US economic worries mount as Trump implements import tariffs

With his flurry of tariffs, government layoffs and spending freezes, there are growing worries President Donald Trump may be doing more to harm the US economy than to fix it.

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Since January, the economic policy uncertainty index has spiked 41% to a level, 334.5, that in the past signaled a recession. Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford University economist and co-developer of the uncertainty index, said it's unclear how this will play out, but he's worried.

"I have an increasing fear we will enter into what may become known as the 'Trump recession," he said. "Ongoing policy turbulence and a tariff war could tip the US economy into its first recession in five years." That last recession occurred under Trump because of the coronavirus pandemic.

For his part, Trump seems comfortable with the uncertainty that he's generating, saying that any financial pain from import taxes is a mere "disruption" that will eventually lead to more factories relocating to the United States and stronger growth.

If Trump's gambit succeeds, the Republican would cement his reputation as an unconventional leader who proved doubters wrong. But if Trump's tariffs backfire, much of the price would be paid by everyday Americans who could suffer from job losses, lower wages, higher inflation and, possibly, an injured sense of national pride.

In an interview to air Sunday on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures," Trump was pressed to provide some clarity on his tariffs agenda that has caused uncertainty to fester. The president largely hedged his answer and blamed the 68 drop in the stock market over the past two weeks on "big globalists."