Key Financial Takeaways From Trump’s Speech To Congress

President Donald Trump referred to as for brand spanking new tax cuts, defended his controversial tariff coverage and blamed his predecessor for the nation’s financial woes, throughout an handle to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night time.

In his first main speech since his inauguration, Trump addressed a number of financial points, looking for to reassure a public that has grown more and more skeptical concerning the economic system and his administration of it up to now few weeks.

Tax Cuts

Trump referred to as for a number of guarantees from his marketing campaign to be a part of the $4.5 trillion in tax cuts referred to as for within the funds that Congress is at the moment hammering out. He requested the Republican-controlled Congress to finish earnings taxes on Social Safety advantages, suggestions, and extra time pay, and likewise referred to as for a tax deduction on auto mortgage curiosity for American-made automobiles, on high of extending the tax cuts within the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

The tax cuts might put more cash within the pockets of sure teams of taxpayers, however would put the federal governments funds additional into the crimson. The federal government spent $1.8 trillion greater than it took in in 2024, including to the $36 trillion nationwide debt.

Tariffs

Trump stated his coverage of elevating tariffs would “soak up trillions of {dollars} and create jobs like now we have by no means seen earlier than,” repeating the pro-tariff line he and his high advisors have promoted in latest weeks.

Trump’s speech got here the identical day he imposed 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and a doubling of his new tariffs on China to twenty%. The import taxes roiled monetary markets and despatched inventory indexes sharply downwards. Economists predicted the taxes would elevate costs for automobiles and different merchandise, push up the price of residing, and danger reigniting inflation.

Trump acknowledged the chance for disruption however stated the tariffs are vital.

“Tariffs should not nearly defending American jobs, they’re about defending the soul of our nation,” Trump stated. “Tariffs are about making America wealthy once more and making America nice once more, and it is taking place, and it’ll occur moderately rapidly. There can be a bit disturbance, however we’re pleased with that. It will not be a lot.”

Trump additionally repeated his promise to develop the commerce measures on April 2 by imposing “reciprocal” tariffs on different international locations which have their very own tariffs towards American merchandise.

“Each time they tariff us, different international locations, we are going to tariff them,” he stated.

Inflation

Trump, who had promised to convey costs for customers down on day one in all his presidency, blamed his predecessor for the truth that inflation continues to be operating increased than pre-pandemic ranges and persevering with to squeeze family budgets. Inflation surged in 2021 because the economic system reopened from the pandemic and has continued to linger above the two% annual fee the Federal Reserve targets.

Costs for meals, and particularly eggs, have been notably laborious for customers to swallow. Common costs for eggs have greater than tripled for the reason that onset of the pandemic, as a chook flu outbreak has killed thousands and thousands of hens. Trump stated he was going to convey “dramatic and fast aid to American households.”

“Joe Biden particularly let the value of eggs get uncontrolled—The egg costs uncontrolled. And we’re working laborious to get it again down,” Trump stated.

The Trump administration’s Division of Agriculture introduced a $1 billion marketing campaign to stamp out chook flu final week in an effort to regulate egg costs, persevering with Biden-era efforts to fight the illness.

Trump additionally stated his vitality insurance policies would push down family prices. Trump has tried to reverse former president Joe Biden’s insurance policies selling inexperienced vitality, as a substitute favoring oil and fuel drilling. He stated he was shifting ahead with a “gigantic pure fuel pipeline in Alaska” in a partnership with Japan and South Korea.

DOGE Financial savings

Trump hailed the cost-cutting marketing campaign of his influential billionaire advisor Elon Musk and his DOGE activity drive canceling contracts and firing federal employees throughout quite a few federal businesses. He stated DOGE had discovered “surprising ranges of incompetence and possible fraud within the Social Safety program” and stated there have been quite a few cases of improbably outdated folks in Social Safety’s database, together with 4.7 million over 130 years outdated.

Nevertheless, based on the Social Safety Administration, solely 73,815, or 1 in each 1,000 folks receiving advantages, are over 100. Musk’s claims about extraordinarily outdated Social Safety recipients, which surfaced in February, had been debunked by consultants who stated Musk was seemingly citing a database that included information of people that weren’t at the moment being paid advantages, and whose loss of life dates had been by no means recorded as a result of they had been born earlier than 1920, earlier than the SSA was established.

Ships, Not CHIPS

Trump stated he would encourage the development of army and civilian ships within the U.S. by establishing an workplace of shipbuilding and providing tax breaks to shipbuilders. The U.S. at the moment builds solely a handful of ships yearly, in comparison with hundreds constructed by China.

Shipbuilding is likely one of the industries Trump administration officers say the hope to revive in a bid to usually “reindustrialize” america utilizing tariffs and different financial insurance policies.

In contrast, he referred to as for the tip of President Joe Biden’s $52 billion CHIPS subsidy program, which used incentives to promote semiconductor manufacturing within the U.S. as a part of his personal efforts to assist American manufacturing.

“Eliminate the CHIPS Act,” Trump stated, addressing Home Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana.