Trading Places and Uncertainty: Much angst recently in the business community regarding the tariffs and our country’s trading partners. But on a local level, do you know which country may have the greatest impact on your state’s economy? Economist Brian Wesbury offers a very interesting map of the US, and which country represents the greatest proportion of imports to each state. (I didn’t know that Korea represents the high percentage of Alaska’s imports). Check out this one-page overview of Mapping State Trade Trends.
In a separate post, Mr. Wesbury confesses that “this is an incredibly difficult time to forecast…While it is unclear just how tariffs will ultimately be rolled out, for how long, and if/how countries will retaliate, consumers and businesses are already reacting with changes in activity. The incoming data is showing a weakening economic environment. Check out the rest of his thoughts for why he is “Uncertain.”
Inflation now and later: ITR Economics’ Lauren Seidel-Baker explore inflation in the short term due to tariffs and policy reason,…in the long term due to due to, as she says, “fundamental and non-policy factors.” Her thoughts on interest rates are worthing listening to as well in ITR’s FedWatch.
