"I hate to predict things like that." This was US President Donald Trump's response to a Fox News reporter, who asked him during an interview whether he expects the US economy to go into recession.
"The country is going through a period of transition," said the Republican tycoon, who since returning to the White House has been embroiled in disputes with his country's main trading partners - starting with Canada and Mexico.
The US imposed 25% tariffs on them this week before canceling most of them and announcing a postponement of implementation until next month.
When pressed by reporters on Air Force One yesterday to clarify whether he expects America to enter a recession, Trump gave a "neither meat nor fish" response, saying simply: "Who knows? "
Upon his return to the White House, experts fear a recession in the US – technically, this term means that GDP will decline for at least two consecutive quarters.
"Some tariffs could go up. It depends... I don't think they'll go down, but they could go up," Trump said further in his response to Fox News.
But this jump in the American economy has unnerved financial markets, and some companies seem dazed, as if they don't know the terrain they're treading on.
Economists at major US banks warned on Friday that "the longer tariffs remain in place, the greater the risk of recession" .
Members of the American Bankers Association (ABA) committee are also concerned about the impact that Donald Trump's economic policies will have on consumers, given that tariffs lead to price increases.
However, if the basis is “a scenario that predicts that new tariffs will not remain in force throughout 2025 ,” the risk of recession is small, according to these experts.
The most recent period when the US briefly experienced a recession was in early 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic. Millions of people lost their jobs at that time. (A2 Televizion)
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