Overview

• The term "TACO trade," coined by Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong, stands for "Trump Always Chickens Out" and describes the pattern of announcing tariffs only to delay or ease them.
• President Trump snapped at a reporter about the acronym in the Oval Office, calling it "a nasty question" and rejecting suggestions of cowardice under market pressure.
• Democrats have seized on the label to criticize his policy, even deploying a taco truck wrapped in mocking imagery outside Republican National Committee headquarters.
• White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the shifts as strategic flexibility, portraying Trump as a "negotiator in chief" making deals for American businesses.
• Following a court setback, the administration doubled steel and aluminum duties to 50 percent and will soon decide whether to extend or end reprieves on country-specific and EU tariffs in early July.