Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, Money, US News, World News
The US' new tax hikes on foreign goods could have a devastating domino effect on Americans' life savings, financial advisers have warned.
In case you missed it, President Donald Trump declared April 2 as 'Liberation Day' for the US, announcing that American workers will no longer be 'ripped off' while freeing the States from depending on foreign goods.
To this end, he inflicted a series of tariffs on imported goods from across the globe - and came prepared to the announcement from the White House Rose Garden with a hefty 'retaliatory tariffs' chart that crunched the numbers on the tax hikes per country.
Advert
For example, goods from the EU will come with a 20 percent tariff, UK imports will have the 'baseline' 10 percent hike applied and some could be hit with an eye-watering 50 percent levy.
With the POTUS fanning the flames of an already raging 'trade war', it is expected that other countries will retaliate with tariff hikes on US goods, as shown by Canada which has threatened a raft of retaliatory measures in recent weeks.
Economists have already warned that this to-and-froing of sudden tax hikes is likely to not only frighten the stock market and jolt the economy, but see American consumers foot the bill on everything from their groceries to cars. That, and tariff hikes haven't exactly gone down well for the US historically.
To add to the drama, financial advisers are now preparing to brief citizens inching closer to their retirement to tread with caution as global stocks are continuing to reel from the tariff shock, as per the Financial Times.
In a little less than 24 hours, global stocks fell as of April 3, while Futures tracking the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq went down 2.8 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively.
In fact, the S&P has fallen five percent in the first three months of the year, making it the worst quarter since 2022, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 10 percent due to stock issues in companies like Tesla, reports Business Insider.
The drop has already eaten a chunk of some investments in the stock market, and could turn to chomp through retirement plans.
Peter Ricchiuti, a senior professor of finance at Tulane University's Freeman School of Business, told the outlet: "For the small investor, the decline in value will be devastating, particularly for retired baby boomers."
Exacerbating matters is the tax hikes which he says have made it 'impossible' for business owners to make decisions.
"The worst part of all this is that these economic wounds are self-inflicted," he added.
Founder of Tailored Wealth, Georgia Taylor also told FT that the new tariffs have 'caused market volatility, impacting pension values'.
She advised long-term investors to 'ride it out' while those nearing retirement to monitor the situation and set financial plans in place.
However, Dan Brent, of DFB Wealth, said not to 'panic'.
"The media will portray tumbling or plunging investments and it is the job of us financial planners to help our clients to drown out the noise," he said. "For those looking to retire soon, it might be that one holds off accessing pension benefits in the very short term, however this will pass, so enjoy the sunny weather, stick to your plan and don’t read the newspapers."
Seán Standerwick, director of MLP Wealth, agreed, saying: "It is important to not be emotional, not overreact and stick to the long term plan."
