President Trump abruptly reversed his trade policy on Wednesday, suspending for 90 days the import tariffs he had imposed just 13 hours earlier on dozens of countries. This decision came after a sharp decline in global financial markets, the paralysis of businesses, and fears of a global economic recession.
Trump justified the pause to give countries time to negotiate with his trade team. However, he raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 125% in retaliation for the tariffs imposed by Beijing on U.S. products. This figure was later adjusted to 145% after accounting for the previous 20% tariffs on fentanyl.
Trump's reversal generated criticism and confusion, being seen by some allies as an attempt to control the damage after the market crash.