Many people in US puzzled by self-inflicted wounds to economy

Job losses, US recession

The contagion from the global tariffs is expected to hit both the international and US job markets.

A young man who calls himself a "conservative" posted on social media that his company laid off more than 200 people about three months ago. After the tariffs were announced, the company sent out emails stating that if the 46 percent tariff on Vietnam is not dropped, more layoffs are coming.

"They explicitly said that paying the tariffs is still cheaper than moving everything back into the US, and I would really prefer not to lose my job when I'm about to get married, buy a house, and have kids," he wrote.

Vietnam has offered a zero-tariff rate for US goods. On Wednesday Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc was set to talk with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about reversing the tariff decision.

"Vietnam sends us $120 billion worth of goods every year, and we send them $12 billion of goods every year. It's not the tariff, it has nothing to do with (the) tariff," US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a TV interview on Sunday.

The worry about unemployment is not unfounded.

A recent CNBC survey found that 69 percent of CEOs expect a recession, and half of them anticipate the downturn will come this year. JP Morgan has put the odds of a recession at 60 percent.

About 37 percent of CEOs surveyed by CNBC said they expect to cut jobs to offset rising costs. One of them called it the "Trump recession", as the executives expressed discontent over the tariffs.

"Disappointingly stupid and illogical," one CEO told CNBC. "Without faith that our government knows what it is doing, it is impossible for businesses to thrive."

Another CEO said: "Trump has imposed tariffs on component parts that are simply unavailable in the US and never will be. He has surrounded himself with an incompetent cadre of 'yes' men and women unable or unwilling to offer him cogent counsel."