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The official explanation for Trump’s abrupt 90-day pause in his tariff war—except on China—is hilarious and in character. He actually planned this all along, to get other countries to the negotiating table. That’s quite a comedown from Liberation Day as a formula for American self-sufficiency.
Equally preposterous is his contention that he is giving other countries a break because they refrained from retaliating. But wasn’t the whole point to levy “reciprocal” tariffs to compensate for the fact that other nations were supposedly screwing the U.S. economy, even without further retaliation?
It’s not over because even a 10 percent baseline tariff is still a tax on imports that will increase inflation. And it’s far from clear which nations will be willing to negotiate what sort of deals over the next 90 days.
Go deeper on American Prospect (4 min. read)
