BY PC Bureau
April 9, 2025 – In a dramatic reversal, President Donald Trump announced a 90-day freeze on tariffs for all countries except China during a White House event on Tuesday, April 9, at 3:00 PM EST. The decision came after a week of global market chaos and intense criticism at home, following his earlier imposition of sweeping “reciprocal tariffs” on nearly all U.S. trading partners.
Trump’s announcement also followed his controversial claim that nations were ready to “lick his a**” to avoid the levies—a remark that had already drawn sharp rebuke. The tariff freeze, excluding China, aims to halt the economic freefall, but questions linger about its long-term impact on global trade and U.S. markets.
The Tariff Rollout and Trump’s Provocative Claim
The tariff saga began on April 2, when Trump announced a 10% baseline tariff on all U.S. imports, with higher rates for specific countries—up to 54% on China—under a “reciprocal” policy to address trade imbalances. The White House Fact Sheet on April 3 framed the move as a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), citing a $1.2 trillion U.S. trade deficit in 2024 and the decline of American manufacturing. On April 4, Trump took to Truth Social, boasting, “Countries are already coming to me, ready to lick my a** to avoid these tariffs. They know I mean business!” The crude comment, reported by CNN, drew immediate condemnation, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calling it “unpresidential” and a sign of Trump’s “reckless approach” to global trade, as per The Guardian.
BREAKING 🔶🔶🔶
Trump declares a 90-day tariff freeze for 75 nations—except China, where tariffs will spike to 125%. pic.twitter.com/EeoOK6VuO0
— Polymarket Intel (@PolymarketIntel) April 9, 2025
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The tariffs took effect on April 5 at 12:01 AM EDT, triggering swift retaliation. China imposed a 34% tariff on U.S. goods, targeting agricultural products like soybeans and pork, as reported by The New York Times. The European Union responded with 20% duties on U.S. imports, while Canada and Mexico faced 25% tariffs on cars and parts, prompting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to announce countermeasures, per Reuters. Global markets plummeted; the S&P 500 fell nearly 6% by April 4, entering bear market territory, and the Nasdaq recorded its worst week since the pandemic, losing $1.8 trillion in value over two days, according to CNBC. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 7.8% on April 7, marking its third-largest single-day loss ever, per Wikipedia.
Market Collapse and Domestic Outcry
By April 7, the economic fallout was severe. The Cboe Volatility Index, Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” reached crisis levels not seen since COVID-19, as reported by The Guardian. U.S. companies like Apple and Nike saw steep declines—Apple’s stock dropped 9%—while retailers like Walmart withdrew their operating income outlook due to tariff-driven costs, per CNBC. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warned of a “likely recession,” and Goldman Sachs raised its U.S. recession odds to 45%, according to NBC News. Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers noted on X that the U.S. was being treated like a “problematic emerging market” by global investors, a sentiment echoed in Reuters reports of a third consecutive day of global market losses.
Currently up – wanna know why?
Trump just put a 90 day pause on his own dumbass tariffs. Except for China. Long term that’s still going to be painful for us, no matter what the “markets” say. Price of goods for regular joes and janes like you and I will matter MUCH more pic.twitter.com/oHTTGvOFKO
— TheGeekReborn (@thegeekreborn) April 9, 2025
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Domestic criticism was unrelenting. During a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on April 7, Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider lambasted Trump’s trade representative Jamieson Greer, saying, “WTF? What’s the president thinking? Did you expect ‘Liberation Day’ to become Liquidation Week?” as reported by ABC News. Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.) voiced concerns about the impact on farmers, noting the anxiety among his constituents, who are major corn and soybean producers. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned on April 8 that Trump’s tariffs were “teeing up a nationwide recession,” per The Guardian. Even Trump ally billionaire Bill Ackman, who had initially supported him, urged a 90-day pause to avoid an “economic nuclear winter,” according to BBC.
Trump appeared unperturbed amid the chaos. On April 6, as markets tanked, he was golfing at Trump National Doral in Florida with his son Eric, a move a White House official likened to “going to a birthday party after a friend has had surgery,” per NBC News. Trump’s social media posts remained defiant; on April 7, he wrote, “BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well,” as markets opened in the red, per CNBC. However, a false report on April 7, amplified by CNBC and Reuters, claimed Trump was considering a 90-day tariff pause for all but China, briefly spiking markets before the White House labeled it “fake news,” as noted in The New York Times.
The 90-Day Freeze: A Strategic Retreat
By April 9, the economic carnage and political pressure forced Trump to act. At the White House event, originally scheduled to sign energy-related executive orders, Trump announced the 90-day tariff freeze. “Based on the fact that more than 75 countries have called Representatives of the United States… to negotiate a solution, I have authorized a 90-day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff of 10%, effective immediately,” he said, as reported by CNBC. China was excluded from the freeze, with Trump raising its tariff to 125%, citing Beijing’s “lack of respect” for global markets after it escalated retaliatory duties to 84%.
The announcement followed Trump’s April 7 meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where Israel agreed to eliminate its trade deficit with the U.S., per CNBC. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, addressing the media, clarified, “We’re going to go down to a 10% baseline tariff… and China will be raised to 125% due to their insistence to escalate,” as reported by Sky News. Bessent emphasized that the pause was intended to give countries time to negotiate in “good faith,” noting that over 75 nations had already reached out.
Markets responded positively. Wall Street’s main indexes surged, with Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rebounding 747 points, or 2%, per CNBC. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures gained 1.5% and 1.3%, respectively, halting a four-day slide that had wiped out $5.8 trillion in S&P 500 value since the tariff rollout, according to Sky News. Asian markets, which had closed higher on April 8, saw further stabilization, per CNBC.
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A Temporary Fix, A Persistent Challenge
The 90-day freeze offered a temporary reprieve, but the underlying issues persisted. China’s exclusion and the 125% tariff escalation signaled a deepening trade war with Beijing, which vowed to “fight to the end,” per its Commerce Ministry statement on April 8, as reported by Reuters. Other nations, like Japan and South Korea, began negotiating new trade deals to mitigate the impact, per ABC News. At home, critics remained skeptical. Rep. Brad Schneider called the freeze “too little, too late,” arguing that the initial tariffs had already “decimated” retirement accounts, per ABC News. Farmers, still reeling from China’s agricultural tariffs, echoed Rep. LaHood’s concerns about long-term uncertainty.
Trump’s tariff policy, initially framed as a bold move to rebalance global trade, had instead exposed the fragility of interconnected markets. As he left the East Room to deliver remarks at the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner, the world watched to see if the 90-day pause would lead to meaningful negotiations or further economic turbulence. For now, Trump’s strategic retreat had calmed the storm, but the path forward remained fraught with uncertainty.
