US economy shrinks in first quarter of Trump 2.0 amid sweeping tariffs

The US economy shrank in the first three months of Donald Trump’s second term as the president sought to roll out an aggressive trade strategy, claiming that sweeping tariffs on the world would strengthen the US economy. Gross domestic product (GDP), a key measure of overall growth in the US economy, fell by 0.3% in the first quarter of the year, down from 2.4% in the last quarter of 2024. The contraction – the first since the start of 2022 –...