President Donald Trump had promised new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China. However, after negotiations with both Mexico and Canada on Monday tariffs against those countries are paused for at least a month. He said tariffs are not a negotiating tool, but he's used them as one as recently as January in a dispute with Colombia. Today, we dissect the game theory behind Trump's use of tariffs. Related episodes: Canada's key resource against Trump's potential trade war (Apple / Spotify) How tariffs have been used throughout US History (Apple / Spotify) The game theory that led to nuclear standoffs (Apple / Spotify) For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Why haven't American 8th graders' math scores recovered? Does Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actually have the resources to make all the deportations Trump's promised? And what's the path for interest rates in the Trump economy? All that on Indicators of the Week. Related Episodes:The U.S. once banned Chinese immigrants — and it paid an economic price Why Is The Fed So Boring? For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy