President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday via Truth Social a 90-day pause on tariffs for countries that have reached out to address trade deficits, and a 125% tariff on China. The pause comes a week after “Liberation Day,” the day in which the tariffs were first introduced.

Since the introduction of the tariffs, the global economy has seen major shifts in preparations for the repercussions of said tariffs, with many stocks experiencing historic losses. Countries affected by the tariffs had varying responses, with some scrambling to negotiate the tariffs with the US and others, notably China and the European Union, placing retaliatory tariffs of their own. With the announcement of the pause, the stock market rebounded, with the S&P rising by 9.5%—its best day since 1940. China is the only country that received a harsher retaliatory tariff.

Voices from both the left and right were divided on the tariff placed on China, though voices on the left were notably less in favor. Voices in favor argued that the tariff is a temporary “tough love” tactic that will stabilize over time, whereas voices not in favor called the tariffs lll-advised and irrational.

The Wall Street Journal Opinion (Lean Right bias) published an article that argued, “Don’t assume this trade war will be easy for the U.S. to win…Mr. Trump has taken an ax to the economic cords that were binding the rest of the world into an economic and strategic bloc to rival Beijing—and at precisely the moment many countries finally were starting to re-evaluate their economic relationships with China.”

An article from The Guardian (Left) read, “Trump is not for turning on what is clearly for him a personal crusade. Already, countries such as Vietnam are promising to cut all their tariffs on US goods – a clear and brutal demonstration of the US’s continuing economic power. The administration has claimed 50 other countries have also asked to open negotiations. By the end of the week, expect Trump to be triumphantly announcing more such concessions from economies in the global south.”

Jamelle Bouie (Left) wrote in the New York Times Opinion (Left), “He [Trump] did not reason himself into his preoccupation with tariffs and can neither reason nor speak coherently about them. There is no grand plan or strategic vision— only the impulsive actions of a mad king… Trump’s tariffs are not a policy as we traditionally understand it. What they are is an instantiation of his psyche: a concrete expression of his zero-sum worldview.”

A writer for The Blaze (Right) stated, “Trump’s plan to combat inflation includes increasing domestic energy production, lowering energy prices and reducing overall inflation… we have to buckle up for some tougher times before we reap the rewards. However, though we will have some short-term pain, the long-term gain will be well worth it.”