• What to Read Next
  • Most Popular News
  • Most Popular Opinion

Advertisement

The Day Trump’s Tariff Threats Became a Reality for America Inc.

Executives in construction, retail, agriculture and autos say new tariffs could prove expensive for Americans; ‘a gut punch’

ET

Target expects tariffs to affect consumer prices ‘pretty quickly’ if they stay in place. Photo: Ben Brewer/Bloomberg

Target boss Brian Cornell and his team were walking through a New York City conference center Monday night when the news broke: President Trump was following through on his tariff threats.

The retailer’s executives huddled sitting on sofas in a greenroom next to the stage where they would meet with their biggest investors on Tuesday. They needed to review Target’s plans. The company had created a leadership task force a few months earlier—when Trump was victorious in the presidential election—to prepare for various trade scenarios. Now the executives knew more about what they were facing.

Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Continue reading your article with
a WSJ subscription

Special Offer Available

Subscribe Now

Already a subscriber? Sign In

Advertisement

Chip-Maker TSMC Announces Plans for $100 Billion Investment in U.S.
CheckboxEmbed code copied to clipboard
Chip-Maker TSMC Announces Plans for $100 Billion Investment in U.S.
02:15