Up First from NPR
Trump Pauses Tariffs, Businesses Welcome Relief, Trump Targets Former Officials
Thu, 10 Apr 2025
President Trump has hit pause on nearly all new tariffs for 90 days. Businesses struggle to plan for the future amid economic uncertainty. And President Trump has signed executive orders targeting two individuals who served in his first administration. Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today's episode of Up First was edited by Roberta Rampton, Rafael Nam, Megan Pratz, Lisa Thomson and Janaya Williams. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis and our technical director is Carleigh Strange.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What recent changes did President Trump make to tariff policies?
President Trump has hit pause on nearly all new tariffs for 90 days.
Well, I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line. They were getting yippy.
With markets rebounding, where does this trade war go? I'm Michelle Martin with Leila Fadal, and this is Up First from NPR News. As businesses welcome the suspension of some tariffs, planning for an uncertain future is still top of mind.
He's going to put a lot of people out of business.
And people are going to lose their jobs. And I might be one of them. How are business owners thinking about survival? And President Trump has issued executive orders targeting two individuals from his first administration. The latest examples of the president using the full power of his office to exact retribution on his perceived enemies. So stay with us.
We'll give you the news you need to start your day.
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Chapter 2: How did markets react to the 90-day tariff pause?
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There was a big turning point Wednesday in the drama over President Trump's trade policy.
Early in the morning, his steep new tariffs went into effect. Then he told Americans to, quote, be cool as markets plunged. But by afternoon, he backed off and put a 90-day pause on most of the tariffs. Markets soared.
Everybody wants to make a deal, actually. And, you know, we want to do what's right for our country. We also want to do what's right for the world.
NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordonez was there. He joins us now. Good morning, Franco.
Good morning.
So you were at the White House yesterday in the Oval Office. Tell us about this really big day.
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Chapter 3: Why did President Trump decide to pause most tariffs but increase tariffs on China?
Yeah, it was a really big day. I mean, for weeks, his team had insisted that Trump was going to hold the line. And just days ago, Trump even wrote on social media, in all capital letters, my policies will never change. And then they did in another social media post. And this is how Trump explained it at the White House.
Well, I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line. They were getting yippy, you know, getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid.
Chapter 4: What is the White House’s rationale behind the tariff adjustments?
You know, he also talked about concerns in the bond market and then he downplayed all those concerns. And Trump and his aides began painting this as being part of their strategy all along.
So how much of this had to do with the markets? Is this an about face?
There's no mistaking the turmoil that the Marxists were under, and it was getting worse and worse. Top investors were pleading with Trump. Some were almost begging him to do this very thing, issue a 90-day pause. Now, Trump did say you have to be flexible in your policies, but he insisted this was the right thing to do.
Okay, so what happens now? There's a 90-day pause, and then what?
Yeah. I mean, we should be clear that the administration is keeping a baseline 10% tariff on imports, which is a big deal. But it is nothing, nothing like what he was threatening, such as a 46% tariff against Vietnam. Well, so now they've begun these discussions with these countries on what they've described as tailor-made negotiations for each, though we don't really know what that involves.
But, you know, his goals on this have always been kind of unclear. They've talked about the tariffs being about reducing the trade deficit. They've talked about the tariffs being about bringing back manufacturing. They've talked about the tariffs being about boosting government revenues. So it's always kind of been this mixed bag.
Right. And then to be clear, the president has spent a lot of time talking about China's trade practices. And again, those tariffs are still there on China. So how does this shift affect the country?
Yeah, another really big deal. I mean, while he paused the tariffs on most everyone else, he doubled down on China, raising the tariffs to 125%. He said it was punishment when China announced their own retaliatory tariffs. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said China made a mistake and was basically being isolated as a result.
You might even say that he goaded China into into a bad position, they responded, they have shown themselves to the world to be the bad actors.
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Chapter 5: How are business owners responding to the shift in trade policy?
Chapter 6: What impact could the 90-day tariff pause have on the economy and trade negotiations?
Chapter 7: What executive orders has President Trump signed targeting former officials?
And people are going to lose their jobs. And I might be one of them. How are business owners thinking about survival? And President Trump has issued executive orders targeting two individuals from his first administration. The latest examples of the president using the full power of his office to exact retribution on his perceived enemies. So stay with us.
We'll give you the news you need to start your day.
Chapter 8: Where can listeners find a simpler explanation of political news?
Does the idea of listening to political news freak you out? Well, don't sweat it. The NPR Politics Podcast makes politics a breeze. Every episode will break down the day's headlines into totally normal language and make sure that you walk away understanding what the day's news might mean for you.
Take a deep breath and give politics another chance with the NPR Politics Podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts.
There was a big turning point Wednesday in the drama over President Trump's trade policy.
Early in the morning, his steep new tariffs went into effect. Then he told Americans to, quote, be cool as markets plunged. But by afternoon, he backed off and put a 90-day pause on most of the tariffs. Markets soared.
Everybody wants to make a deal, actually. And, you know, we want to do what's right for our country. We also want to do what's right for the world.
NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordonez was there. He joins us now. Good morning, Franco.
Good morning.
So you were at the White House yesterday in the Oval Office. Tell us about this really big day.
Yeah, it was a really big day. I mean, for weeks, his team had insisted that Trump was going to hold the line. And just days ago, Trump even wrote on social media, in all capital letters, my policies will never change. And then they did in another social media post. And this is how Trump explained it at the White House.
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