Overview

• ‘TACO trade’—coined by Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong—describes Trump’s pattern of announcing steep tariffs and then easing them under market or diplomatic pressure.
• Global stocks plunged on April’s ‘Liberation Day’ duties but consistently recovered as Trump delayed or reduced levies against China and the European Union.
• A US Court of International Trade ruled in late May that the IEEPA-based tariffs exceeded presidential authority, prompting an appeal and a temporary stay pending a June 9 briefing.
• Trump defends his tariff shifts as deliberate negotiation tactics, arguing that initial high rates secure better concessions from trade partners.
• Analysts warn that the EU’s extension of its tariff deadline to July 9 and ongoing legal ambiguity will sustain the ‘TACO trade’ cycle of market swings.