The Year That Donald Trump Tried—And Failed—To Kill Free Trade

It’s been hell for business owners to navigate the whims of the president’s tariffs. And now they’re ready to get their money back.

BY MELISSA ANGELL, SENIOR STAFF WRITER @MELISSKAWRITES

It was the chart seen around the world. The CEO of an L.A. floral company watched the White House’s “Liberation Day” announcement from her home office, about a month shy of her company’s busiest holiday, Mother’s Day. A CPG founder in Austin wondered if the price of monk fruit, which is found mainly in China, was about to skyrocket. And a New York City spirits importer was caught by surprise as he was literally negotiating his Series A.

These founders operate in remarkably different sectors—and none could believe what was playing out before their eyes. From different time zones, they watched, stunned, as President Trump stood behind a wooden lectern in the White House’s soon-to-be-uprooted Rose Garden, unable to contain his glee. He would soon reshuffle global trade as the world knew it.

Twenty minutes into Trump’s speech, Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick approached the podium with a blown-up chart partitioned into three columns: country name, tariffs “charged” to the U.S., and the so-called “reciprocal” tariff the U.S. would kindly return. The rates, which ranged from 10 percent to 50 percent, were far higher than any........

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