The US economic decline amounts to $7 billion due to the shutdown, according to estimates from the Budget Office. As CNNi reports, due to the Congressional “lockdown,” negative impacts are beginning to accumulate very rapidly, while collateral losses are becoming more extensive, according to Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG. Meanwhile, small businesses also find themselves in a difficult position. Specifically, according to an analysis by the US Chamber of Commerce published this week, an estimated 65,500 small businesses have billions of dollars in payments at risk due to the lockdown – $12 billion in payments for the month alone.
Read: Horror scenario in the US: Risk of complete airspace closure due to shutdown
US: Tariffs expected to reduce consumer spending
It is noted that, as Nicole Bachaud, a labor economist at employment website ZipRecruiter, reported, interest rate cuts and some greater clarity regarding trade agreements and tariffs were supposed to fuel a hiring recovery heading into 2026. “However, tariffs are expected to reduce consumer spending before the end of the year and a prolonged lockdown could further erode consumer confidence”, she wrote in a note earlier this month. US consumer confidence in October fell to its lowest level since April, when American President Donald Trump announced a massive series of high tariffs on imported goods, according to the latest Conference Board index published this week. The longer the lockdown, the greater the likelihood of greater strain on overall economic activity, said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM US.
It is recalled that the expiration of enhanced premium subsidies for Affordable Care Act coverage is at the center of Congress’s impasse over funding the federal government and ending the shutdown.
