Trump's USA Trump's tariff policy

Democrats urge: Investigate timed stock trading

Two Democratic senators are urging regulators to stop and investigate potential insider trading within the Trump administration. This comes after several cases in which trading in stock, commodity and forecast markets appears to have been timed with statements from President Donald Trump, Reuters reports.

“Reports of stock trading that occurred shortly before significant policy statements from the White House suggest that federal officials are disseminating price-sensitive, non-public information for their own financial gain,” Senators Mark Warner, Virginia, and Adam Schiff, California, wrote in a letter to the Wall Street regulator SEC and the Department of Defense inspector general.

Several media outlets have reported major market movements that suggest traders had prior knowledge of Trump's announcements regarding the Iran war, tariffs and the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, among other things. The White House denies the allegations.

Analysis: The Nixon era appears to be a golden age

There are few signs that Donald Trump's tariffs are working as intended a year after "liberation day", writes DI's Nils Åkesson. The state's revenues have certainly increased, but these are uncertain after the Supreme Court forced the White House to redo the process. Trade with China has decreased - but increased with countries buying components from there.

"Exporters to the US have not been forced to pay less, as Trump intended. Instead, the tariffs have appeared on American price tags", writes Åkesson.

Financial Times Alan Beattie writes that Trump's tariffs have indeed been shocking, but that they have otherwise not lived up to their promises.

He compares them to US protectionism in the 1970s and concludes that while Richard Nixon backed down and returned to rules-based free trade, Trump has dug in his heels and prefers bilateral agreements. “It is not uncommon for historians to look back on Nixon’s presidency with nostalgia, but his legacy stands as a golden age of multilateral openness compared to Trump’s destructive economic nationalism,” Beattie writes.