United States in January 2026: the most important developments in economy
In January 2026, the United States economy was shaped by President Donald Trump's appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos and by his tariff threats over Greenland. On 16 and 17 January he announced tariffs on eight European countries, including Denmark, the UK and France, over opposition to a US plan for the island. The EU prepared countermeasures on 93 billion euros of US goods and froze approval of a trade deal with Washington, and world markets fell while gold and silver hit records. On 20 January Trump threatened a 200% tariff on French wine, and in Davos European leaders called the threats unacceptable. On 21 and 22 January he withdrew the tariff threats after meeting NATO's chief and announced a framework on Greenland, and markets recovered.
Venezuela was the second major theme. After the US removal of Nicolas Maduro, Trump said Venezuela would hand over 30 to 50 million barrels of oil, and US officials spoke of controlling its oil sales indefinitely. US forces seized at least seven sanctioned tankers, and a first sale of Venezuelan oil, reportedly worth $500 million, was completed. Trump urged oil executives to invest, while ExxonMobil called the country uninvestable. Venezuela said it received $300 million from an oil sale. On 30 January Trump declared a national emergency over Cuba, allowing tariffs on countries that sell oil to the island.
Trump also pressed the Federal Reserve. He criticised Chairman Jerome Powell, and central bankers voiced solidarity with Powell. The Fed held its rate steady on 28 January, when the dollar fell to a four-year low. On 30 January Trump nominated Kevin Warsh as the next chair. He also proposed a one-year 10% cap on credit card interest rates and announced 25% tariffs on countries trading with Iran. Other tariff threats targeted Canada and South Korea.
Among companies, Tesla shifted its focus to robotics and AI, Amazon cut about 16,000 corporate jobs, and Microsoft lost about $357 billion in market value in one day. Apple chose Google's Gemini for Siri. TikTok created a majority US-owned joint venture, and China blocked imports of Nvidia's H200 chips.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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