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The cat, the rhino and why Trump’s make-believe tariffs will still move markets
A few abstruse animal stories underpin the Taco trade, starting with a famous cat in a box.
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US President Donald Trump is unpredictable by design and his behaviour puts some famous thought experiments into new focus, says the writer.
PHOTO: AFP
John Authers
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If US President Donald Trump announces a tariff on Truth Social, but never actually imposes it, did it exist? If news that tariffs are coming prompts companies to “front-run” the levies, do they even need to happen? If tariffs are imposed, importers pay them, and yet, there’s no seeming effect on prices, need we worry about them?
“The boy who cried tariffs continues to warble his perplexing ballad of random numbers from the White House,” complained Ms Danni Hewson of London investment house AJ Bell this week. “Investors are listening, and nodding to acknowledge the latest verse, but largely getting on with business as usual. Most are probably waiting for the wolf to actually show up before properly evaluating the danger.”
