Next week two big events will rule them all.
Tariff Wednesday: The Trump Administration has promised to release details of the big round of U.S. reciprocal tariffs. The UnitedStates will raise tariffs on exports from individual countries to match the tariff rate that country imposes on U.S. goods and to reflect other trade barriers that, in the WhiteHouse view, the country has imposed on U.S. goods. Since the definition of “other trade barriers” is subjective–leaks have said the the administration considers the European Union’s Value Added Tax, essentially a complicated version of a sales tax, and the bloc’s food regulations trade barriers–in practice the Trump Administration can set tariff rates wherever it wants. The details will be very interesting–especially towards the European Union. And the final tariff rates will be subject to heated carve outs.
Jobs Friday: The March U.S. Jobs Report will be released at 8:30 a.m. New York time. Economists expect the jobs numbers to show a slowing economy with job additions to fall to 135,000 from 151,000 in February. But the unemployment rate is expected to stay level at 4.1%.
