The great tariff shakedown
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on the real-world effects of Trump's tariffs, follow Mia Sato. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here.
How it started
The economists tried to warn us. From the beginning, trade policy experts cautioned that tariffs would raise consumer prices and wouldn't create the American manufacturing renaissance that the Trump administration promised. One thing that I wrote about tariffs back in February keeps popping in my head: When I asked economists and policy folks what high tariffs would actu …