Indices from Tokyo to Frankfurt all experienced rapid rises following the president’s announcement.
Stocks surged on Thursday after President Donald Trump announced an immediate 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for many trading partners, prompting a relief rally following a days-long market rout.
“I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE,” Trump said in a social media post. He said more than 75 countries want to negotiate on trade and are not retaliating against his latest tariff increases.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that the pause was a reward for countries that refrained from retaliating against the United States and that Trump used the duties to create “maximum negotiating leverage.”
“This was his strategy all along,” he said. “And you might even say that he goaded China into a bad position. They responded. They have shown themselves to the world to be the bad actor.”
The suspension of tariffs on scores of nations came less than 24 hours after they kicked in, stunning markets and governments almost as much as their introduction.
Washington maintained a 10 percent blanket duty on almost all imports into the United States.
In Europe, the pan-continental STOXX 600 jumped 7.2 percent at 7.09 a.m. GMT, after losing 12.5 percent since the U.S. reciprocal tariffs were announced on April 2.
The trade-sensitive DAX index in Frankfurt, Germany, rose by 8.1 percent, while London’s FTSE-100 index was up by more than 4 percent.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday welcomed Trump’s announcement of a pause in reciprocal tariffs and said the EU would also put its planned countermeasures on hold for 90 days in response.
Asian markets also rallied on Thursday, though China’s gains were more subdued after Trump increased pressure on the Chinese communist regime by raising the tariff on Chinese goods imported into the United States to 125 percent from the 104 percent level that took effect Wednesday. The move was in response to Beijing’s announcement of an 84 percent levy on U.S. goods starting April 10.
“At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
By Guy Birchall
