Talk of a Trump Slump is gaining momentum on Wall Street and in C-suites.
“This is chaos reigns. President Trump missed a golden opportunity to reset his economic policy around investment in jobs instead of tariffs. The tariff policy is not working,” former Medtronic CEO and veteran public company board member Bill George said on Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid (video above).
The Ls for Team Trump are starting to accrue.
The Supreme Court struck down most of President Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Feb. 20. The court ruled 6-3 that the president lacks authority to impose tariffs under a 1977 emergency powers law.
The court wrote that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) contains no authorization for tariffs and that Congress, not the president, holds the constitutional power to tax.
Read more: The latest news and updates on Trump’s tariffs
Trump responded furiously, calling the decision a betrayal. He swiftly imposed a new 10% global tariff. Then, in a post on Truth Social, the president said he would raise the 10% global tariff to the “fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level.”
This surcharge would remain in place until late July, Goldman Sachs estimated, followed by longer-lasting and potentially higher tariffs under Section 301.
“This leaves a substantial amount of uncertainty, even if markets initially welcomed the perceived clarity of ‘only’ a 10% tariff on Friday,” Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid said.
Beyond tariffs, the US economy slowed markedly in terms of growth in the fourth quarter of 2025 amid the government shutdown. Inflation hit a 2025 high of 2.9% in December. The Federal Reserve is unlikely to cut interest rates in the near term.
And the administration’s friendliness to the crypto industry hasn’t been enough to spark renewed buying in bitcoin (BTC-USD) in 2026. The cryptocurrency is embroiled in a straight-up bear market.
George said the business community is currently frozen on what to do next, post-tariff decision.
“If I were a CEO, I would hold off [doing anything] because I have no idea what the tariffs are,” George said. “They changed six times in the weekend, so I have no idea by country what it is, so I can’t even run the numbers. I don’t know whether to invest in the United States or a factory overseas, how much to ship, how much to import. It’s chaotic.”
Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance’s Executive Editor and a member of Yahoo Finance’s editorial leadership team. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.