President Donald Trump was confronted with an acronym pointed at his trade policies this week — and while it may sound tasty, the phrase appeared to leave a bad taste in the president’s mouth.
“TACO trade,” which stands for “Trump always chickens out,” was coined by Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong but has since spread across Wall Street and the internet, mocking the president’s back-and-forth on tariff policies.
Investors engage in “TACO trade” by buying stocks at lower costs after Trump announces new tariffs or increases them, then reap the benefits when the markets rebound as he delays or backs off of them.
Trump’s tariffs, announced in April on what the president called “Liberation Day,” overturned decades of U.S. trade policy, disrupted global commerce and left the stock market in a state of flux.
The Trump administration appealed the decision on Thursday, with the court temporarily delaying the judges’ order.
This week, President Donald Trump was presented with an acronym about his trade policies, and although it might sound appetizing, the president seemed to find the phrase offensive.
Originally created by Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong, the term “TACO trade,” which stands for “Trump always chickens out,” has since become popular on Wall Street and the internet to ridicule the president’s back and forth on tariff policies.
The phrase conveys the sentiment that Trump has repeatedly delayed deadlines, reduced tariff percentages, and retracted his initial demands despite imposing high tariffs on nations, particularly China and EU countries, Armstrong said.
When Trump declares new tariffs or raises existing ones, investors engage in “TACO trade” by purchasing stocks at a discount. They then profit when the markets recover and he delays or removes the tariffs.
One reporter asked Trump’s response to the now-viral Wall Street remark during his Wednesday interview with reporters in the Oval Office.
The statement, “Oh, I chicken out? Isn’t that nice? I’ve never heard that,” was from Trump.
The president continued by defending his decision to postpone the deadline for 50% tariffs on EU nations until July 9 and to reduce tariffs on China for 90 days.
Trump, clearly agitated by the question, called it “nasty” and asked, “You call that chickening out?”. “,”.
“I think we really helped China tremendously because, you know, they were having great difficulty because we were basically going cold turkey with China,” the president went on. “The high tariff was preventing us from conducting business. But I was aware of that. “,”.
According to Trump, the reporter should never repeat his remarks. “That’s a nasty question. “..”.
In April, on what the president dubbed “Liberation Day,” Trump announced tariffs that reversed decades of U.S. S. trade policy, caused international trade to be disrupted, and caused the stock market to fluctuate.
Trump’s broad tariffs, however, are in legal limbo following a three-judge panel of the U.S. S. . When Trump used the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to declare a national emergency and defend the international levies, the Court of International Trade decided that he had overreached his authority.
The court temporarily postponed the judge’s order after the Trump administration filed an appeal of the ruling on Thursday.
A briefing schedule has been established by the court through June 9.
