Trump says people were becoming ‘yippy’ and ‘afraid’ as most tariffs go on hold
Thursday, 10 April 2025
WASHINGTON | Facing a global market meltdown, President Donald Trump on Wednesday abruptly backed down on his tariffs on most nations for 90 days, but raised his tax rate on Chinese imports to 125%.
Trump posted on Truth Social that because “more than 75 Countries” had reached out to the US government for trade talks and have not retaliated in meaningful way “I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately.”
Trump later told reporters that he pulled back on many global tariffs — but not on China — because people were “yippy,” and “afraid,” adding that while he expected to reach deals that “nothing’s over yet.”
The president said he had been watching the bond market and that people were “getting a little queasy.” But after his tariff pause, Trump described the bond market as “beautiful.”
As with some of the previous tariff announcements, New Zealand officials are scrambling to clarify exactly what Trump’s announcement means.
‘While the post has been made we are still waiting for more detailed information. It appears that NZ would remain subject to the 10% tariff, but officials on the ground are currently engaged to clarify this,” a spokesperson for Trade Minister Todd McClay told The Post. McClay is currently in the United Arab Emirates.
The announcement came after the global economy appeared to be in open rebellion against Trump's tariffs as they took effect Wednesday, a signal that the US president was not immune from market pressures.
Business executives were warning of a potential recession caused by his policies, some of the top US trading partners are retaliating with their own import taxes and the stock market is quivering after days of decline.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the walk back was part of a grand negotiating strategy by Trump.
“President Trump created maximum negotiating leverage for himself,” she said, adding that the news media 'clearly failed to see what President Trump is doing here. You tried to say that the rest of the world would be moved closer to China, when in fact, we’ve seen the opposite effect the entire world is calling the United States of America, not China, because they need our markets.”
But market pressures had been building for weeks ahead of Trump's move.
John Canavan, lead analyst at the consultancy Oxford Economics, noted that while Trump said he changed course due to possible negotiations, he had previously indicated that the tariffs would stay in place.
“There have been very mixed messages on whether there would be negotiations,' Canavan said. 'Given what's been going on with the markets, he realised the safest thing to do is negotiate and put things on pause.”
Presidents often receive undue credit or blame for the state of the US economy as their time in the White House is subject to financial and geopolitical forces beyond their direct control.
But by unilaterally imposing tariffs, Trump is exerting extraordinary influence over the flow of commerce, creating political risks and pulling the market in different directions based on his remarks and social media posts. There still appear to be 25% tariffs on autos, steel and aluminium, with more imports set to be tariffed in the weeks ahead.
Bessent has previously said it could take months to strike deals with countries on tariff rates, and the administration has not been clear on whether the baseline 10% tariffs imposed on most countries will stay in place. But in an appearance on “Mornings with Maria,” Bessent said the economy would “be back to firing on all cylinders” at a point in the “not too distant future.”
He said there has been an 'overwhelming' response by “the countries who want to come and sit at the table rather than escalate.” Bessent mentioned Japan, South Korea, and India. 'I will note that they are all around China. We have Vietnam coming today,” he said.
What's not yet known is what Trump does with the rest of his tariff agenda. In a Tuesday night speech, he said taxes on imported drugs would happen soon.
Stocks take off
US stocks are soaring on a euphoric Wall Street Wednesday after Trump said he would temporarily back off on most of his global tariffs, as investors had so desperately hoped he would.
The S&P 500 was up 8% in afternoon trading and heading toward one of its best days in decades
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2,665 points, or 7.1%, as of 2pm Eastern time (6am NZT) , and the Nasdaq composite was 10.3% higher.
Investors have been desperate for Trump to ease up on his tariffs, which economists say could cause a global recession and increase inflation.