Trump acknowledges his response to the stock market downturn
The US president has provided an explanation for the recent pause in tariffs after advising Americans to “be cool.” President Donald Trump acknowledged that his choice to postpone further tariff increases was influenced by a notable decline...
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The US president has provided an explanation for the recent pause in tariffs after advising Americans to “be cool.”
President Donald Trump acknowledged that his choice to postpone further tariff increases was influenced by a notable decline in US financial markets. He indicated that he was closely watching investor sentiment, noting that people were becoming too “yippy” and “afraid” before he announced a 90-day freeze.
On Wednesday morning, Trump asked Americans to “be cool” and reassured investors that “this is a great time to buy,” following a staggering loss of over $1.5 trillion in market capitalization just a day prior. This market sell-off occurred right before the scheduled implementation of a 104% tariff on Chinese imports, along with extensive new tariffs on several other countries.
Later that day, the president revealed his decision to maintain most tariffs at a “baseline” of 10 percent, with the exception of China, which saw its tariff rate escalate to 125 percent. In a conversation with reporters, Trump mentioned that he had been tracking market movements closely before making his decision.
“I was watching the bond market. The bond market is very tricky. I was watching it. But if you look at it now, it’s... it’s beautiful,” he stated. “But, yeah, I saw last night where people were getting a little queasy.”
“I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line. They were getting yippy, you know? They were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit… afraid.”
The president's announcement sparked a remarkable rally in US stock markets. The S&P 500 experienced a 9.5 percent increase, marking its largest gain since 2008. The Dow Jones rose by 7.9 percent, representing its best day since 2020, and the Nasdaq surged by 12 percent, its most significant one-day gain in 24 years.
While Wednesday's surge added over $5 trillion in market value, US markets have yet to fully recover from the losses incurred since the onset of the tariff war last week. Nevertheless, Trump asserted that his “reciprocal” trade actions signify a pivotal moment.
“The big move wasn’t what I did today. The big move was what I did on Liberation Day. We had Liberation Day in America. We were liberated from all of the horrible trade deals that were made,” he explained.
In response to inquiries about the possibility of exemptions for certain American companies during the 90-day period, Trump said that the administration would assess requests on a case-by-case basis. “Some [companies] get hit a little bit harder, and we’ll take a look at that – just instinctively, more than anything else,” he remarked. “You almost can’t take a pencil to paper. It’s really more of an instinct.”
Trump also warned that the situation remains dynamic, asserting that “nothing is over yet,” as numerous countries—including China—are now striving to negotiate “fair” agreements with the United States to mitigate the full impact of the tariffs.
Navid Kalantari for TROIB News
President Donald Trump acknowledged that his choice to postpone further tariff increases was influenced by a notable decline in US financial markets. He indicated that he was closely watching investor sentiment, noting that people were becoming too “yippy” and “afraid” before he announced a 90-day freeze.
On Wednesday morning, Trump asked Americans to “be cool” and reassured investors that “this is a great time to buy,” following a staggering loss of over $1.5 trillion in market capitalization just a day prior. This market sell-off occurred right before the scheduled implementation of a 104% tariff on Chinese imports, along with extensive new tariffs on several other countries.
Later that day, the president revealed his decision to maintain most tariffs at a “baseline” of 10 percent, with the exception of China, which saw its tariff rate escalate to 125 percent. In a conversation with reporters, Trump mentioned that he had been tracking market movements closely before making his decision.
“I was watching the bond market. The bond market is very tricky. I was watching it. But if you look at it now, it’s... it’s beautiful,” he stated. “But, yeah, I saw last night where people were getting a little queasy.”
“I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line. They were getting yippy, you know? They were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit… afraid.”
The president's announcement sparked a remarkable rally in US stock markets. The S&P 500 experienced a 9.5 percent increase, marking its largest gain since 2008. The Dow Jones rose by 7.9 percent, representing its best day since 2020, and the Nasdaq surged by 12 percent, its most significant one-day gain in 24 years.
While Wednesday's surge added over $5 trillion in market value, US markets have yet to fully recover from the losses incurred since the onset of the tariff war last week. Nevertheless, Trump asserted that his “reciprocal” trade actions signify a pivotal moment.
“The big move wasn’t what I did today. The big move was what I did on Liberation Day. We had Liberation Day in America. We were liberated from all of the horrible trade deals that were made,” he explained.
In response to inquiries about the possibility of exemptions for certain American companies during the 90-day period, Trump said that the administration would assess requests on a case-by-case basis. “Some [companies] get hit a little bit harder, and we’ll take a look at that – just instinctively, more than anything else,” he remarked. “You almost can’t take a pencil to paper. It’s really more of an instinct.”
Trump also warned that the situation remains dynamic, asserting that “nothing is over yet,” as numerous countries—including China—are now striving to negotiate “fair” agreements with the United States to mitigate the full impact of the tariffs.
Navid Kalantari for TROIB News
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