US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Americans should be patient in the face of a first quarter economic contraction, arguing that his tariffs would eventually lead to a boom in the US economy.
The economy shrank 0.3% from January through March, first drop in three years. It was slowed by a surge in imports as companies in the United States tried to bring in foreign goods before Trump imposed massive tariffs.
The January-March expansion was the slowest in almost three years and was down from 2.4% in the last three months of 2024. Imports shaved 5 percentage points off first-quarter growth. Consumer spending also slowed sharply.
Trump inherited a solid economy that had grown steadily despite high interest rates imposed by the Federal Reserve to fight inflation. His trade policies — including 145% tariffs on China — have paralyzed businesses and threatened to raise prices and hurt consumers.
Republican Trump blamed his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, for the poor showing.
"This is Biden’s Stock Market, not Trump’s," he said. "Our Country will boom, but we have to get rid of the Biden 'Overhang.'
Trump added: "This will take a while, has NOTHING TO DO WITH TARIFFS, only that he left us with bad numbers, but when the boom begins, it will be like no other. BE PATIENT!!!"
