The week has been volatile and uncertain on the stock exchange in New York with significant declines on all three leading indexes – in line with the sharp turns surrounding Trump's tariff policy.
During the election campaign in August, Trump, for example, said that he would "stop inflation" on his first day as president, make prices in the USA "affordable again", and he denied that his import tariffs would raise consumer prices, notes NBC News.
Many economists have, however, consistently warned that import tariffs primarily affect American companies and consumers.
This week, the messages from Washington have begun to change tone, from promises of rapid growth to introducing certain caveats, reports Bloomberg.
"A short period"
Now it sounds more like: "if you want to be fine, you have to suffer pain" and "you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs".
There will be some disruptions, but we're okay with that, said Trump about the new import tariffs on Tuesday – two days before they were put on hold for a month.
Trade Minister Howard Lutnick admitted that the tariffs entail some price increases, but he dismissed fears that they would increase the USA's overall inflation.
It will be a short period where there will be some higher prices on certain products. That it's inflation is nonsense. It's about certain products for a short time, he said to Fox News on Wednesday.
"Adjustment period"
Other concerns relate to jobs. Thousands of federal employees around the USA are being laid off, while figures this week showed that fewer jobs than expected were created in February.
The dollar has also had a tough week and has weakened.
In an interview with CNBC, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoke about the tariffs being a "one-time price adjustment" and about the economy being in an "adjustment period".
It will be a natural adjustment when we move from public to private spending, said Bessent.
Trump blamed the turbulence on the stock exchange, as well as the interest rate and currency markets, on "globalists" on Friday.
