Economic Uncertainty Has Never Felt This Uncertain
President Trump’s tariff war is driving measures of policy uncertainty to records. That could come with a substantial cost.
Tariff roulette.
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
These are uncertain economic times. You don’t have to take my word for it. The Economic Policy Uncertainty Index says so:
The economists responsible for these numbers also publish a monthly US index based on a different assortment of news sources; I’ve averaged their daily numbers here to be able to show what’s happened so far in April. They have another monthly US index that factors in disagreement among economic forecasters and expiring tax provisions, as well as uncertainty indexes for all the states, 30 other countries and a global index that comes out with a lag and shows January to have been the most uncertain month on record.