Tariffs Delayed Again: Taco Flavored Kisses
Trump. Always. Chickens. Out.
It was TACO Tuesday at the White House yesterday. As the Washington Post reports, the self-declared master negotiator blew past yet another self-imposed trade deadline this week — while falsely insisting he hadn’t changed a thing.
Back in April, Trump paused his planned “Liberation Day” tariffs, after they sent the global financial markets reeling towards a recession. His trade adviser Pete Navarro promised “90 deals in 90 days.” Today is day 90. They have exactly two deals in hand — one with Vietnam, another with Britain — both so short on substance they don’t even meet the basic standards of a typical trade agreement. The “deal” with Great Britain is a non-binding MOU and the Vietnamese deal is so far exists solely as a social media post.
Instead of promised victories, Trump signed an executive order extending the tariff deadline from July 9 to August 1. In a totally batshit Cabinet meeting yesterday, he denied making any change at all. “I didn’t make a change, a clarification, maybe?” Trump rambled. “August 1, they pay.”
The financial world isn’t buying it. The president’s retreat has only reinforced his mockery-rich nickname in Wall Street circles: TACO—“Trump Always Chickens Out.” Coined by Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong, TACO reflects the pattern investors have come to expect: loud threats, empty deals, and quiet retreats. Trump. Always. Chickens. Out.
Even the stock market reacted in real time. Wall Street initially rallied on news of the delay, then tumbled again when Trump insisted tariffs were still coming. “This move actually extends the period of uncertainty,” warned Pamela Coke-Hamilton, executive director of the International Trade Centre, noting that the lack of clarity is “undermining long-term investment and business contracts.”
The White House, of course, insists this is all part of a grand strategy. Trump and his aides claim that the pause is a deliberate pressure tactic meant to extract concessions from America’s trading partners. But there’s little sign the strategy is working. Beyond the two bare-bones “frameworks,” the administration’s most aggressive move so far has been to send out copy pasta tariff threat letters to at least 21 countries while leaving the door open for further negotiations. Oh, and he said yesterday that he’d be putting a 200% tariff on pharmaceutical imports - so much for the prescription drug saving negotiated by the Biden administration. Oh, and while I was getting ready to post this he announced 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods.
Then there’s the further complication of Donald Trump lacking even a basic understanding of global economics. That’s a tough nut to crack though. Luckily, he’s surrounded himself with people like Scott Bessent and Howard Lutnick, who have a deep understanding of global financial markets - and a willingness to put all of that aside in the service of the Mad Tariff King.
The degree to which Trump is just making this shit up as he goes along is remarkable. “If they call up and say, ‘We’d like to do something a different way,’ we’re going to be open to that,” Trump told reporters, a far cry from the “no deals, only tariffs” posture he struck months ago.
Meanwhile, exactly no one is buying this tariff bullshit that Trump is peddling. A June Fox News poll found that 57% of Americans believe tariffs hurt the economy—more than double the number who think they help. And with 84% of voters expressing serious concern about inflation, Trump’s detachment from reality is rubbing up against, well, reality. Consumers aren’t interested in trade wars out of the 19th century* when grocery bills are high and wages feel tight.
*During the reign of the original “Tariff King”, William McKinley. According to Trump’s retelling of history, McKinley’s tariffs made the nation spectacularly rich; and then Teddy Roosevelt pissed it all away. No really, check out this clip from yesterday.
Shockingly, Trump’s decades-long fixation with tariffs has never aligned with real world macroeconomics. Since the 1980s, he’s advocated taxing imports as punishment for countries that “abuse the United States.” But that worldview had little foundation of support with the American people prior to “Liberation Day” — and now most Americans are terrified of this new tariff regime and anxious about the overall state of the economy. Major retailers warn of higher prices. Economists warn of recession. And foreign governments are preparing retaliation.
The legal landscape isn’t any more solid. In May, a federal judge ruled that Trump had overstepped his authority by unilaterally imposing tariffs. An appeals court allowed collections to continue while the case plays out, with oral arguments set for July 31—just one day before the next deadline hits.
Trump - who only ever wins - hates the TACO label. But with each delay and denial, he seems more committed than ever to Mexican cuisine.
Of course, the president and his sycophants keep insisting he’s in control. “The United States,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai, “holds the cards and leverage.” But to Wall Street, Main Street and the rest of the planet, it’s clear Trump’s hand - like his word - is dog shit.
I leave you with “Taco Flavored Kisses”: