TACO waffles again, Brunswick Beacon

Brunswick Beacon, 08.28.25

August 11 was just another day ending in “Y.” The sun rose. Inflation did, too, and ‘TACO’ Trump waffled again, delaying for the second time the 145% tariffs he announced on goods imported from China. 

Yahoo Finance’s headline read, “TACO Trump Backs Out of China Tariffs Hours Before Deadline.” The story began, “The president has lived up to his “TACO Trump” nickname by giving China a 90-day extension on increased tariff rates at the 11th hour.” 

Fortune Magazine ran this headline: “Markets are so used to the TACO trade they didn’t even blink when Trump extended a tariff delay with China.” Fortune explained that “the term ‘TACO’ (Trump Always Chickens Out) was coined to describe how investors bet on the markets” in response to Trump’s tariff threats. The “TACO trade” works like this: markets fall when Trump threatens tariffs. Shrewd investors buy stocks at bargain prices, then sell when markets jump after Trump chickens out. 

But markets have become so accustomed to Trump chickening out that this time, as Fortune said, “markets barely blipped.” Paul Donovan is a Global Chief Economist for UBS Wealth Management. Donovan explained the lack of market reaction: “Trump retreated from today’s deadline for higher trade taxes on imports from China. Markets expected this.” 

On July 14, Forbes magazine published its “Trump ‘TACO’ Tracker: Here Are the President’s 28 Tariff Flip-Flops.” Trump just added another flip to his ever-lengthening list of flops. 

Tariffs are inflationary taxes paid by consumers. That’s what the Boston Tea Party was all about! Economists wish Trump would leave tariffs in history’s dustbin, where they belong. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon was glad Trump waffled: “I hate to use the word ‘Taco trade” because I think he did the right thing to chicken out.” 

Want to know what a joke Trump is? Look at the markets. Nobody believes anything he says. Savvy investors are getting rich betting that ‘TACO’ Trump will always chicken out. 

Linda McConnell Baker 

Leland