Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sold stocks valued at tens of thousands of dollars shortly before a significant part of President Donald Trump’s market-dropping tariff plans were made public, as reported recently.
Duffy, who claimed partial credit For affecting the president’s mutual tariff strategy, which dates back to when he was a Republican legislator, nearly three dozen company securities were offloaded on February 11, according to a disclosure document acquired by ProPublica .
The sales allegedly ranged from $75,000 to $600,000, and these securities were offloaded as the U.S. stock market approached its high point. Just two days after this transaction, the markets experienced a substantial decline following news that Trump intended to impose identical tariffs on products from abroad as those countries apply to items made in America.
A representative for Duffy informed ProPublica that their employer was not involved in insider trading, an activity that is deemed illegal. They conveyed to the website that Duffy, who is 53 years old, "had no influence over the scheduling of these transactions," adding that an external manager handled them.
Trump made no secret of his intention to impose tariffs if he won another term in office—a point highlighted by the Duffy spokesperson when questioned regarding insider trading allegations.
"President Trump has been talking about tariffs since the 1980s," according to the spokesperson.
Trump’s public tariff plan was scattershot before Feb. 13, when the White House said it planned to vary tariff levels based on factors like trade deficits and matching other countries’ tariff rates on U.S. goods. The White House said This would "rectify long-standing disparities in global commerce and guarantee equity for all participants."
The markets responded unfavorably to the news. According to ProPublica, the S&P 500, which is a comprehensive benchmark, dropped by 13 percent following the White House’s statement. The decline intensified even further about six weeks later, specifically on April 3rd. This occurred one day subsequent to President Trump's highly anticipated "Liberation Day" tariff announcements made post-market hours.
A representative for Duffy informed ProPublica that part of the share selling was due to him being obligated to divest stocks in enterprises that might present a conflict of interest with his position in the cabinet, such as holding equity in an airline. Nonetheless, the website noted that this mandatory sale did not apply universally. all The stocks he held, specifically those related to transportation firms, were only scheduled for sale well into late April. According to statements from Duffy’s representative to ProPublica, an ethics agreement document was provided to his portfolio manager on February 7th.
According to ProPublica, Duffy offloaded stocks from businesses heavily impacted by tariffs as well as those that were less affected by the import taxes.
Duffy offloaded shares from the food delivery firm DoorDash, a company that wasn’t severely affected by Trump’s tariffs. Nonetheless, it might face challenges if increased import taxes result in an economic downturn, leading consumers to tighten their budgets.
The official likewise disposed of holdings in Shopify, where traders faced challenges due to tariffs, as well as in John Deere, the maker of agricultural equipment. might lose hundreds of millions to Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.
Duffy isn’t the sole cabinet member to draw attention for their trades. According to ProPublica’s report from last week, Attorney General Pam Bondi also raised some brows when she offloaded between $1 million and $5 million worth of Trump Media stock on April 2, just prior to President Trump announcing his comprehensive tariff plan.
Bondi, who is 59 years old, needed to divest her holdings in the Trump social media enterprise within 90 days following her inauguration. Nonetheless, attorneys general generally refrain from advising the president on matters such as imposing tariffs. It remains unclear whether Bondi was aware of the full extent of Trump’s tariff strategy prior to liquidating her stake.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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