New York Fed staff's latest analysis shows that during President-elect Donald Trump's first term, the share price of US companies generally fell on the day the tariffs were announced, and it was closely related to the decline in future profits, sales and employment of the companies hardest hit by the tariffs. "An important motivation for imposing tariffs on imports is to protect US companies from foreign competition. By taxing imports, the price of domestically produced goods becomes relatively cheap, and Americans' spending shifts from imported goods to domestically produced goods," economists such as Mary Amiti, head of labor and product market research at the New York Fed Research Group, wrote in the analysis. But "most companies' share prices fell sharply on the day the tariffs were announced. Our documents also show that these financial losses ultimately translate into future declines in profits, employment, sales, and labor productivity. "The New York Fed research team's study shows:" The benefits of tariffs are difficult to achieve because of the complexity of global supply chains and retaliatory actions by foreign countries. "The trade war during the Trump administration's first term is estimated to have worsened economic conditions for businesses and households by about 3 percent.