U.S. President Donald Trump noted that the background for the decision to suspend reciprocal tariffs for 90 days on countries excluding China was that "people were scared and anxious." This suggests that he made the suspension decision considering the negative reaction of the financial markets.
On the 9th (local time), President Trump met with reporters at an event with auto racing drivers at the White House and responded to a question regarding the reason for the suspension of reciprocal tariffs by saying, "People were a bit scared." He added, "The government bonds market is very tricky. Last night, I saw people (investors) were anxious."
Following Trump's announcement of the suspension of reciprocal tariffs, the New York Stock Exchange surged. He explained, "The financial market, which had been quite gloomy for several days, rebounded," adding, "This is a significant change, and the key word in my view is flexibility."
He emphasized that it is not about blindly charging ahead just because a wall blocks the path; sometimes, one must go around, dig down, or jump over it, indicating that tariff policy can also be adjusted based on the situation.
Regarding specific industries in the U.S. that may suffer from reciprocal tariffs, he said, "There are companies that can be hit harder due to their nature. We will look into such companies," adding, "We need to show flexibility, and I can do that."
He also explained, "I granted a 90-day suspension to 75 countries that did not retaliate," adding, "I warned that if they retaliate, the tariffs would be doubled, which is why I did that to China."
Regarding the possibility of negotiations with China, he stated, "China wants to reach an agreement as well, but they simply do not know how," and added, "President Xi Jinping is a proud person, and ultimately, we will reach a fair agreement with China and all countries."
Earlier, President Trump announced on the 2nd that a 10% base tariff would be imposed globally, and he stated that a higher reciprocal tariff would be applied to 57 trade partner countries, including South Korea. However, on that day, he made an abrupt announcement that only a 10% base tariff would apply to the countries subject to reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, while the tariff rate on China would be raised to 125%.