What Just Happened? Making Sense of Trump’s Tariff Pause

For weeks, President Donald Trump has plowed ahead with plans to impose steep new tariffs on imports despite warnings that the policy could trigger economic chaos. On April 9, after a multiday plunge in global stock markets, he changed course.

In a social media post, Trump said that a set of tariffs on imports from many of America’s largest trading partners were paused. The announcement came only 13 hours after the duties had gone into effect. Trump indicated that turmoil in the financial markets following the implementation of the tariffs played a role in his decision. Here’s what ...