University of Michigan economics professor Justin Wolfers criticized President Donald Trump’s trade policies, suggesting they could trigger a recession. Wolfers highlighted the unpredictability of Trump’s approach, stating that family budgets and business plans depend on White House decisions, which have lacked coherence.
Wolfers summarized the inconsistency in five seconds: “We have tariffs, then we don’t. Then we’re on a pause. Then we’re not. Then we’re going to make deals. And actually, we’re not going to make deals — I’m just going to say a new number.”
This uncertainty has left families and businesses “frozen in place,” unable to plan effectively. Wolfers warned that this paralysis could be the start of a recession. He noted that current U.S. tariff rates are about 10 times higher than those of key trading partners, causing exponentially more economic pain.
Wolfers cautioned that the economic impact of these tariffs could be significantly larger than those imposed in Trump’s first term, affecting everyday products at the grocery store.
— new from HuffPost