Trade Deals
The White House has announced new trade deals with both the European Union and Japan. Both deals set a base tariff rate of 15% for most goods exported into the U.S. Each deal contains additional economic agreements for specific sectors (for example, Japan is committing to purchase 100 commercial aircraft built by the U.S. company Boeing). As with any “trade deal,” implementation will be far more complicated than the negotiation or announcement of the framework (EU member countries are already objecting). World economic markets had a mixed reaction, with the Euro declining but Japanese automakers surging in the wake of the announcements.
Analysis and eternal perspective: This is yet another story with many twists and turns—both behind us and most certainly in the days ahead. Economic observers will continue to hold and assert a wide variety of opinions about the impact of tariffs, trade deals, and related economic agreements. It will be difficult for you to accurately decipher the impact on your family’s economic wellbeing.
But you can know this: Your family’s eternal wellbeing is not impacted by the economic winds of this temporal world! While God's Word is very clear that you should plan wisely and steward your resources well (Pr. 6:6-8), it is equally clear that much in this world is volatile and fleeting (1 Jn. 2:17), and that you should set your eyes firmly on the eternal world (Col. 3:2).
The beauty of this approach is that it lifts the burden of worry and stress from you, and in fact allows you to be a beacon of hope for those around you. The economic winds will at times blow in your favor, and in others they will be a stiff headwind. But if your hope is in the eternal, you can chart a steady course in all conditions!
The following article originally appeared in Thann’s “The Equipped” Weekly Newsletter. For more information on Thann’s weekly email, click here.