Lower thirds:

00:02 Report by / Christian Pricelius
00:10 Donald Trump / US President
00:47 Rolf Langhammer / Economist, Kiel Institute for the World Economy
01:48 Erin Calvo-Bacci, CB Stuffer

Script:

00:02
He promised the US unprecedented growth and a new era of prosperity.

00:10 
SOT Donald Trump, US President:
"The golden age of America begins right now."

00:14
A year into Trump's second term, the question is: Just how is the country doing economically? Where are things at in terms of growth, unemployment and new jobs?

00:27
US exports are up 2.5 percent compared to 2024, hitting 302 billion US dollars in October 2025 alone: higher than for a long time.

Nonetheless, in 2025 the economy grew by only around 2 percent — no more than under Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden. ((Source: IMF figures))

00:46
SOT Prof. Rolf Langhammer, Economist, Kiel Institute for the World Economy:
"So if you take the entire year, one year of Donald Trump: the growth forecasts have been very disappointing."

00:54
Meanwhile imports into the US FELL sharply in 2025, by well over 3 percent. Which was the president's intention. Unlike his predecessors, Trump slapped import tariffs of 15 percent plus on almost all foreign trading partners. 

This has brought the US government around 300 billion dollars in revenue – cash that the White House says will be used to cut national debt and ease the burden on citizens by lowering taxes.

01:28
But with imports now declining, so is customs revenue.  

01:33
Another problem is access to specialized import products, which - thanks to the tariffs - are either too expensive or unavailable. This affects everything from electrical and metal industries to chocolate producers.

01:46 
SOT Erin Calvo-Bacci, CB Stuffer:
"If the tariffs really drastically strangle my business and my ability to afford to run it, then I will have to look at ending this."

01:57 - 02:04
And when it comes to tackling the labor market, too, there are precious few signs of a golden age.

02:06
Unemployment has remained at around 4 percent since the Trump administration took office. So far, it’s not improved. 

02:13
In 2025, only around 600,000 new jobs were created – fewer than in 2024. 
However it's a different story when it comes to the stock market. 

02:25
Prices have seen a strong upward trend for a year and the S&P index is well above 6,000 points. 

02:34
Good stock prices are important for many US citizens, as over 60 percent of the population invests in the market - for extra income or to prepare for retirement.  

The question is how much of the money earned remains in the pockets of those people. 

02:48 
As with previous president Joe Biden, the inflation rate is just under three percent – more than the two percent recommended by the US Federal Reserve.

03:00
Finally, President Trump announced a wave of investment by foreign companies in the US. It won't be possible to assess the volume of this investment in new production lines until early 2026. Experts however forecast it will go up.  

End