‘1929 Again…’: Trump Cautions of Great Depression If US Courts Strike Down Tariffs
Trump stated that billions of dollars are flowing into the US treasury and issued a warning of a ‘1929-style Great Depression’ if the court rules against tariffs.
US President Donald Trump on Friday defended his decision to impose tariffs, stating that they are having a significantly positive effect on the stock market and that billions of dollars are entering the US treasury. However, Trump issued a cautionary note regarding a ‘1929-style Great Depression’ if the court strikes down the tariffs.
“If a Radical Left Court delivers a verdict against us at this stage, attempting to undermine or disrupt the largest generation of money, wealth, and influence the United States has ever experienced, it would be impossible to recover or repay these massive amounts of money and honour. It would resemble 1929 all over again – a GREAT DEPRESSION! If they were intending to rule against the wealth, strength, and power of America, they ought to have done it MUCH EARLIER, at the start of the case, when our entire nation, though it would never get such a chance at GREATNESS again, would not have been exposed to a 1929-style threat,” he wrote on Truth Social.
The US President remarked that there is no way the country could recover from such a judicial disaster. “But I know our Court System better than anyone, no one in history has undergone the trials, hardships, and uncertainties as I have — and though it is absolutely terrible, surprisingly beautiful things can also happen,” he added.
US Tariffs Now Highest Since 1910s: WTO, IMF
The average US tariff now stands at 20.1 per cent, the highest since the early 1910s — except for a brief surge earlier this year — as per new data released on Friday by the WTO and IMF.
This rate, calculated by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is in stark contrast with the 2.4 per cent tariff rate in place when Donald Trump assumed office on January 20.
Trump’s April 2 declaration of “reciprocal” tariffs on the US’s key trading partners, along with subsequent hikes — particularly targeting Chinese imports — temporarily pushed the average rate to 24.8 per cent in May, a level not witnessed since 1904, according to data from the United States International Trade Commission.
A trade “truce” had earlier brought down the exceedingly high tariff rates between the US and China, but that agreement is set to expire next week.
