On April 2nd of this year, President Donald Trump declared a national crisis. He claimed that foreign trade had put a detriment on the country, and in order to protect workers and our economy that he must put tariffs (taxes) on products entering America. With the usage of the IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977), he was able to keep his claim that there had been “harmful policies” and high taxes present by other countries which posed a danger to our country. Officially, there’d be a 10% tariff base while other countries with larger trade deficits would have higher taxes starting April 5. On April 9, 11-50% of taxes for other countries were implemented, and on April 10 there was a 125% tariff on products entering from China, Hong Kong, and Macau. These tariffs will remain until Trump determines whether or not the crisis has found a common ground with countries, or be figured out. 

On May 5, the economy suffered severely as countries struggled to find a way around the increasingly higher prices. As opposed to last year’s United States' gross domestic product increasing at a rate of 2.4%, as of May 2025, it’s growing at a rate of 0.3%. Imports are in the negatives as well. Consumers have been unable to accommodate the rising prices of products – as a result of the new tariffs raising manufacturing costs – leaving a detrimental impact on the economy. Food prices have raised 2.8% The stock market faced a severe decrease in funds as it crashed more than 11%. Trump’s plan to save the country by implementing these taxes simultaneously makes him look foolish as his best friends – billionaires like Elon Musk – will suffer the most. The wealthy population – as well as a good portion of simple people with 9-5’s – have invested a lot of money into the stock market, which bites them back as opposed to the countries that he’s attempting to punish. It’s clear that the head of our country is not thinking forward to our future, but rather than trying to punish those he’s fighting with at the moment. Between the new tariffs and the alarmingly low wages being given to employees, it’s guaranteed to make people survive by barely staying afloat. Living paycheck to paycheck may not even be possible anymore with the increase in everything now. It’s hard to see any positive impact Trump’s had in his first 100 days of his second term as it looks like we’re nearing a harsh recession.