Why Donald Trump Blinked on Tariffs Just Hours After They Went Into Effect

Treasury secretary Bessent helped persuade the US president to take time to negotiate with trading partners

- Annie Linskey, Josh Dawsey & Meridith Mcgraw

President Trump finally blinked. It took a week for the plunge in the stock and bond markets—along with a sustained campaign by executives, lawmakers, lobbyists and foreign leaders—to prompt Trump to roll back for 90 days a major element of his sweeping tariff plan.

The president said that the reaction to the tariffs was getting a bit "yippy"—like a nervous athlete unable to perform—and he relied on his instincts to change course as he watched the bond market tank and listened to business leaders including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon express fears of a recession. The episode was classic Trump: He took a drastic action, closely tracked the reaction, kept advisers and allies guessing and then changed course.

In this case, the extraordinary reversal was announced via Trump's social-media platform just hours after so-called reciprocal tariffs officially went into effect. He tapped out the post in the Oval Office as he sat with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Trump also significantly raised tariffs on China.

Shortly after Trump published his post, as markets rose, Bessent stood outside the entrance to the West Wing and explained that the move to pause some of the tariffs was discussed Sunday when the two men met. "He and I had a long talk," Bessent said before a crowd of reporters. "This was his strategy all along."

Bessent was flooded with worried calls from Wall Street over the weekend and felt strongly he had to persuade Trump that a pause was needed. It wouldn't be a capitulation, Bessent argued, because they were going to have so many deals.

He revealed little publicly about why the president and his team waited until Wednesday afternoon to enact it, with Trump saying that he decided on the move Wednesday morning. Bessent said more than 75 countries have reached out seeking a deal to ease tariffs, with Japan "at the front of the queue."