Investing.com — U.S. President Donald Trump did not unleash tariffs on ‘day one’ as many had feared, however Barclays (LON:) warns that markets should not get complacent for too lengthy, and singles out Apr. 1 as a key date to look at for adjustments to tariff coverage, citing clues from the ‘America First Commerce Coverage’ presidential memorandum.
“President Trump didn’t impose tariffs on day one. As an alternative, he issued a presidential memorandum entitled ‘America First Commerce Coverage,'” Barclays stated in a word. “Buyers ought to learn the memorandum as a blueprint for what to anticipate subsequent on tariffs.”
The memorandum directs sure departments and companies to overview and problem stories by April 1, 2025. These stories, the analysts consider, are prone to serve because the catalysts for brand spanking new tariff proposals or changes to present tariffs.
In additional help of the Apr. 1 as key date to look at, the analysts consider the timeline additionally offers ample time for the Senate to substantiate key positions, together with Howard Lutnick as Commerce Secretary and Jamieson Greer as US Commerce Consultant. These two roles want to be crammed earlier than the Trump administration begins to change tariff coverage, the analysts added.
Following the stories due on Apr. 1, adjustments to tariff coverage may very well be introduced, possible taking impact 30-to 60-days later, Barclays stated.
The presidential memo means that varied tariffs may very well be on the desk together with a common tariff and tariffs concentrating on China, Mexico, and Canada.
Trump has, nonetheless, already threatened to impose 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada beginning Feb 1, and as much as 100% tariffs on China over TikTok, however Barclays believes the timeline proposed in the memorandum carries extra weight relatively than these “off-the-cuff remarks.”
The memorandum additionally requires investigations into the causes of the U.S.’s annual commerce deficits in items and proposals for cures, which may embrace “a worldwide supplemental tariff or different insurance policies.”
This means that “nations and sectors most weak to focused tariffs may very well be these with the biggest commerce deficits in items with the US,” Barclays stated.
