Fox’s Gasparino Warns, ‘We’re Almost in a Recession’ Because of Trump’s Tariffs

President Donald Trump’s tariffs have the U.S. economy on the verge of a recession, according to Charlie Gasparino.

Appearing on Thursday’s edition of The Story on Fox News, the Fox Business senior correspondent said that despite Trump’s tough talk, the U.S. actually has “a weak negotiating hand.”

The president imposed sweeping tariffs on most countries earlier this month, roiling markets as investors anticipate higher prices on imported goods and the attendant slowing of demand. Trump raised tariffs on imports from China to 145%, though he walked back that figure this week. While the administration has said it is negotiating trade deals with dozens of countries, there remains a lack of clarity.

“That’s the big kahuna,” Gasparino said of China. “The iPhone is manufactured a lot in China. If you don’t deal with that, you could have some real economic problems here.”

He went on to note that businesses are “ratcheting back their spending” because of the tariff-induced uncertainty.

“So, they’re planning as if these things are still in place,” Gasparino said. “One other thing you should point out is that we have a weak negotiating hand here. I know the president keeps saying we don’t. We’re almost in a recession. We have markets that are on edge. We need people to buy our debt, and China supplies us with a lot of cheap goods. We could see inflation ratchet up dramatically if we don’t get a deal with them. And Xi [Jinping] knows this.”

Trump’s lowering of tariffs on China was largely seen as a cave, with The Wall Street Journal declaring on Wednesday, “China called Mr. Trump’s bluff and seems to have won this round.”

Watch above via Fox News.