The Washington Post — The 7 · News & Digests
TIER 4 Wed, 9 Apr 2025 22:35:07 +0000
Economists warned recession signs were rising
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Keeping up with politics is easy now.
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###### By Amber Phillips
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A week after announcing widespread tariffs and less than a day after they**** took effect, President Donald Trump abruptly dialed down his trade war with most countries — pausing or lowering the tariffs on dozens of nations, while raising China’s**** to 125 percent.
This came after Trump repeatedly insisted he wouldn’t back down on tariffs that reached nearly 50 percent on some countries. “Sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” he said Sunday. “Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!” he posted on social media Monday.
What happened to change his mind? We don’t know for sure.
Trump announced the major reversal in social media post Wednesday, in which he indicated the change was sparked because countries were willing to negotiate trade deals with him. “More than 75 countries have called,” he said.
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But left unsaid is that the stock market has had a horrible week. Trump told reporters Wednesday that he was watching the bond market, which showed indications of a recession.
“The bond market is very tricky,” he said. “But if you look at it now, it’s beautiful.” Trump’s billionaire allies and some congressional Republicans had started to criticize him in recent days.
This isn’t over: The higher tariffs tailored country by country are paused for only 90 days. And China aside, there’s still a 10 percent baseline tariff in place on nearly every U.S. import, which economists say is virtually unheard of as a trade policy in modern, developed economies.
Plus, another Trump social media post could change things at any minute. And that’s the main problem, business leaders say. “The continued existence of a 10% universal tariff, the 125% China tariff, pending additional action on sector-specific tariffs, and the elevated uncertainty generated by the administration’s reversal will ultimately compound existing uncertainty for corporations,” Ed Mills, a policy analyst with Raymond James, wrote in a note to clients.
Democrats painted it as a clear win: “Donald Trump is feeling the heat from Democrats and across the America about how bad these tariffs are,” the Senate’s top Democrat, Charles E. Schumer (New York), told reporters. “He is reeling. He is retreating.”
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While we wait to learn more about what this change in tariffs means and how it came about, here’s what else is happening.
### Trump’s long history with loving tariffs
The Washington Post’s Matt Viser reports on how Trump has embraced tariffs for decades:
Trump was upset that other countries were taking advantage of the United States. The debt was growing. The stock market had crashed. He freely shared his**** opinions.
“I believe very strongly in tariffs,” he said. “All of the many nations that abuse the United States should pay a major tax — like a 15 or 20 percent tax on any product they sell in the United States.”
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It was the late 1980s. Not much has changed.
The seeds of President Donald Trump’s latest tariff plans were planted decades ago, when the brash businessman from New York was still just toying with a political career but already developing a zero-sum view of the competitive landscape of the global economy. Forged over a long career in real estate over which many of his clients were wealthy foreigners, Trump grew to believe that the U.S. economy was letting others profit from our markets. He didn’t blame them for taking advantage. He blamed U.S. policy for allowing it to happen.
Read Matt’s whole story here:
## Trump’s long history hating global trade — and loving tariffs
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### The Democrat finding some common ground with Trump on tariffs
The Post’s Patrick Svitek reports on Michigan’s governor, a potential Democratic presidential candidate, taking a unique approach to tariffs within her party:
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sought Wednesday to distinguish herself from fellow Democrats who have been strongly criticizing Trump and his tariffs, offering a more nuanced assessment during a speech emphasizing bipartisanship in Washington.
The speech came ahead of an expected meeting with Trump at the White House, her second since Trump returned to office.
Whitmer made clear that she disagreed with Trump’s sweeping and abrupt use of tariffs, saying it has been “really tough” on her state and the auto industry that powers its economy. But she withheld more pointed criticism of the president, saying she understood the “motivation” behind his tariffs and agreed that Americans “need to make more stuff in America.”
“As I’ve said before, I’m not against tariffs outright, but it is a blunt tool,” Whitmer said. “You can’t just pull out the tariff hammer to swing at every problem without a clear, defined end goal.”
Read the rest of Patrick’s story here:
## Whitmer stands out from Democrats as she addresses Trump’s tariffs
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_Follow Amber Phillips on_ _Instagram_ _,__TikTok_ _and_ _Facebook_ _. _
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