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Economics viewpoint Tariff war undermines Trump's rate cut hopes
The Guardian
|February 23, 2026
Donald Trump and Denis Healey don't have much in common.
One of the greatest prime ministers Britain never had shares little with what some see as one of the worst occupants of the White House.But Trump would be well advised to remember Healey's first law of holes - when you're in one, stop digging.
Instead, having seen the supreme court reject his sweeping global tariffs on Friday, Trump announced a new global tariff of first 10%, then upped it to 15%. That may have lifted his mood after a stinging rebuke from the top judges in the US, but it risks backfiring on his hopes for hefty interest rate cuts this year.
The trade war, with its call to firms to make products in the US, is one of Trump's signature policies. The logic is to create prosperity and long-term opportunity through bringing more investment and innovation into the US.
It also provided lucrative opportunities to tax Americans, with the tariffs rejected by the supreme court estimated to have raked in $110bn (£81bn) from those importing goods from overseas.
This story is from the February 23, 2026 edition of The Guardian.
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