1/13 It's curious that Trump's tariff hikes are the largest since the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 widely seen as one of the worst policy blunders in US history. They were enacted at the onset of the Great Depression. A thread 🧵

Interesting idea. Any work studying this seriously? Do we know how much income it would generate? Might be worth writing an opinion piece that would reach a broader audience. We need thoughtful people to engage in this moment. #econtwitter

JUST NOW: Senator Mark Warner GOES OFF on Jamieson Greer asking why we would tariff Australia: “Answer the question on Australia! We have a trade surplus with Australia! We have a free trade agreement! They are an incredibly important national security partner. Why were they

Rand Paul: "The whole [tariffs] debate is so fundamentally backwards & upside down. It's based on a fallacy & the fallacy is this: that somehow in a trade, someone must lose. That somehow when you trade with someone, someone is taking advantage of you... I have a trade deficit

This is the plumbing view of Treasury markets: " These are supposed to be safe assets." So, any time Treasurys are sold off, there has to be a plumbing problem. Markets are not functioning. In this case, the plumbing problem is in the Treasury basis trade. Central banks like the

in a parliamentary democracy, right about now, you'd face a vote of no confidence as the PM.

Sorry folks, but even after today’s flip-flop, we’re still looking at the bigliest tariffs since the 1930s.

unusual_whales Just so non-traders understand the bombshell here: Right before the S&P 500 (SPY) suddenly spiked, someone bought a huge number of call options — bets that the index would go up that same day. These were zero-day options, meaning they expire worthless by the end of the day

U.S. citizens (like me) enjoy the exorbitant privilege of having our currency, the U.S. dollar, be the world's reserve currency. Among other benefits, that keeps U.S. interest rates low. President Trump's wild ups and downs on tariffs have put the U.S. dollar in danger.

🚨We just released a paper examining the long-terms economic impacts of "Liberation Day" tariffs. In summary: while these tariffs may help reduce the trade deficit, they will impose significant costs on the U.S. economy after retaliation by trade partners.

This chart was made in America by skilled artisans. It also provides important context for understanding our current tariff situation.

This is definitely illegal trading. We will see if the SEC is still willing to do enforcement. If not, trust in US financial markets will evaporate. #econtwitter

The bond markets did seem poised to deliver him a Liz Truss moment.

When Americans voluntarily quit jobs, they often leave grueling manufacturing jobs. They take jobs with more pay, more flexibility and less risk of injury. So, your objective is to send knowledge workers back to factories?

The lesson of the "China shock" isn't actually about trade. It's about how hard it is for workers and communities to adapt to rapid economic changes. Now Trump is trying to reshape the global economy overnight, with potentially devastating consequences. nytimes.com/2025/04/11/bus…

Like many, I've long wondered how a leading nation's whole society fell silent and offered little resistance as it lost its freedoms in just a few months in 1933. Today, I'm less surprised.

For thoughtful, apolitical and accessible analysis of tariffs and its global effects, see cepr.org/voxeu/trump-an… #TariffWar

This gives me hope on a day where hope is hard to summon. Maybe universities can be the start of an effective resistance?