TACO trade
noun phrase

- "Trump Always Chickens Out" investment approach

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PHRASE ORIGIN

Recently coined in 2025 by Financial Times columnist, Robert Armstrong to describe a specific trading pattern related to Trump's tariff policies. So, the term has an informal, slightly humorous tone, suggesting the trade is simple, tasty, and potentially satisfying—just like a taco.

The latest example was Trump’s 50% EU tariff threat that sent indexes tumbling, only for them to rebound days later when he postponed the move. Or the “Liberation Day” tariff roller-coaster, where a market crash was followed by one of the biggest single-day rallies in decades.

But beware: when everyone’s in on the joke, the punchline—and the profits—can vanish fast.

Taco Trade is completely separate from the food "taco," which has much older etymology stemming from:

- Spanish taco (plug, dowel), or

- Nahuatl tlahco (half, in the middle), or

- Mexican silver miners' term for gunpowder charges wrapped in paper

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SYNONYMS

Tariff Play (Tango, Twist, Rollercoaster), TACO tariff, TACO trade

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation today, say something like:

“In today’s US market, TACO TRADE has become the recipe for turning political drama into profit.”

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