For months, American consumers and businesses have been hearing that President Trump’s massive tariffs would drive up prices and hurt the U.S. economy. But the latest economic reports don’t match the doom and gloom. Inflation actually eased last month, and hiring was solid in April. For now, the disconnect has businesses and consumers struggling to reconcile what they were told to expect, what the numbers say and what they are seeing on the ground. So is it time to breathe easy? Not yet, economists say. Trump’s tariffs are still huge, unpredictable and working their way through the system.
