Date of Award

Spring 6-2-2026

Document Type

Thesis (Undergraduate)

Department

Economics

First Advisor

Professor Sacerdote

Abstract

This paper studies whether foreign greenfield investment into the United States responded to the Trump administration’s April 2025 Liberation Day tariff announcements. Using project-level fDi Markets data from January 2023 through November 2025, I examine changes in announced project counts, expected jobs created, and capital investment. The analysis compares aggregate investment activity before and after Liberation Day, tests whether responses differed for countries assigned additional tariffs above the 10% baseline level, investigates the effects of tariff intensity on investment announcements, and examines whether effects were concentrated in particular business activity fields. The clearest finding is that project announcements declined after Liberation Day, while evidence for changes in jobs created and capital investment is weaker. The decline is not concentrated only among source countries assigned additional tariffs above the 10% baseline level, suggesting that the announcements may have operated through broader policy uncertainty rather than only direct tariff exposure. Activity-level results point to manufacturing-related projects as the category with the strongest short-run response. Overall, the paper shows that major trade policy announcements can affect not only trade flows, but also the timing and volume of foreign investment announcements.

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