This is not a political statement. It is an economic statement — Trump’s tariff tirade is madness, and I’ll answer your top 10 questions to prove that this guy is a threat to your wealth, your super, your job and your business.

So, let’s get started in answering the questions I’ve been getting since these over-the-top reciprocal tariffs were revealed on April 2.

1. Will Trump pivot and help the stock market regain its losses?

I think he will but I’m not sure how long he’ll wait. The longer he holds out, the worse it will be for stock prices and your super.

2. Will interest rates come down?

Yes, but central banks will wait to see how serious Trump is about these tariffs and whether he pivots to reduce their impact. Overnight he threatened China with a 100% tariff if they go through with their 34% tariff reaction to his reciprocal tariff. This suggests he’s not in a backdown mood, despite trillions of dollars being wiped off global stock markets.

3. How many rate cuts are expected by economists? Four this year and they’ll come quicker if Trump doesn’t change his mind on the size of the tariffs and who’s affected.
4. Should we expect a global recession?

If Trump maintains his stance on tariffs, a recession is certain. A CNBC survey over the weekend put the chances of a recession at 56%, up 33% on its previous survey!

5. Could Australia dodge a recession?

It would be highly unlikely as our growth rates aren’t high at the moment. Annual growth to December was 1.3%.

6. What would happen to unemployment? Unemployment is 4.1% and 612,000 Australians are out of work. This could go to 6% in a recession. That would mean about 900,000 people out of work, so some 300,000 Aussie could lose their jobs!
7. What will happen to our super?

Since Trump’s tariffs started to spook stock markets, our stock market is down 14%. If you’re a growth investor with $500,000 in super, Trump has cost you $70,000. If you’re a balanced investor, the loss would be closer to $45,000!

8. Should we expect another bad day for stocks? Yes, but there are fund manager and experienced investors picking up quality companies at lower prices. That said, if Trump doesn’t hose down the fire in his belly for these red hot tariffs, there could be another leg down for stocks.
9. Is anyone trying to talk sense into Trump?

Jamie Dimon, boss of JPMorgan Chase (the USA’s biggest bank) has gone public saying these tariffs will raise inflation and slow down the economy. While he was too respectful, Wall Street CEOs are scared of Trump. The Trump supporter and billionaire Bill Ackman, who endorsed Trump’s 2024 presidential bid, warned over the weekend that going ahead with the new tariffs was tantamount to launching an “economic nuclear war.” CNN reported the following: “In a post on X, Ackman said “business investment will grind to a halt, (and) consumers will close their wallets” if the new levies do indeed come into force. “We will severely damage our reputation with the rest of the world that will take years and potentially decades to rehabilitate,” he added in the post that was viewed 10.6 million times.” The world needs more intelligent leaders within America to start sticking it to Trump.

10. How can this Trump wealth destruction be stopped?

Trump needs to pivot and soften his stance on these tariffs being negotiable, with reason thrown into the equation. Also, Congress can gang up and throw the legislation that has given Trump the power to do this without approval from the elected officials of Congress.

Overnight, Wall Street tried to fight gravity. The tech-heavy Nasdaq did end up a mere 15 points. while the Dow Jones index lost 349.26 points, which is small by recent post-tariff standards. Our market is expected to open up 70 points higher! However, if we don’t see Trump give some ground on his excessive tariffs, then we could see stock prices dive again. On the flipside, if he admits he’s up for negotiation on setting reasonable tariffs, stock prices will rebound but the uncertainty this has created means we won’t see markets return to previous high levels for some time.