Since President Trump took office for the second time in 2025, tariff talks are all the rage and markets have entered a new phase of extreme volatility.

Since tariffs can be a good and a bad thing, we think it’s necessary to have some additional context beyond what the mainstream media seems to be focused on specifically - which is higher prices and inflation.

To understand the potential economic impacts moving forward and how these tariffs might affect markets and your investment portfolio, we need to zoom out and take a look at more than just the current headlines.

More specifically, I discuss:

• What are tariffs in layman’s terms, and why do they exist?
• What are the potential impacts of tariffs?
• What has happened historically with tariffs in the U.S. and how did the stock market react?
• What happened to inflation and the stock market during President Trump’s first term and his “America First” trade policies?
• What can happen with inflation and volatility in the stock market when tariffs are increased?
• LISTENER QUESTION: Collecting Social Security Benefits while working and when benefit payments adjust for additional years of earnings.

Resources From The Episode:

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Key moments:

(02:01) What are tariffs and why do they exist?

(03:14) Potential impact of tariffs

(04:19) Historical facts about U.S. tariffs

(06:53) Potential impacts of tariffs on your investment portfolio

(07:36) What happened the last time President Trump’s Administration increased tariffs?

(14:42) Listener question: Collecting Social Security while working and benefit adjustments