Trade

Who knows what will happen in 90 days? The Soviet Union was governed by Five-Year Plans; now, we are governed by 90-Day Pauses.

Never mind.

President Trump’s 145 percent tariffs on China ran smack into Stein’s law, the late economist Herb Stein’s famous axiom that, “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.”

What was effectively an instant embargo on the biggest importer into the United States wasn’t sustainable, and sure enough, it’s not going to be sustained.

President Donald Trump’s deal to dramatically slash tariffs on China thrilled markets and offered a sliver of relief for businesses across the country. It also revealed an important lesson: Even Teflon Don can’t outrun economic reality.

Global stock markets are soaring in the wake of the trade truce between the U.S. and China.

Stocks surged early Monday following news that the U.S. and China had agreed to a 90-day pause in their ongoing trade conflict.

Stocks surged after U.S. and Chinese officials said they agreed to temporarily suspend most of the tariffs they have imposed on each other, the latest sign that trade policy announcements are the main driver of market movements since President Trump returned to office.

The U.S. collected $7.6 billion more in customs duties in April than it did in March, the Treasury said Monday, as revenue from tariffs on imported goods ramped up sharply. Gross customs duties collected in April reached a monthly record of $16.3 billion.

Remember just one month ago when the media was acting like tariffs were a guarantee of 100 years of famine, plague and pestilence? Well tomorrow the stock market is going to be well on its way toward all-time highs, again.

Tom Lee will look like a genius and bears will look like morons. You know the drill. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

My readers will remember that just about a month ago, after “Liberation Day,” I made the case that the mainstream financial media’s panic and histrionics over President Trump’s tariffs were equal parts embarrassing and pointless.

A 90-day pause

Stocks, the dollar and oil are soaring on Monday after President Trump’s top negotiators outlined the specifics of a major — though temporary — de-escalation in the U.S.-China trade fight.

Expectations were sky-high for some kind of breakthrough. The market reaction suggests mission accomplished in terms of reaching an important détente, though significant trade barriers remain and plenty still needs to be worked out.

U.S. and Chinese officials said Monday they had reached a deal to roll back most of their recent tariffs and call a 90-day pause to keep talking to resolve their trade disputes.

Stock markets rose sharply as the globe’s two major economic powers took a step back from a clash that has unsettled the global economy.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the U.S. agreed to drop its 145% tariff rate on Chinese goods by 115 percentage points to 30%, while China agreed to lower its rate on U.S. goods by the same amount to 10%.

 The United States and China said on Monday they have agreed a deal to slash reciprocal tariffs for now as the world's two biggest economies seek to end a trade war that has disrupted the global outlook and set financial markets on edge.

Speaking after talks with Chinese officials in Geneva, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters the two sides had agreed on a 90 day pause on measures and that tariffs would come down by over 100 percentage points to 10%.