Consumer Outlook Shifts Towards a Recession

After Liberation Day the stock market plummeted due to high tariffs by President Donald Trump. According to some experts. about $6 trillion was lost by this stock decline. While it鈥檚…

By Matt Rowe | Apr 07, 2025
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After Liberation Day the stock market plummeted due to high tariffs by . According to some experts. about $6 trillion was lost by this stock decline. While it鈥檚 impossible to know exactly what the future holds, many are bracing for a recession.

Consumer Outlook Shifts Towards Recession

The Liberation Day tariffs resulted in the S&P 500 dropping 4.8%. Just two days after the tariffs were announced, China announced a retaliatory 34% tariff on all US goods. due to that, the S&P 500 dropped another 6%. This massive dip in the stock market has experts pessimistic about the economic future of the United States. Bruce Kasman, the head of economic research at JPMorgan gave his insight. In a note 鈥淭here Will Be Blood鈥 Kasman stated that he expects the probability of a recession to be 60%, up from a recent 40% expectation. JPMorgan expects the US GDP to decrease 0.3% in Q4 of 2025 compared to the same quarter of the previous year. This is down from the 1.3% expected growth the bank expected before tariffs. Additionally, the bank expects unemployment to reach 5.3% next year.

Kasman said 鈥淭he size and disruptive impact of U.S. trade policies, if sustained, would be sufficient to tip a still healthy U.S. and global expansion into recession鈥 and that 鈥淭he tariff shock will likely be magnified by its effect on sentiment and through potential disruptions to global supply chains.鈥 However, some experts believe Kasman is jumping the gun. Noruma Chief Economist David Seif said that he needs to see more data. Once that data comes in, that would give Seif and his team a better prediction for a potential recession. While a recession may not necessarily take place, Seif believes it may feel like a recession for some.

What the Experts are saying

Seif said 鈥淩eal consumption could be extremely anemic, and it could feel worse for people than the GDP numbers indicate.鈥 Trump鈥檚 goal with these tariffs is to bring international jobs into the United States. Experts debate whether or not would actually accomplish this goal. However, experts do agree that the tariffs will decrease the spending power of the average American household. The average tariff rate in 2024 was a meager 2.5%. After Liberation Day, the average tariff rate is about 22.5%, according to the .

Generally when economic growth drags, the Fed will lower interest rates. However, with complications due to inflation, the Fed is feeling pressure to potentially avoid cutting rates until there are clear signs of a weakening economy. Of this, Blerina Uru莽i, chief US econoimst at T.Rowe Price said 鈥淭he Fed has its hands tied, and I don鈥檛 think monetary policy support is going to be likely.鈥 Uru莽i went on to say that 鈥淚 do think we have to rely on the U.S. consumer being resilient and absorbing this shock if we want to see a recession being avoided this year.鈥

Featured Image Credit: MART PRODUCTIONS; Pexels: Thank You!

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After Liberation Day the stock market plummeted due to high tariffs by . According to some experts. about $6 trillion was lost by this stock decline. While it鈥檚 impossible to know exactly what the future holds, many are bracing for a recession.

Consumer Outlook Shifts Towards Recession

The Liberation Day tariffs resulted in the S&P 500 dropping 4.8%. Just two days after the tariffs were announced, China announced a retaliatory 34% tariff on all US goods. due to that, the S&P 500 dropped another 6%. This massive dip in the stock market has experts pessimistic about the economic future of the United States. Bruce Kasman, the head of economic research at JPMorgan gave his insight. In a note 鈥淭here Will Be Blood鈥 Kasman stated that he expects the probability of a recession to be 60%, up from a recent 40% expectation. JPMorgan expects the US GDP to decrease 0.3% in Q4 of 2025 compared to the same quarter of the previous year. This is down from the 1.3% expected growth the bank expected before tariffs. Additionally, the bank expects unemployment to reach 5.3% next year.

Kasman said 鈥淭he size and disruptive impact of U.S. trade policies, if sustained, would be sufficient to tip a still healthy U.S. and global expansion into recession鈥 and that 鈥淭he tariff shock will likely be magnified by its effect on sentiment and through potential disruptions to global supply chains.鈥 However, some experts believe Kasman is jumping the gun. Noruma Chief Economist David Seif said that he needs to see more data. Once that data comes in, that would give Seif and his team a better prediction for a potential recession. While a recession may not necessarily take place, Seif believes it may feel like a recession for some.

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