President Donald Trump has made a surprise announcement, suspending the implementation of country-specific reciprocal tariffs—originally set to take effect on the 9th—for 90 days. As fears of a global economic downturn eased with this tariff suspension, the stock market experienced what can only be described as a “surge.”
During this period, the reciprocal tariff rate of 25% on South Korea, among others, will be suspended, with only the base tariff of 10% applied. However, the tariff rate on China will instead rise to 125%, citing China’s retaliatory measures against the U.S. as the reason.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, President Trump declared, “I am immediately raising U.S. tariffs on China to 125%,” adding that the decision was “based on China’s lack of respect shown to global markets.” In contrast, he stated, “On the other hand, based on the fact that more than 75 countries have not taken retaliatory actions against the U.S., I have approved a 90-day suspension of reciprocal tariffs and a significant reduction of tariffs to 10% (the base rate) during this period.”
On this day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 40,608.45, soaring 2,962.86 points (7.87%) from the previous session. The S&P 500 index surged 474.13 points (9.52%) to 5,456.90, while the Nasdaq Composite skyrocketed 1,857.06 points (12.16%) to 17,124.97, marking the end of trading.