"Trump Tariffs, the Largest Self-Inflicted Wound in U.S. History"... Former Secretary's Bold Statement

Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers

Criticizes Reciprocal Tariffs in Media Interview

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers strongly criticized President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs as the worst economic self-infliction in history.

In an interview with ABC News on the 6th (local time), former Secretary Summers pointed out that it is "the largest self-inflicted wound in U.S. economic history," adding that "tariffs are causing prices to rise, exacerbating inflation (price increase). As a result, people's purchasing power is declining, which means fewer jobs."

He continued, "The market is watching everything. I see that the value of companies will decrease by about $5 trillion (approximately 7,300 trillion won) compared to before the tariffs started," and claimed, "That's just considering corporate losses. Adding consumer losses, $30 trillion (approximately 44,000 trillion won) is an appropriate estimate."

He also noted, "The economic loss is equivalent to oil prices doubling," and emphasized, "We've never seen anything like this before."

Former Secretary Summers stated, "There is a very high possibility of greater market turmoil. The movements over the past 3-4 days are the fourth largest since World War II," adding, "The other three are the 1987 crash, the 2008 financial crisis, and the pandemic."

He advised, "The scale of this crash signals a high possibility of future problems," and urged caution.

Since President Trump announced large-scale reciprocal tariffs against countries worldwide on the 2nd, global stock markets have been plummeting daily. The U.S. S&P 500 index plunged more than 10% in just two days, marking the largest drop since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Kim Dae-young, Hankyung.com reporter kdy@hankyung.com