KUALA LUMPUR — Former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said a recession for the US is “likely”, with the possibility of 2 million Americans losing their jobs, as a result of the ongoing tariff increases.
“It’s more likely than not that we’re going to have a recession – and in the context of a recession, we’ll see an extra 2 million people be unemployed,” Summers said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Tuesday, Bernama reports.
“We’ll see losses in household income of US$5,000 per family or more,” said the Harvard University professor and paid contributor to Bloomberg TV.
Summers argued that the tariff plans by the Trump administration exceed even those of 1930 that “made the depression great,” noting that it would be wise to be “backing off the policies that have been announced.”
Despite warnings from Summers and other economists, the White House indicated on Tuesday that the policies will go into effect as previously planned.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt in a press briefing said Trump is “not considering an extension or delay”.
“He expects that these tariffs are going to go into effect,” Leavitt said.
On April 2, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order regarding the so-called “reciprocal tariffs” on certain trade partners, with some facing tariffs exceeding 30%, to go into effect April 9.
He also ordered a 10% “baseline tariff” on other trade partners, which took effect on April 5.
Although Trump has repeatedly claimed that the tariff increases will help generate revenue for the US government, reduce the trade deficit, and revitalise American manufacturing, economists and business leaders warn that these tariff measures will drive up prices, harm American consumers and businesses, disrupt global trade, and be detrimental to global economic growth.
Several US trade partners have already announced countermeasures. – April 9, 2025