David McNamara: US Supreme Court may prove biggest barrier to Trump tariff agenda
US federal reserve chair Jerome Powell. Mr Powell's term as chair ends in May. Picture: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
With US equity and treasury markets apparently restraining president Donald Trump’s expansionist plans for Greenland, last week’s U-turn once again highlights the power of US financial markets in checking his political agenda. Nonetheless, the reverberations from politics to markets have faded since the initial shock of the Liberation Day tariffs in 2025.
Indeed, in the week leading up to the president’s Davos speech on January 21, the benchmark S&P 500 shed about 2.8% of its value, while treasury yields rose 10-15 basis points (bps) across the curve.
