By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
It has been a rough ride for investors to say the least.
The Stock Market has recorded some deep losses since the first of the year.
Then came the tariffs.
Eastern Kansas Congressman Derek Schmidt, a Republican, understands those drops have some shaken.
“Yeah, it has been chaotic and that does happen from time to time in the markets. It certainly happens when the markets are high,” Schmidt tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “It happens whenever there are significant changes in public policy and that’s what’s happening right now.”
Yet, Schmidt says President Trump is looking farther down the road than the latest two-week roller coaster ride in the Stock Market.
The Dow Jones flirted with 45,000 in mid-January before dropping nearly 3,000 points since. The S&P 500 dropped 4.6% in the first quarter, its worst quarter in 2 1/2 years.
Gold, a traditional haven for those worried about the markets, has hit an all-time high of more than $3,000 an ounce on the futures market.
And that was before President Donald Trump announced wide-ranging tariffs after the markets closed Wednesday. Trump called Wednesday “Liberation Day,” a break away from the free market approach the president claims has resulted in trade imbalances unfair to the United States. Trump will impose what he calls reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries. The U.S. will also establish a universal 10% tariff floor.
The tariffs announced by Trump include a 20% tariff on goods imposed by the European Union and an additional 34% tariff on goods from China, creating tariffs that will top 50% on some Chinese goods.
News of the tariffs sent the markets into a tailspin. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted more than 1,400 when trading began this morning. The S&P 500 fell 4% with the Nasdaq Composite off nearly 900 at one point Thursday, down 5%.
Schmidt suggests investors need to stay calm and let things play out.
“Hunker in if you have investments. Take the advice of whoever you listen to investment advice on,” Schmidt says. “My own advice for what it’s worth, and I’m not an investment advisor, is hunker in and be prepared to ride it out if you’re in a position to do that.”
Schmidt is confident the moves by President Trump will benefit the economy, in the long run.
“In the short term, there’s some turbulence,” Schmidt concedes. “But if this works out the way the president and his team believe it will, in the long-term it will bring us much more predictability and stability and that’ll be good for every investor and every American.”
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