President Trump might be investigated for insider trading after he urged followers on his Truth Social media to buy securities shortly before he paused new retaliatory tariffs on countries, which then resulted in a massive surge in the stock market.
How It Happened
- Following Trump’s mantra to Make America Great Again, the president issued reciprocatory tariffs on imports from individual countries which ranged from 10% to 50%.
- The market had been down due to the news of the tariff hike.
- Trump posts on Truth Social, “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!”
- He then suddenly extended the start date for the tariff by 90 days, shortly after the stock market opened, and just hours after the new tariff took effect. According to him, the move was part of a negotiation tactic, though it was also analyzed to be due to eminent retaliatory tariffs from affected countries. However, import tax on Chinese goods was hiked from 84% to 125%
- Stock prices rose sharply due to the new announcement.
Following the timeline of events, Senator Adam Schiff has called for an investigation into Donald Trump for illegal insider trading. He is pushing for a full-scale investigation to determine if the President or anybody close to him had profited from advance knowledge of the sudden change in tariff plan.
His move was also supported by Senator Tim Kaine, who referred to his initial tariff plans as a “nonsensical policy.”
However, the calls for a new investigation of Trump for financial crime are facing an uphill task because the congressional committees in charge are largely Republican, and unless there is bipartisan support, it will not see the light of day.
Meanwhile, analysts determined that Trump’s erratic and unreasonably high tariff on imports would only erase trust for stability in the market, increase the cost of production in the United States, and drive up inflation.
Chinese-made and reliant products like electronics, mobile phones such as iPhones, clothing, solar panels, and many others will see significant price increases, which will ultimately be borne by Americans.
In response, China has increased its import tariff on US-made goods to 84%. America’s greatest export to China which is agricultural products valued at $24bn per year might be threatened.
China exported $440bn to the US in 2024, making it the greatest supplier. Meanwhile, the U.S. exported only $145bn to China, a very wide trade deficit Trump seeks to balance but which economists fear might topple its supply chain.
Though the United States is greatly reliant on China to date, successive administrations seek to ease it by increasing and maintaining their import tariffs.
