Wednesday’s economic data was one of the most confusing releases in recent memory, according to the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board.
“This may be the weirdest GDP report ever,” the board wrote in an op-ed. “The top line growth number looks good, and the White House naturally touted it. This reverses the 0.5% decline in GDP in the first quarter, which was largely explained by a surge of imports as businesses tried to front-run the anticipated tariff barrage. Growth in the first half was a mediocre 1.2%.”
“The crazy swing in imports shows how much Mr. Trump’s up-and-down trade policies have disrupted business decisions and left companies scrambling to adapt,” the editorial continued.
President Donald Trump has consistently said his tariff policies would unleash an economic boom in America. However, many economists are skeptical of that outcome, and some have said the policy is likely to bring a recession.
Tariffs are also at the center of Trump’s disagreements with the Federal Reserve. Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that the tariffs were still causing uncertainty in the market, and the central bank would hold off on lowering interest rates until a later date.
WSJ’s editorial board also noted that the impact of the tariffs has been muted so far. But, there doesn’t appear to be a boom on the horizon like Trump has claimed.
“There’s no recession signal in the second-quarter numbers, but there’s no boom either,” the editorial reads in part. “The best path to a real golden age is to calm trade and migrant deportation uncertainty, ease regulatory bottlenecks, and unleash American business to invest and create jobs.”