Donald Trump blinked.
The president paused his plan to levy tit-for-tat tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners on Wednesday, following a week of widespread stock market chaos in anticipation of the new duties. In a post to his social media platform Truth Social, Trump scrapped his reciprocal tariffs and reverted to a base 10% tariff on imports.
Trump said the walk-back was due to the rush of other countries attempting to make deals with the United States. The president, who previously said other countries were "kissing [his] ass" to avoid new duties, wrote that 75 countries "have called representatives...to negotiate a solution." He offered a 90-day pause on his would-be trade war so that new trade deals might be worked out.
"These Countries have not, at my strong suggestion, retaliated in any way, shape, or form against the United States, I have authorized a 90-day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately," he wrote.
Trump did not extend the same courtesy to China, which has responded to Trump's tariffs with retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods. Trump raised his tariff on Chinese imports to 125%.
"Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately," he wrote. "At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable."
The news of a tariff pause caused an instantaneous boost to the U.S. stock market, which had dropped precipitously over fears of a tariff-induced recession. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose sharply following Trump's announcement, gaining over 6% as of this writing.
The Trump administration danced around the idea that Trump caved to economic pressure at home. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was asked directly about a "reversal" from the administration, but chose to paint the move as "[creating] maximum negotiating leverage." Given the good news in the stock market, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt took the opportunity to gloat to the press.
"Many of you in the media clearly missed 'The Art of the Deal.' You clearly failed to see what President Trump is doing here," she told reporters. "The entire world is calling the United States of America, not China, because they need our markets, they need our consumers, and they need this president in the Oval Office to talk to them."
In the House of Representatives, Democrats lambasted the uncertainty created by Trump's on-again, off-again tariffs.
"How is any company supposed to forecast for their future, build a plant, hire workers, if they have no idea what the hell this president is gonna do in his next tweet?" Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said. "I need a neck brace to be able to get through all this."
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