A leading global economist admitted that President Donald Trump’s tariff strategy was far smarter than critics initially believed, even himself. While many warned that tariffs would harm the economy, Trump’s tough stance on trade forced key countries to come to the negotiating table and secured billions in new government revenue.
On Friday, Wall Street economist Torsten Sløk, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, acknowledged during a White House press conference that President Trump’s tariff policies may have outsmarted everyone. Back in April, Sløk predicted the tariffs would trigger a recession by summer. Yet now, halfway through the season, no such downturn has materialized. At the time, he warned that Trump’s tariffs would hurt small businesses and disrupt the flow of goods from China to the U.S.—a prediction that has yet to come true.
“This is the best question I've ever been asked... We're taking in hundreds of billions of dollars — no inflation whatsoever,” Trump said.
REPORTER: A leading global economist just did a 180 and says your tariff plan, you may have outsmarted everybody with it...@POTUS: "This is the best question I've ever been asked... We're taking in hundreds of billions of dollars — no inflation whatsoever." pic.twitter.com/nrphjiAfRT
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 27, 2025
However, Sløk suggested a potential approach: maintain the 30% tariffs on Chinese imports while imposing a 10% tariff on imports from all other countries. These countries would have a 12-month window to reduce non-tariff barriers and liberalize trade access. He added that extending the timeline by a year would give both other nations and U.S. businesses time to adjust to a new environment of permanently higher tariffs—and could also increase U.S. government revenue.
Earlier this month, President Trump threatened to ramp up tariffs on steel and aluminum by 50 percent.
“We are going to be imposing a 25% increase,” Trump told a crowd of steelworkers in Pittsburgh. “We’re going to bring it from 25% to 50%, the tariffs on steel into the United States of America, which will even further secure the steel industry in the United States. Nobody’s going to get around that.”
Meanwhile, Trump postponed the planned 50 percent tariff on EU imports, initially slated for June, until July 9 while negotiations remain active.
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