The U.S. dollar was falling against peers early Wednesday. President Donald Trump stopped short of imposing immediate big tariffs on imports right away.
Those taxes on goods shipped from abroad will raise the cost of doing business for companies, put pressure on inflation, and make it more likely that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher than otherwise. All those factors could boost the dollar, since higher interest rates increase returns on U.S. assets.
In his first full day in office, Trump laid the groundwork for further action on tariffs but didn’t make definite plans. On Monday, he told reporters that tariffs on Mexico and Canada could come as soon as Feb. 1, but the levies on Chinese goods had yet to be decided.
