What prompted Trump’s 90-day pause on higher tariffs for most nations
Request by several nations to negotiate tariffs and pressure from American businessmen and investors are said to have prompted Trump to put the duties on hold
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (April 9) backed down dramatically in his global trade war and announced a 90-day pause for higher tariffs for most countries, but at the same time increased the tariff for China to 125 per cent, effective immediately.
Several nations sought negotiation
What seems to have prompted this change of stance is China’s aggressive retaliation to Trump’s higher tariffs and the fact that other nations “reached out to negotiate and did not retaliate against the United States”.
“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 per cent, effective immediately,” Trump posted on the Truth Social network.
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Trump accused China of “still ripping off” the US, and he hoped that at some point in the near future, it would realise that the days of “ripping off the USA and other countries is no longer sustainable or acceptable”.
With Trump’s latest decision, only a flat rate of 10 per cent tariffs on all other countries that took effect last week will remain in place.
Pressure from business leaders
Another reason that Trump decided to put higher tariffs on hold for about 75 countries is probably because he has been under a lot of pressure from American business leaders and investors to reduce or remove tariffs.
Trump’s imposition of high tariffs against all its trade partners, foes and friends, led to unprecedented turmoil in stock markets in the US and all over the world.
The US president said he thought about reducing his tariffs after discussions with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
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'People were getting yippy'
“I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line. They were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid,” Trump told journalists at the White House.
Explaining the rationale for the 90-day pause, Trump said that more than 75 countries had contacted his administration and did not retaliate on his “strong suggestion”.
Treasury Secretary Bessent called the turnaround a victory for Trump, saying the president “created maximum negotiating leverage for himself”.
Stock markets rebound
The US stock market rebounded after Trump’s 90-day-pause announcement, with its best rally since 2008. The S&P index went up by 9.5 per cent, while the Nasdaq 100 soared by 12 per cent.
Also Read: China urges India to unite against Trump tariff ‘abuse’
Asian stocks also saw their biggest jump in two years, while economists went back on their forecasts of a recession in the US.