Trump Tariff Pause marked a major reversal Wednesday, as market turmoil and spiking bond yields forced a 90-day delay on sweeping trade levies.
For days, Trump had urged calm, posting on Truth Social to “BE COOL!” and “BUY NOW!!!” . But as the Dow Jones tumbled and investor confidence plummeted, pressure mounted from inside the White House and on Wall Street.
“I know what the hell I’m doing,” Trump declared defiantly at a National Republican Congressional Committee event. Yet by the afternoon, a different message emerged: a temporary tariff pause was necessary “instinctively, more than anything else,” Trump said.
The tariffs, initially framed as “reciprocal,” had sent the markets into a tailspin. Bond yields spiked, sparking fears of a broader financial crisis. The Dow plunged, wiping out trillions in stock market value in mere days.
Inside sources revealed that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Vice President JD Vance played key roles. They were instrumental in convincing Trump to shift course. Their concern: the administration’s aggressive tariff push could lead to a full-blown economic collapse.
Trump’s reversal, however, came with a strategic twist. While Trump granted most countries a 90-day pause, he hiked tariffs on China to 125%, signaling his continued effort to isolate Beijing as a primary trade offender.
Senior officials scrambled to recast the sudden shift as part of a grand strategy. “This was his plan all along,” Bessent claimed, while White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described it as Trump executing “the Art of the Deal in action.”
Still, many in Trump’s circle admitted the real motivator was the market reaction. The Dow Jones suffered its worst decline since the pandemic. Bond yields soared, raising red flags about lending and long-term growth.
While global leaders reportedly flooded. The White House with calls seeking exemptions, economists warned that tariffs were fueling inflation — a direct hit to another Trump campaign promise to lower prices.
The markets briefly soared after Trump announced the pause. But investors remain cautious, as Trump left the door open for future tariff shifts. When asked about the path forward, he simply replied, “Instinctively, more than anything else.”
With just a 90-day pause in place and no long-term strategy fully explained, markets, businesses, and global leaders. They all left asking the same thing: what’s next?
Source: The New York Times
