Trump pauses new tariffs - but not for China
US President Donald Trump is suspending most of his controversial tariff package for 90 days. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has promised more than 70 countries talks on tariff agreements in the coming week. By contrast, China, which had retaliated with its own special tariffs of 84 percent on US imports, has been slapped with another hike – bringing tariff rates on its exports to 125 percent. What's behind the backpedalling and the crackdown on Beijing?
On course for disaster
Le Soir warns of an escalation in the trade war between Washington and Bejing:
“If challenged, 'China will fight to the end,' Chinese officials proclaimed. ... No one is surprised. President Xi Jinping is hardly the type to 'kiss the ass' of Donald Trump, to use the charming phrasing of the unenlightened master of the White House, who can only envisage a relationship with a submissive partner. The question remains: can the collision of these two tectonic plates lead to anything other than an earthquake or tsunami?”
Someone appealed to Trump's conscience
Columnist Alan Friedman sneers in La Stampa:
“I suspect that one or more of Donald Trump's billionaire sponsors/friends have brought him to his senses. ... Someone told him the truth. Maybe it was the chorus of Wall Street gods, like Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan or Larry Fink of BlackRock, or perhaps the combined force of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and [fund manager] Bill Ackman, who convinced Trump to put an end to the madness. Or at least put it on hold for 90 days. To save face. And also to avoid a major financial crisis. The US president is incapable of the nuanced thinking it takes to understand macroeconomics. ... Donald Trump's obsession with tariffs has never had anything to do with economics.”
First cracks appearing in the White House
That Elon Musk has publicly described Peter Navarro, the architect of the tariff package, as 'dumber than a sack of bricks' speaks volumes for Trouw:
“The conflict revealed huge differences of opinion on economic policy in the White House. ... Trump's U-turn on Wednesday, when he put things on pause and lowered a whole series of tariffs for many countries, not only made it clear that he is receptive to pressure from big money. It also showed that Trump's tariff hawks in the White House are out of favour for the time being.”
The damage is done
The NRC takes stock:
“The market has won the first battle. ... But few are comforted by the fact that the unleashed Trump is having to (temporarily) correct his course. Even after his U-turn on Wednesday, interest rates on long-term US government bonds barely budged. Trump and his entourage will present him as an ingenious 'dealmaker' in the negotiations to follow. But his reckless gambling with recession, which has brought global trade flows to a halt and jeopardised US creditworthiness, means that after a week of chaos the rest of the world will continue to see him and his country as an unreliable trading partner and a major economic stress factor.”
Making billions with insider trading?
In a Facebook post, sociologist Igor Eidman suspects private interests are behind Trump's tariffs:
“Share prices and cryptocurrencies plummeted after the new tariffs took effect. Then Trump softened the draconian tariff measures and stocks soared again. This happened before, when he introduced tariffs on exports from Mexico and Canada, withdrew them and then introduced new ones. Only Trump and his family and friends know when to let the stock market crash and when to let it go up again ... No doubt they're still making money off Trump's insider tips. ... Could that actually be the main purpose of all the turmoil Trump is causing for the US economy?”