Donald Trump is a big fan of Taco Tuesdays. But in his case, it isn’t about downing large amounts of this Mexican street food staple. Instead, it’s about serving TACO, aka “Trump always chickens out,” every day of the week in the trade war he started but doesn’t know how to fight.
TACO Trade Game is More Damaging Than It Seems
Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on a lengthy list of countries on April 2, or “Liberation Day,” as he called it. But just a week later, he decided to put a pause until July in order to “negotiate” deals with countries. Then, he threatened China with a 145% tariff, before deciding to reduce it to 30% on most goods. Lately, his 50% tariff on shipments from the European Union has also been delayed for at least 90 days.
But, the thing that Trump doesn’t realize is that his Taco trade game is more damaging than it seems. Every time he makes a threat and then backs out, he increases the level of uncertainty. Investors and businesses are kept on their toes, trying to predict his next move, calculate how damaging it might be, and how quickly he’ll change his mind. That isn’t sustainable, despite everyone knowing that Trump always chickens out.
It Is Now Certainty That Trump Always Chickens Out
When he introduced his sweeping tariffs on the rest of the world, Trump believed every country would cave and accept his terms. However, the investors embarked on a swift sell-off out of fear of consequences, causing the stock market to crater first. Trump then walked back on his plan, announced pauses, and toned down his threats.
Trump isn’t shy about pulling the trigger when it comes to making unfathomable decisions that go against all common wisdom. However, he doesn’t have the guts to follow through with it and see the end result.
Trump Always Chickens Out but Doesn’t Like It
It doesn’t come as a surprise that Trump doesn’t like the way his TACO trade shenanigans are viewed. When asked about the “Trump always chickens out” term, which was coined by Robert Armstrong of the Financial Times, the U.S. President became antsy. He said that he “never heard that” before adding: Don’t ever say what you said … That’s a nasty question. To me, that’s the nastiest question.” Perhaps it was, but that doesn’t make it any less true.
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