The emergency of the moment is the economy. President Donald Trump declared a
national emergency to address a long-standing trade imbalance and declare a global trade war. After a week of market calamity and recession fears, Trump blinked on the most severe new taxes, which his aides had recently promised were not a negotiating tactic but were meant to restore trade balance. Instead, he’ll
focus tariffs on China — now set at 125% — and give other countries 90 days to negotiate out of 10% blanket tariffs that remain in place.
Markets
surged with relief.
Either the president’s economic team was bluffing when they promised the reciprocal tariffs were here to stay or the economic minds in the White House saw signs of an emerging real-time emergency — a cratering
bond market alongside a cratering stock market — and realized a full-on economic implosion was possible. The economic emergency is just one of a galaxy of emergencies and emergency authorities Trump’s administration cites for his actions.
