- Facing a global market meltdown, President Donald Trump abruptly backed down on his tariffs on most nations for 90 days, reports DW.
- He raised his tax rate on Chinese imports to 125% after Beijing said it would raise tariffs on US imports to 84%.
- Meanwhile, the European Union earlier agreed to go ahead with its retaliatory tariffs against the US, in response to a previously announced levy on steel and aluminum imports. However, Brussels has yet to respond to Trump’s more recent announcement of a 20% on all imports from the EU.
Trump urges everyone to “be cool”
US President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social network to urge for calm, as countries, politicians and the stock market continue to react to his global tariffs.
“BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well. The USA will be bigger and better than ever before!” Trump posted.
According to DW, the remark comes as more Republicans are going public with their worries about the effects of Trump’s tariffs.
“People are going to look at their 401(k) statements. They did vote for President Trump and they voted for me. … I’m just trying to figure out if they are going to feel good about this,” said Thom Tillis of North Carolina, one of seven Senate Republicans who have signed on to a bipartisan bill that would give Congress the authority to review and override new tariffs.
Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana has publicly voiced similar concern.
“It’s not fun. I don’t like it. I like it when the market goes up,” Kennedy told reporters. He said he wants to give Trump’s gambit a chance, but that the president ought to do a better job of informing the public about his short-term goals.
But Trump has so far not listened to his detractors, sending a clear message to those who oppose tariffs in a speech he gave the during a dinner with fellow Republicans, where he mocked Republican concerns about tariffs and said the policy was working because now countries were “dying” to make a deal.
