Fred Hubler’s article opens by defining tariffs as a tax imposed on imported or foreign goods that raises their cost, noting that governments worldwide use them to protect domestic industries, and that the U.S. also uses tariffs to encourage reshoring of supply chains after decades of outsourced manufacturing.
He recaps recent tariff news: on April 2, 2025, President Trump announced higher-than-expected tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners, his self-proclaimed “Liberation Day,” after which the S&P 500 and Dow Jones both fell more than 10% within four days. Facing rattled markets, Trump announced a 90-day pause on April 9 for most tariffs except those against China. Hubler notes that while the S&P 500 has since recovered its post-Liberation Day losses, bond markets remain shaky.
He points out that in a tariff-heavy environment, traditional equity and bond markets may struggle, prompting investors to look toward the alternative investment space.
The gist: tariffs have already rattled markets once this year, and Hubler sees that as reason enough to look beyond traditional stocks and bonds.
Read more from Hubler on Forbes: Tariffs, Now What? An Investor’s Guide To Tariffs.