President Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs this week on dozens of countries, with some of the steepest tariffs levied on some of America’s biggest trading partners. The move, arguably the most far-reaching of his second term so far, sent stocks into a nosedive and substantially raised the prospect of a recession.
Voters were bracing for the effects in their own lives, but some said they were, for now, waiting and watching to see how all of this plays out.
— Campbell Robertson
‘As a business owner, you don’t make money right away, right?’
Hamid Chaudhry, 53, from Reading, Pa.
“I live in Trump country,” Hamid Chaudhry said. “Nobody is panicking.”
The owner of a farmer’s market, he said he has taken a 25 percent cut in profits over the past year because of the rising costs of goods and services. He said he believed that in the next few months, the pain could run even deeper, so he was building up a rainy-day fund. But he was hopeful that the tariffs would eventually pay off, most likely by the next presidential election.
“As a business owner, you don’t make money right away, right?” said Mr. Chaudhry, who voted for Mr. Trump. “When I listen to Trump, what he’s saying is, ‘It’s a short-term pain, but there’s the light at the end of the tunnel.’”