Trump's 180-degree turn: What happened in the 18 hours that changed the global market

Trump made a 180-degree turn and partially withdrew the tariff policy. What happened?

Due to market concerns and pressure from multiple parties, according to the Shanghai Securities News, during the U.S. stock market trading on April 9, Eastern Time, U.S. President Trump posted on the social platform that he had authorized a 90-day tariff suspension on some countries, during which tariffs were significantly reduced to 10%.

U.S. stocks soared in response, and the gains of the three major U.S. stock indexes expanded rapidly. The gains of the Nasdaq expanded to more than 10% in the late trading, the S&P 500 rose more than 9%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose nearly 3,000 points, or nearly 8%.

Faced with the strong market rebound, Trump later posted on his social media platform Truth Social: "I guess they will say this is the most important day in financial history."

Trump's concession is a stunning turnaround from his previous resolute stance, after days of his aides arguing that he was seeking to reshape the global economy.

Critical moments from Tuesday night to Wednesday afternoon

From Tuesday night to Wednesday afternoon, Trump and his trade advisers spoke with several Republican lawmakers and top foreign leaders, who expressed concern about the turmoil in global markets and growing concerns about a global recession and urged him to take action.

According to information compiled by the media, Trump's public activities in the 18 hours were as follows:

On Tuesday night, after Sean Hannity's 9 o'clock show on Fox News, Trump spoke by phone for more than an hour with a group of Republican senators on the show, some of whom expressed concerns about tariffs.

That evening, Trump said he was aware of the uneasiness in the bond market.

Early Wednesday, Trump met with Senate Majority Leader John Thune at the White House and held a 25-minute call with Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter to negotiate tariff policy.

At 8 a.m., Trump watched an interview with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on the news. Dimon warned on the show that a recession was a "likely outcome" given economic uncertainty.

At 9:33 a.m., Trump posted on Truth Social, asking everyone to "stay calm," and then added that "now is a good time to buy."

Meanwhile, U.S. Commerce Secretary Lutnick received a call from the European Union's top trade official, Maros Sefcovic, and the EU approved countermeasures against U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs that day.

By noon on Wednesday, Lutnick was sitting in the Oval Office with Treasury Secretary Benson to discuss the latest tariff policy with Trump.

At 1:18 p.m., Trump announced the decision to suspend tariffs on Truth Social.

The sudden turn caught even some senior officials off guard. After Trump posted the post, his aides immediately stood up to discuss how to proceed, and Benson and White House Press Secretary Levitt quickly held a press conference.

After announcing the tariff suspension, Trump told reporters that he had been considering changing course for the past few days and the final decision "may have been made early this morning."

The change was too sudden, and there seemed to be divisions within the White House

Despite official claims of unity, there seemed to be different voices within the White House.

After Trump's announcement, White House aides gathered to discuss the facts and highlights of Trump's newly envisioned plan. But in the aftermath, White House staff remained unclear on key details of the new arrangement.

Peter Navarro, Trump's longtime trade adviser who has urged Trump to pursue an aggressive tariff policy, was not mentioned during the press conference.

But shortly after Trump's announcement, Navarro reportedly gave an interview saying that he and the team were working well together and claimed that he had not been marginalized.

When Trump spoke to reporters in the Oval Office, he was candid about his broader strategy, saying that many times, it's not a negotiation until the end.

Although the market reacted excitedly, former US Treasury Secretary Summers, known as the "whistleblower of high inflation in the United States", said that they are far from out of danger, and reckless "improvisation" is not a useful strategy. After the collapse of multiple markets, the Trump administration is now frightened:

Even their new policy, tariffs are close to the level of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, and middle-class families will lose nearly $2,000. We are far from out of trouble. Credibility has been lost. Be afraid.

The (US) government was still bragging about countries that wanted to negotiate over the weekend. There was no postponement of the negotiations at all. Now that the market has collapsed, they are right to be afraid. This is reckless improvisation, not a strategy, and it is completely dishonest.

The bully retreats.