With Trump's Zigzag Actions On Trade, March Came In Like A Lion And Won't Be Going Out Like A Lamb

A gobsmacked planet is wondering what's next from President Donald Trump on the tariff spree he's set in zigzag motion.

In recent weeks, Trump has announced punishing tariffs against allies and adversaries alike, selectively paused and imposed them, doubled and then halved some, and warned late in the week that he'll tax European wine and spirits a stratospheric 200 if the European Union doesn't drop a 50 tariff on U.S. whiskey.

His ultimate stated goal is clear: to revive American manufacturing and win compromises along the way. But people and nations whose fortunes rise and fall on trade are trying to divine a method to his machinations. So far, he's spurred fears about slower growth and higher inflation that are dragging down the stock market and consumer confidence.

"His tariff policy is erratic, more erratic than April weather," Robert Halver, head of capital markets analysis at Germany's Baader Bank, said from the floor of the Frankfurt stock market. "So, there is no planning certainty at all."

The same goes for Exit 9 Wine Liquor Warehouse in Clifton Park, New York, where owner Mark O'Callaghan is waiting to see if the prohibitive taxes on European wine - over a third of his business - really happen. He's mindful of Trump's seemingly whack-a-mole approach on which countries and goods to hit and how hard.