsen said she’s really worried about the tariffs’ impact on the stock market.
“I’ve worked my whole life and invested respectfully and responsibly,” she told Local Five News on Thursday afternoon. “I was in a good spot, but since the beginning of the new administration my stocks have taken a pretty big tumble.”
Investment advisor Sam Duell of Duell Financial Strategies in Appleton said he doesn’t think this is a sign that the economy is heading for a recession.
He said he expected this volatility in the financial markets when the Trump administration implemented the tariffs. He said financial markets don’t like change and can quickly spike or dip when there’s a major economic disruption.
Duell said usually the market evens itself out over time.
“It’s the correlation between the uncertainty of the tariffs and what that is going to lead to in the future,” said Duell. “It causes the market to be volatile like this.”
For those who have their money invested in stocks during these uncertain times, Duell offered this advice.
“Don’t make rash decisions, don’t make decisions based on your emotions right now,” he said. “Do not allow your political biases no matter who you love or hate don’t allow your political biases to infiltrate your investment or your retirement investment decisions today.”
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He also said it’s important to remember that not every stock is down right now and highlighted the importance of having a diversified stock portfolio. He said when we look back at this in a few months, he doesn’t think the stock market drops will look as significant as they do now.
Congressman Tony Wied released a statement about the new tariffs on Wednesday:
“President Trump has made it clear with these reciprocal tariffs that we will no longer allow other countries to take advantage of us. His goal is simple: to bring jobs and manufacturing back to our country and open up foreign markets to American products. If companies want to avoid these tariffs, they will do business in the United States. I applaud the President for taking a stand against years of unfair trade practices and making sure we put American workers and consumers first. It’s time our foreign trading partners finally live up to their end of the bargain.”
-Congressman Tony Wied
