Trump waves tariffs like a remote control: swing markets and suspicions of manipulation

Tariffs announced and then suspended affect global stock markets. Billion-dollar swings in Europe

Donald Trump continues to use the tool of tariffs with extreme ease, generating shocks on the global financial markets. A sequence of announcements, denials, extensions and cryptic messages – often conveyed through his Truth platform – causes waves of selling and buying that move billions of dollars, with immediate and repeated effects on the main global stock exchanges.

The mechanism is now well established: Trump announces a tightening of tariffs, the stock markets plummet. Then he intervenes with an accommodating message, the markets rebound. This has happened several times before, but two recent episodes directly affect Europe.

The first dates back to 2 April, the day of the so-called ‘liberation day’ of duties, with a generalised collapse of the stock exchanges, followed by a 90-day suspension announced on 11 April. Just before the reversal, Trump published an unequivocal message on Truth: ‘It’s a great time to buy’. The markets respond with a quick reversal.

Same script on 23 May, when Trump raises the threat of 50% tariffs from 1 June against Europe. Again, the following night comes the about-face: extension granted until 9 July. Once again, the stock markets first plummet and then rise again.

It is enough to observe the performance of Piazza Affari to understand the economic scale of the phenomenon. From 2 to 9 April, the Ftse Mib fell from 38,554 to 32,730 points. Then it recovered up to 40,656 on 16 May. A new drop on 23 May to 39,475, followed by an ascent towards 40,000 points already in the following hours. Fluctuations that imply colossal losses and gains for those who move with timing.

‘The suspicion is that a lot of people are getting rich, that there is some kind of agiotage,’ said Italian “Action” party secretary Carlo Calenda. In light of the numbers and timing, the line between political strategy and market disruption appears increasingly thin.

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(Source and photo: © AndKronos)