US Stocks Skyrocket on Trump's 90-Day Pause on Most Reciprocal Tariffs

TMTPOST -- American stock market skyrocketed on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for most of targeted countries.

Credit：China Central Television

The S&P 500 closed 9.5% higher, logging its best day since October 2008. The rally, which snapped a four-session streak of losses, marked the benchmark’s third biggest gain since World War II, according to FactSet. The Nasdaq Composite surged around 12.2% , registering its largest one-day jump since January 2001 and the second-best day ever. The Dow Jones Industrial Average settled 2962.86 points, or nearly 7.9%, higher. That represented a largest on-day point gain on record and its best daily performance by percentage points since March 2020.

The stock market volatility came on heels of a Trump’s post on his social media Truth Social at the afternoon trading. Trump said in the post he has authorized a 90-day pause and “a substantially lowered reciprocal tariff” of 10% during this period, both effective immediately.

The decision of pause was made as more than 75 countries have called the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and its leader US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Treasury to negotiate a solution to trade, trade barriers, tariffs, currency manipulation, and non-monetary tariffs, and these countries have not retaliated against the U.S., Trump wrote.

Touting Trump’s aforementioned post “one of the most extraordinary Truth posts of his Presidency”, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick posted on X that he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sat with Trump while he wrote the post.

The White House clarified that Trump’s announcement of a 90-day pause on tariffs means that the “tariff level will be brought down to a universal 10% tariff” during that time, while “negotiations are ongoing.” The White House will not release a list of countries that have reached out to start negotiations over reciprocal tariffs, it told NBC News.

Bessent told reporters at the White House the 90-day pause was granted because Trump wants to be “personally involved” in negotiations over the tariffs. “Each one of these is going to be a separate, bespoke negotiation,” Bessent said. He observed separate tariffs on autos, steel and Aluminum will remain.

Bessent also said Trump was planning to pull back his tariff plans for dozens of countries days after the announcement. “This was his strategy all along,” said the Treasury Secretary.

Trump explained he halted hefty tariffs for most countries for people “were getting a little bit yippy.” “You have to have flexibility” in policies, he added.

Trump unveiled on April 2 his worldwide reciprocal tariff plan. Under the plan, a new blanket 10% tariff on all countries came into force on April 5 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time, and the countries with which the United States has the largest trade deficits will face an individualized reciprocal higher tariff, effective from April 9 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time. All other countries will continue to be subject to the original 10% tariff baseline.

According to the chart Trump showed on April 2, goods from China will face 34% tariffs on top of the current 20% tariff. Levies on the European Union, Japan, South Korea will go to 20%, 24% and 25%, respectively. The hardest hit nations include Leasotho and Saint Pierre & Miquelon, both facing a levy of 50%. Goods from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia will be charged at the tariff rate range between 46% and 49%. The United Kingdom, Brazil and Saudi Arabia will be among those being hit least with the baseline 10% tariffs.

American imports from Canada and Mexico that are compliant with United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will be given exemption from the broader tariffs and individual reciprocal tariffs. USMCA is a trade agreement that Trump's first administration negotiated to replace the decades-old North American Free Trade Agreement.