By Lawrence Wilson

President Donald Trump has announced 30 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico and the European Union, effective Aug. 1.

There’s more brewing here than another round of tariffs.

Trump has hinted that he intends to fire Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, although the president said on July 17 that he has no immediate plan to do so.

The Federal Reserve is the nation’s central bank, which sets monetary policy and interest rates.

Powell told lawmakers last month that he thinks Trump’s tariffs will increase inflation and wants to take a wait-and-see approach before lowering interest rates.

Meanwhile, revenue from previous Trump tariffs created an unexpected $27 billion surplus for the U.S. government in June.

Tariff revenue since Oct. 1 climbed to $108 billion, the highest ever for the first three quarters of the fiscal year.

But even with that windfall, the federal government could wind up with a deficit of over $1 trillion at the close fiscal year on Sept. 30.

We asked Epoch Times readers for their opinions on the tariffs, the Federal Reserve, and the country’s short-term financial outlook.

The short answer:  tariffs yes, deficit no, while the Federal Reserve received a resounding meh.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell arrives to testify before the Senate Banking Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 11, 2025. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Mostly Supportive of Trump’s Tariffs

Readers mostly favored the president’s latest round of tariffs. Sixty-nine percent of respondents strongly supported the move. Just 6 percent were strongly opposed.

A nearly identical proportion of readers agreed that tariffs would be effective in reshoring manufacturing jobs.

Readers expressed their strongest opinion on what many see as the true value of Trump’s tariffs: that they provide leverage in trade negotiations. Nine in 10 respondents said the tactic was either highly effective (73 percent) or somewhat effective (18 percent).

A clear majority (65 percent) disagreed with Powell’s view that tariffs would increase inflation.

However, readers were less enthused about the 50 percent tariff on copper, a key element in the construction, power generation, and electrical equipment industries.

More than two thirds (68 percent) had some level of concern about how that stiff tariff might affect U.S. businesses.

Cautious About the Outlook

Epoch readers loved the June budget surplus. Nearly 9 in 10 saw it as either a very (67 percent) or somewhat (22 percent) positive. Nearly three quarters (74 percent) percent saw it as a sign of sustainable improvement in the federal budget.

That good feeling didn’t last.

Far fewer respondents (16 percent) strongly agreed that this would enable Trump to eliminate income taxes for those earning less than $200,000 annually. The greatest number of respondents (28 percent) were neutral on the question.

The vast majority of readers (90 percent) said they were concerned about the looming federal deficit. Nearly half (49 percent) were either very concerned or extremely concerned.

Unsure About the Federal Reserve

Reader opinion was mixed at best about the Federal Reserve.

As for Trump’s pressure on Powell to cut interest rates, just 7 percent strongly opposed the move while 62 percent strongly supported it.

Opinion shifted slightly on the question of whether Trump’s criticism of Powell would undermine the independence of the Federal Reserve. Thirty percent thought it would. Fully 24 percent were neutral on the question.

Responses to a question on the independence of the Federal Reserve produced a near-perfect bell curve.

The largest group was squarely in the middle, with 31 percent thinking it somewhat important to have an independent federal reserve.

From there, 0pinion tailed off in either direction, with 13 percent saying the Fed’s independence is extremely important and 20 percent saying it is not at all important.

The Epoch Times conducted this reader poll on July 16–17, 2025, via email and social media, receiving 15,613 responses. 

Tom Ozimek and Jacob Burg contributed to this report.