STOCK INDEXES SURGED Wednesday, and lawmakers breathed a sigh of relief after President Trump announced he’d reduce and delay most tariffs on foreign goods.
At the same time, a full-blown trade war is underway between the U.S. and China. Trump ramped up tariffs on the country to a whopping 125 percent, hours after China announced its own retaliation. Driving the markets: Trump announced a 90-day pause on the reciprocal tariffs on individual countries that went into effect at midnight, although he’ll maintain a 10 percent global tariffs baseline. After a massive sell-off last week, the markets soared on the news.
⬆️ The S&P 500 jumped more than 9 percent. ⬆️ The NASDAQ gained 12 percent.
⬆️ The DOW spiked by nearly 8 percent. Trump, who earlier in the day urged everyone to “be cool,” said he noticed “people were getting a little queasy.” However, he insisted that fears over the bond market collapsing did not drive his decision. Instead, he said he’d decided to pause reciprocal tariffs on individual countries because so many had reached out to strike new trade deals with the U.S.
“These Countries have not, at my strong suggestion, retaliated in any way, shape, or form against the United States, I have authorized a 90-day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he posted on Truth Social. No deals have been announced yet, although Trump administration officials say Vietnam, Japan and South Korea are among those in talks with the U.S. about a realignment. The full picture remains murky.
Member states of the European Union announced retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. earlier in the day that are set to hit April 15.
Trump had previously announced new auto parts tariffs set to take hold May 3, and he announced “major” new pharmaceutical tariffs at a GOP campaign event on Tuesday night. |
CHINA TRADE WAR ESCALATES |
While much of the world will get a reprieve, the trade war between between the world’s two biggest economies is in full bloom.
“At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable,” Trump posted. Wednesday morning, China announced an 84 percent retaliatory tariff on U.S. goods. Trump responded in the afternoon with another tariffs hike on China, bringing it from 104 percent to 125 percent. “They’ve ripped us off left and right,” Trump said at a National Republican Congressional Committee event Tuesday night. “But now it’s our turn to do the ripping.” The cold war between the two countries extends beyond tariffs.
China issued a travel advisory to the U.S. and accused the Trump administration of “blackmail” after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described Beijing as a threat to the Panama Canal. The U.S. is warning that Chinese intelligence entities are looking to compromise fired federal workers. |
Republicans — many of whom oppose tariffs and trade wars — expressed relief throughout the day Wednesday.
“I think the markets have spoken for themselves,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-Ark.) said. “They’re sending a message that they want to see progress made and the fact that the president has indicated that he’s seeing progress made is a positive step. It also indicates that most of the market believes the economy is alive and well, they’re just concerned about the proposed tariffs.”
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said there’s more work to do.
“I’m glad the president made that choice, but now we have to get the deal flow going,” he said.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) joked that this is “all part of the master plan, I’m sure.” Democrats bemoaned the whiplash.
“You cannot run a country with such chaos,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said. “With such unpredictability. With such lack of understanding of what’s going on in the world and the facts. When there’s chaos, already damage is done, irretrievable damage is done because of the chaos.”
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Read more:
• Trump announces pause in tariffs; markets jump.
• Stocks surge after Trump backs down from new tariffs.
• Almost 3 in 4 expect higher prices after Trump tariffs take effect. |
The Trump administration will appeal a federal court decision ordering it to allow Associated Press journalists to cover White House events.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a lower court order blocking the Trump administration from firing probationary workers, freeing the White House to fire thousands of federal workers.
The Trump administration says some foreign aid programs that were cut in error would be restored.
The Treasury Department slapped new sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program days before U.S. and Iranian officials are planning to meet.
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© J. Scott Applewhite, Associated Press |
GOP’s budget blueprint faces moment of truth
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The GOP’s budget blueprint for President Trump’s agenda faces a critical vote Wednesday. The outcome is far from certain.
Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) have been lobbying hard, but House conservatives are promising to sink the budget blueprint, which would be a major blow to both Trump and Johnson.
Johnson is publicly optimistic the budget will pass before lawmakers leave town Thursday for a two-week recess. “I think it’s gonna pass today,” Johnson said.
Trump has been pressuring GOP lawmakers to get on board. His pressure tactics have worked in the past, but this time might be different.
About a dozen GOP fiscal hawks have said they’ll vote against the resolution, arguing that it doesn’t do enough to cut spending. Johnson can only afford to lose three members if all Democrats vote against it.
Reps. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) and Chip Roy (R-Texas) both voted to advance the resolution out of committee, but say they’ll oppose it when it goes before the full House.
“The math still doesn’t add up,” Roy said. “The Senate budget still, in my view, produces significant deficits.”
Trump hosted conservative lawmakers at the White House on Tuesday in an effort to get them on board, although some, including Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris (R-Md.), declined the invitation, saying their minds were already made up.
Trump continued the pressure campaign Tuesday night at a National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) event.
“Close your eyes and get there,” Trump said. “It’s a phenomenal bill. Stop grandstanding.”
But the House conservatives appear unmoved.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), who attended both the White House meeting with Trump and the NRCC event, told The Hill he remains a firm “no.”
“The Senate plan is a joke, not serious and offensive,” he said.
The Hill’s Mychael Schnell reports:
“The apparent willingness among the hardline conservatives to brush aside Trump’s lobbying is a newfound stance in 119th Congress for House Republicans, after those very tactics helped move votes in the beginning months of the term.”
The latest: House GOP tees up final vote on budget blueprint |
💡Perspectives:
• The Hill: Republicans’ dishonesty on deficit reduction.
• The Hill: The world is shocked by Trump’s tariff tantrums — it shouldn’t be. • The Atlantic: Due process for me, not for thee. |
© Curtis Means, Associated Press; Jose Luis Magana, Associated Press |
Roundup: Barnburner brewing for Texas Senate
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) will challenge Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in the GOP primary, which is turning ugly fast. Paxton has fashioned himself as a conservative firebrand and MAGA torchbearer, while casting Cornyn as a “RINO,” citing Cornyn’s past support for funding to Ukraine and a bipartisan gun safety bill that followed the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Cornyn, who has been in the Senate since 2002 and sits on the Senate Finance, Judiciary, Intelligence, Foreign Relations and Budget committees, came out swinging at Paxton’s announcement. “Obviously, Mr. Paxton has a checkered past,” Cornyn said. “He is a con man and a fraud, and I think the people of Texas know that. This is what will be litigated over the course of this campaign.”
Paxton was indicted in 2015 on securities fraud charges, ultimately reaching a settlement with prosecutors after pleading not guilty. He was impeached by the state House in 2023 but acquitted by the state Senate after he was accused of misusing his office to benefit a real estate developer.
• An immigration judge has given the Trump administration one day to provide its evidence for why detained former Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil should be deported.
The judge said Khalil, a green card holder who participated in pro-Palestinian protests on campus, will be released unless the government proves its case to her.
Khalil has become a central figure in the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on foreign students participating in campus protests.
MEANWHILE… The Trump administration is accelerating its efforts to crack down on universities.
The government pulled $4 million in funding from Princeton University over climate-related programs that go “against” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s current objectives.
And the Trump administration has frozen millions of dollars in federal funding to Cornell University and Northwestern University, citing alleged violations of civil rights laws. |
💡Perspectives:
• The Guardian: Protests bring a glimmer of hope.
• Washington Examiner: Democrats are the true party of ‘oligarchy’
• Slate: Sanders gives Dems hope for life after Trump. |
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