Jeffrey Sachs Compares Trump's Tariff Logic To Maxing A Credit Card And Blaming The Store, Says US Simply 'Outspending Its National Income'

Economist Jeffrey Sachs compared President Donald Trump’s tariff logic to blaming shopkeepers for a maxed-out credit card.

What Happened: Arguing at Turkey's Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Sachs said, “If you take your credit card and you go shopping and you run up a large credit card debt, you're running a trade deficit with all those shops. Now, it would be pretty strange if you then blamed all the shop owners for having sold you all those things.”

Sachs added that the United States "is outspending its national income," not being "cheated" by trading partners. The Columbia professor's quip lands as Trump's new duties, some as high as 145 percent, roil markets and stoke fears of higher consumer prices.

See also: Jim Cramer Dismisses Recession Panic: Says Tariffs May Sting, But Too ‘Many Jobs’ For Economy To ‘Derail’

Sachs told delegates that a trade deficit reflects domestic overspending, not foreign perfidy: "It would be pretty strange if you blamed all the shop owners for having sold you things." He mocked Trump's grasp of macroeconomics, saying the former president "never made it to the second day" of an international-finance course where such identities are taught.

Why It Matters: Investors are already bracing for sticker shock as tariffs bite. Surveys this week found that a majority of Americans expect prices to "skyrocket" if Trump's trade war deepens.​ That said, analysts note the White House has twice eased duties after spikes in Treasury yields signaled market stress.​ Cathie Wood likewise called the levies "tax increases that hurt growth," though she predicted Trump ultimately wants all barriers negotiated down.

Factory-floor fallout is spreading: Chinese manufacturers are idling plants and hunting new buyers, while U.S. automakers expect partial tariff relief to blunt cost shocks. Meanwhile, recession chatter intensifies as consumer confidence slips and CFOs flag weaker spending momentum.​

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