The world economy is entering a period of profound change. Trade, investment, technology and supply chains are no longer viewed solely through an economic lens; they are increasingly shaping international relations, national security and business strategy. What does this mean for governments, firms, and the next generation of economists and policymakers? In this lecture, Dennis Novy, Chief Economist at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Professor of Economics at the University of Warwick, will explore how economic and geopolitical forces are becoming more closely intertwined. Drawing on cutting-edge research, he will introduce the concept of “tariff confusion”, the idea that complexity and uncertainty in trade policy can have significant economic consequences beyond the tariffs themselves.
US trade policy in 2025 was unprecedented in the frequency, complexity and volatility of tariff announcements. This paper presents evidence that the resulting policy environment reduced trade flows because of confusion over current tariff levels. We build a new US Tariff Announcement Database for 2025 from US presidential executive orders and proclamations. For each origin country, product and month, we calculate US statutory tariffs and propose novel indicators of tariff confusion: the number of relevant announcements, the number of possible tariff calculations arising, and bounds on possible tariff miscalculation. We show that both tariff increases and tariff confusion reduced US imports during 2025, with confusion more than doubling the impact of tariffs. Moreover, tariff confusion was (i) persistent, and more damaging at higher tariff levels; (ii) mediated through lower import quantities, with little effect on import prices; and (iii) less detrimental for relationship-specific goods and origin countries with stronger trust in foreigners. Our results highlight previously unexplored consequences of the manner in which trade policy changes are implemented.