Massive Stock Purchases Before 'Tariff Delay': Questions Raised Over Trump's Trading

U.S. President Donald Trump purchased a large volume of 327 blue-chip stocks just one day before announcing a delay in reciprocal tariffs last year, the Wall Street Journal reported on July 2 (local time).

The trades, which were included in financial disclosure documents released this week, have reignited controversy over potential conflicts of interest.

According to the report, the 900-page financial disclosure released this week contains records of over 21,000 stock trades made from President Trump's investment accounts last year.

Among these, the transactions surrounding the announcement of the reciprocal tariff policy, dubbed "Liberation Day," have drawn particular attention.

The documents show that after President Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on various countries at the White House on April 2 of last year, hundreds of stocks were bought and sold in his investment accounts on April 3 and 4.

However, a different pattern of trading was detected in his accounts on April 8.

On that day, without selling any assets, he purchased 327 blue-chip stocks, including Apple and Berkshire Hathaway, worth more than 3.6 million dollars (approximately 5.5 billion KRW).

What makes this notable is that the announcement of a delay in reciprocal tariffs—a major positive market catalyst—was made the very next day.

On the morning of April 9, President Trump posted on social media that it was a "good time to buy," and on the afternoon of the same day, he announced a 90-day delay in imposing tariffs on most countries, excluding China. The stock market surged following the announcement.

Regarding this, Dan Weiskopf, a senior portfolio manager at Tidal Financial Group, pointed out, "The volume of trading far exceeds, and overwhelmingly so, what most financial advisors would do for their clients. That alone does not make sense."

He added, "I don't think President Trump is someone who is not involved in his investments at all."

The disclosed documents also included investments in companies that received government support.

President Trump's account purchased at least 250,000 dollars worth of Intel stock, and just a few days later, the government announced a plan to acquire approximately 10 percent of Intel. Intel's stock price subsequently rose by more than 370 percent.

Similarly, after purchasing shares of the rare earth company MP Materials, the stock price soared following the announcement of a government plan to invest 15 percent of its equity to foster the U.S. rare earth industry.

The U.S. Ethics in Government Act of 1978 does not mandate that the president divest assets that could potentially create conflicts of interest. However, previous U.S. presidents have voluntarily divested or placed such assets into a blind trust. President Trump is the first president since the law was enacted not to follow this tradition.

A significant portion of President Trump's assets is held in a trust managed by his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.

In an interview with CNBC on the same day, President Trump stated, "I have people that manage my investments, and I don't even talk to them."

Federal law requires the president and high-ranking government officials to disclose securities transactions exceeding 1,000 dollars within 45 days. However, President Trump only disclosed about 1,000 of the 21,000 trades made last year within the deadline, with the rest being revealed belatedly through these financial disclosure documents.

When a public official fails to report a trade within the legal deadline, a fine of 200 dollars is imposed per late filing. The cover of the financial disclosure released this week noted that President Trump had paid these fines.

Nevertheless, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly stated, "The President and his family have not, do not, and will not engage in conflicts of interest."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.