Former President Barack Obama has weighed in on Donald Trump’s controversial tariff plans, as market declines persist.
On April 2, 2025, Donald Trump unveiled an ambitious tariff policy, declaring the day “Liberation Day.”
This new measure introduces a blanket 10% tariff on all imports, with sharply elevated rates for 60 countries deemed “worst offenders.”
Among the most affected are Japan, facing a 24% tariff, South Africa at 30%, Vietnam at a staggering 46%, and China, which faces a steep 34% tariff, bringing its total effective rate to a striking 54%.
Addressing the nation from the White House Rose Garden, Trump proclaimed, “We’ve been waiting for a long time.”
He continued, “April 2, 2025, will be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed, and the day we began to ‘Make America Wealthy Again.’”
Trump went on to say, “For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, and plundered by nations—both allies and adversaries alike.”
In the immediate aftermath, financial markets experienced significant turmoil. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 5.5%, the S&P 500 slid 6%, and the Nasdaq Composite plunged into bear market territory.
Investors voiced concerns over escalating costs for both businesses and consumers, with many fearing the onset of a potential recession.
Former President Barack Obama commented on the situation during an appearance at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.
He stated, “I have deep differences of opinion with my most immediate successor—who’s now president once again.”
Obama continued, stating, “I don’t think what we just witnessed in terms of economic policy and tariffs is going to be good for America.”
He expanded on his concerns about the current administration’s broader approach to governance, saying, “I’m more deeply concerned with a federal government that threatens universities if they don’t give up students who are exercising their right to free speech.”
Obama added, “I am more troubled by the idea that a White House can say to law firms, ‘If you represent parties that we don’t like, we’re going to pull all our business or bar you from representing people effectively.’”
He then issued a pointed, eight-word remark: “Imagine if I had done any of this?”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also weighed in, criticizing the tariff strategy and warning of potential damage to the U.S. economy.
He said, “The business community is totally nervous about this. What makes it cause a recession? Businesspeople like certainty, and when Trump is all over the lot, issues new things every day, and it’s so erratic, and now we have China retaliating.”
In response to the U.S. tariffs, China unveiled a 34% retaliatory tariff on all U.S. imports, set to take effect on April 10.
The Chinese finance ministry condemned the U.S. measures, stating they were “not in line with international trade rules,” and described them as “a typical unilateral bullying practice that endangers the stability of the global economic and trade order.”