David Smith: Washington Bureau Chief for the Guardian on the reaction to Donald Trump's tariffs

Fallout from US President Donald Trump's tariffs announced over the weekend has continued to be felt around the world. 

The stock market's S&P fell 10.5%, but New Zealand only fell 0.5%. 

Experts are warning tariffs could push prices up for consumers, and protesters have taken to the streets in their thousands as a result. 

Washington Bureau Chief for the Guardian David Smith talks to Mike Hosking about the aftermath. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The world has been continuing to react to Trump's at
tariff's announcements. Over the weekend, the stock market in America
was a sad spectacle, as I've told you a really Thursday. Friday,
the smp fel ten point five percent. Remarkably, New Zealand
did quite well, falling zero point five percent. Experts warned
the tariffs could push up prices for consumers. Donald Trump
is urging the United States to hang tough because it's

(00:20):
not pleasant for them right now. Washington Bureau chief for
The Guardian is David Smith, and David Smith joins me. Now,
goodbring to Youllie, talk us through the reaction in the
United States. People are protesting and tell us about hands off.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
Yeah. I think people are still bewildered and somewhat horrified
for the most part by these tasks, and even loyalist
to Donald Trump and the Republican Party are struggling to
deal with it, and some of them are a critical
or even floating legislation to curtail Pump's power over tariff.

(00:56):
Larry Summer, the former Treasury secretary under Bill Clinton, describes
this as the greatest self inflicted wound on the American
economy in history. And as you mentioned, the stock market,
they're six trillion dollars wiped off in just a couple
of days last week. And yes, that helped fuel processes
that were going to happen already. Yesterday and on Saturday,

(01:20):
they had the hands off protests in New York, Washington,
pities all across America, millions of people taking to the
streets to demonstrate against Donald Trump and Elon Musk and
all they've done so far. And these process seemed peaceful, determined.

(01:40):
I think there's a general feeling or at least a
hope that you know, this was the week when the
resistance to Trump really started to wake up after weeks
of being somewhat somewhat mused.

Speaker 1 (01:53):
But here's the thing. Donald Trump campaigned on this, Donald
Trump got a popular mandate to do this, and so
Donald Trump went and did this, So they can't be surprised.
And Donald Trump said all along it's going to be tough,
and he once again has repeated that, urging people to
hang tough. So is there any faith that the markets
will change and that this will work eventually?

Speaker 2 (02:17):
Well, it's only true. Trump did say on the campaign
trail he would impose tariff. And I think maybe even
some of his own supporters wondered if it was one
of those moments where Trump says one thing to sound
tough but doesn't actually follow through. And I'm sure many
Republicans were hoping that. But this is a promise he
has kept. And you know, today on the Sunday morning

(02:42):
TV shows, which always a big part of the political diet,
You've heard contradictory messages from Trump's cabinet members where this
is going, some saying he's absolutely determined to stick with
it come what may. It's a real core belief of
Donald Trump going about the eighties that America is being
ripped off and that tariffs are the solution, but other

(03:04):
cabinet members suggesting perhaps they're useful leverage, they're a bargaining tool.
In the coming weeks, there'll be lots of foreign leaders
calling to maybe negotiate side deals and give Trump some
some room to back away from these tariffs. And what
we don't know is whether the decline of the stock
market will force his hand. In the past, Trump seems

(03:28):
to care a lot about the stock market. Maybe it will,
maybe it will get through to him eventually, But you know,
still a great deal of uncertainty here about where this
is going. And I think you know, all eyes again
will be on the market this this coming week to
see is this there's nose dives continues and becomes something
like a crash or a recession.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
Good stuff. David Smith from the Washington Bureau of the Guardian.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
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Speaker 1 (03:55):
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