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- [Freight Weekly] Trump's 'Liberation Day' Tariffs Will Harm the Economy
[Freight Weekly] Trump's 'Liberation Day' Tariffs Will Harm the Economy
Recession fears. Truck drivers can use CBD oil. NTSB identifies problem bridges.

🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥 President Donald Trump has adopted “Liberation Day” tariffs to bolster U.S. manufacturing. Unfortunately, the markets and members of his party are alarmed by growing fears of a Trump-backed economic recession. Also, one economist told Yahoo Finance the economy is “dangerously vulnerable.”
The overall global economic outlook has been cut due to the anticipation of April 2, 2025, sweeping tariffs, according to a March interim report published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. “The high level of geopolitical and policy uncertainty at present brings with it substantial risks,” said the organization’s interim report.
Interim Report - “OECD Economic Outlook, Interim Report March 2025”

Ryan Sweet, an economist at Oxford Economics, told Yahoo Finance that the U.S. economy has become “dangerously vulnerable” to a recession over the next 12 months as tariff rates are set to climb. These levels of disruption have not been seen in this country’s trade and industrial policy in at least 100 years.
Prices for consumers are expected to climb, especially for products like iPhones and upcoming releases, including Nintendo Switch 2 consoles (per 404 Media).
“The markets are going to boom, the stock is going to boom, the country is going to boom,” claimed President Trump in remarks to reporters today, noting that the rollout of his sweeping tariff policies is somehow “going very well.” Immediate harm has been seen, including a significant selloff in stock indices globally.
News reports indicate that the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by nearly 1,400 points upon the announcement of Trump’s tariffs and other countries’ intentions to retaliate through trade and economic policies. S&P 500 fell by nearly 4 percent. In London, the FTSE 100 Index had its worst day since August 2024. At least $2 trillion was wiped out in 20 minutes, according to reports. This doesn’t signal an economy that is “going to boom,” as Trump said. Protectionism will not work.
Markets will continue to fall, as well. “The simple fact that the stock market is getting crushed doesn’t mean the declines are almost over,” reports Barron’s.
“The Trump Tariff Tax is the largest peacetime tax hike in U.S. history.” - Former VP Mike Pence (Mediaite)
Foreign governments are also prepared to fight back. The European Union said it would not stand for aggressive trade policies. Ursula von der Leyen, the current president of the European Commission, told the bloc’s lawmakers, “Europe has not started this confrontation. We do not necessarily want to retaliate, but if it is necessary, we have a strong plan to retaliate and we will use it.” Canada’s new prime minister, Mark Carney, warned tariffs “will rupture” the global economy.
Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president, praised current exemptions from the push against Trump tariffs, but the holiday for the ally is going to be short-lived.
Domestically, not all Republicans are in favor of Trump’s sweeping tariffs. For example, GOP senators sided with the Democratic minority to advance a bill that would protect Canada from Trump’s targeted and expansive tariff policies.
Bottom line: The U.S. economy is at high risk of recession as Trump's sweeping tariff policies trigger market selloffs, wiping out $2 trillion. While Trump insists the economy will "boom," foreign governments, including the EU and Canada, are preparing to retaliate, and even some Republicans are pushing back against his aggressive trade measures.
CONTEXT: “Trump’s Tariffs Are Designed to Backfire” - The Atlantic

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TODAY, right now, shippers need quotes on the following loads:
📈BY THE NUMBERS…📈
⛽ Diesel: $3.592/ gal (⬆️from $3.549 last week) - EIA
✈️ Air Cargo Index (Feb. ‘25): 173.1 (⬇️from 186.6 in Jan. ‘25) - FRED
🚢 Global Container Index: $2,049.80 on April 3, 2025 - Freightos
🧑⚖️SCOTUS narrowly sides with a trucker who used CBD oil: In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a truck driver who was fired after testing positive for marijuana, accepting his argument that he had used a mislabeled CBD oil product to treat a 2012 injury. Transport Topics reporting…
🤌Fix it: The National Transportation Safety Board announced that it recommends 68 bridges be evaluated for the risk of collapse from vessel strike, like the Key Bridge.
NTSB: Press release here…
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