Share price reactions to tariff imposition announcements during the first Trump administration

Abstract

This study analyzes the impact of tariff imposition announcements on the stock prices of 1,194 U.S. companies during the first Trump administration, using a unique sample of 4,624 announcements made by or against the U.S. between January 2018 and August 2019. We find that tariff announcements lead to negative (cumulative) average abnormal stock returns. These negative wealth effects occur regardless of whether the Trump administration imposes safeguard tariffs to protect domestic industries or foreign countries announce retaliatory tariffs. Moreover, the adverse impact is primarily driven by announcements involving China, with variations linked to sector-specific, tariff, trade, and firm characteristics. • We analyze tariff imposition announcements under the first Trump administration. • We find negative average abnormal stock returns due to the announcements. • The negative wealth effects are observed for safeguard and retaliatory tariffs. • The negative impact is mostly driven by announcements involving China. • The effect depends on a variety of sector, tariff, trade and firm characteristics.