Stocks Soar as Trump Pauses Tariffs | 4.10.25

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Georgia Howe: Welcome to Morning Wire. I'm Georgia Howe, and I'm joined by Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley.

John Bickley: Thanks for having me, Georgia.

Georgia Howe: Today, we're talking about President Trump's surprise move to pause tariffs on global trade partners. But before we dive in, let's take a look at why you should shop at Burlington. Maybe it's the deals that are new each time you drop by. Maybe it's the brand names you'll be shocked Burlington has in store. Or maybe it's the quality of the items, the amazing selection, and the newest trends. If you like to save, but also like to stay in style, Burlington is your answer. And the question you'll be asking yourself is, why go anywhere else? Burlington. Deals. Brands. Wow.

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Georgia Howe: I did a 90-day pause for the people that didn't retaliate. At the end of a year or shorter, I think we're going to have something that nobody would have dreamt possible. Trump pauses tariffs and sends the market soaring.

John Bickley: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Thursday, April 10th, and this is Morning Wire.

Georgia Howe: While the market recovers, the Trump administration says it's time to focus on everyday Americans. For the last four decades, Wall Street has grown wealthier than ever before. But for the next four years, the Trump agenda is focused on Bain Street.

John Bickley: And will China hold out in the terror for war with Trump? We talked to a supply chain expert about what Beijing will do next.

Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. April is Financial Literacy Month. That's right. They made a whole month reminding you to finally take control of your money. And you don't need to be rich. Acorns lets you get started with the spare money you've got right now, even if all you have is spare change. Sign up and join the over 14 million all-time customers who have already saved and invested over $25 billion with Acorns. Head to acorns.com slash wire or download the Acorns app to get started. Paid non-client endorsement. Compensation provides incentive to positively promote Acorns. Tier 1 compensation provided. Investing involves risk. Acorns Advisor, LLC, and SEC Registered Investment Advisor. View important disclosures at acorns.com slash wire.

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Georgia Howe: In a stunning development Wednesday, President Trump paused tariffs on all trading partners with the exception of China. Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips is here to break down what led to the decision and how markets responded.

Cabot Phillips: So, Cabot, a really remarkable 24 hours. Where do things stand now?

Cabot Phillips: Yeah, one week ago, President Trump enacted the largest tariffs in a century. And then yesterday, with a single social media post, he put nearly all of them on pause. Trump announced in a Truth Social post that, effective immediately, there would be a 90-day pause on nearly all tariffs. In the meantime, a flat 10% rate will go into effect.

Georgia Howe: If you walked outside yesterday afternoon and felt a strong breeze, that was actually the collective sigh of relief from world leaders making its way across the globe. Well, and investors were also joining in that relief. Tell us about the market response.

Cabot Phillips: Well, the president said Wednesday morning that it was a, quote, great time to buy. And he was not kidding. Within five minutes of his announcement, trillions of dollars in value had been added to the markets. By the time markets closed, the Dow was up more than 2,900 points, nearly 8%. The S&P skyrocketed nearly 10%, the largest one-day gain since 2008. And the Nasdaq saw its biggest daily gain in nearly a quarter century, surging 12%. All told, the broad market index on Wall Street saw its third largest gain since World War II.

Georgia Howe: Hopefully some of our listeners bought the dip because the market appears to be roaring back. Right. So let's get to China. That's the one country where Trump offered no relief. Yeah, quite the opposite. Remember, while the vast majority of our trading partners held off on retaliatory tariffs and sought a deal, Beijing raised their rates to 34 percent and then 84 percent. That clearly outraged the president who said quote based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the world markets I hereby raising the tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125 percent effective immediately

Cabot Phillips: We talking hundreds of billions of dollars worth of tariffs now on the table. The White House says the Chinese have shown the world their hand and proven once and for all that they cannot be trusted to operate fairly. As Treasury Secretary Scott Besson put it, Beijing fell into President Trump's trap. What China is doing will affect their economy much more than it will ours. This was his strategy all along. And you might even say that he goaded China into a bad position. They responded. They have shown themselves to the world to be the bad actors. And according to the White House, China will be forced to blink first and make a favorable deal with the U.S. That's because they say their economy is so reliant on shipping cheap goods to other countries, mainly America. In Trump's words, China may be projecting strength, but they are desperate for relief. China wants to make a deal. They just don't know how quite to go about it. President Xi is a proud man. I know him very well. And they don't know quite how to go about it, but they'll figure it out.

Georgia Howe: So what comes next? Well, the White House made clear they're going to take the next 90 days to hammer out as many trade deals as possible. And they've made clear what they're looking for. Lower tariffs, lower value-added taxes, and the removal of import bans on certain American products. If those demands are not met, the tariffs will be back on three months from now. We've had more than 75 countries contact us, and I imagine after today there will be more. So it is just a processing problem. Each one of these solutions is going to be bespoke, it is going to take some time, and President Trump wants to be personally involved. So that's why we're getting the 90-day pause.

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Georgia Howe: Amid the terror fallout, the White House is working to make their economic case to Main Street Americans. Here with a look at what Trump and his team are saying is Daily Wire deputy managing editor Tim Rice.

Tim Rice: So, Tim, the White House is clearly trying to make sure the conversation doesn't get stuck on tariffs. What other plans are they highlighting?

Tim Rice: Well, Georgia, that all comes down to another of Trump's favorite phrases: tax cuts. The president talked about them at the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner on Monday. He spoke about his plan to extend his 2017 tax cuts and urged Republicans to vote for a budget bill that he's calling the Big Beautiful Bill.

Georgia Howe: It's so important that we pass the big, beautiful bill. I really think it actually puts pressure on those few Republicans that just can't get there. You know what the alternative is? A Democrat bill. But just in case there are a couple of Republicans out there, you just got to get there. Close your eyes and get there. It's a phenomenal bill. Stop grandstanding. Just stop grandstanding.

Tim Rice: In addition to tax cuts, the bill would raise the debt ceiling and allocate more money for the Trump administration's deportation efforts. Republicans are reportedly hoping to pass the bill by Memorial Day. The White House is clearly trying to shift the focus away from tariffs and to that bill, along with the rest of the administration's economic agenda.

Georgia Howe: In a speech to the American Bankers Association yesterday, Treasury Secretary Scott Besson gave a summary of what that agenda entails. For too long, financial policy has served large financial institutions at the expense of smaller ones. No more. This administration aims to give all banks the chance to succeed, whether it's J.P. Morgan or your local mortgage and loan. It aims to get capital to Americans who need it by getting bureaucracy out of the way. It's Main Street's turn. It's Main Street's turn to hire workers. It's Main Street's turn to drive investment. And it's Main Street's turn to restore the American dream.

Tim Rice: Right. Well, this is what Trump ran on. Did Besson address concerns about a potential recession? He did, though he made sure to tie everything back to the broader economic agenda. Our fiscal situation is a 350-pound, two-pack-a-day smoker on the ICU table. And he or she is not going to get off that table and run the Ironman. We can't do it all at once or that will cause a recession. What will keep us from having a recession is making sure that the tax bill doesn't expire, adding back 100 percent depreciation and then adding some of President Trump's agenda, no tax on tips, no tax on Social Security, no tax on overtime.

Georgia Howe: We'll continue to track the progress of this bill. Tim, thanks for reporting.

Tim Rice: You bet.

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Georgia Howe: President Trump's suspension of his sweeping tariffs yesterday excluded one key country, China, which now faces some daunting economic decisions. Joining us now is Jim Nels, an expert supply chain consultant.

Jim Nels: Thanks so much for joining us.

Georgia Howe: So China retaliated against the U.S. and now Trump is turning up the pressure on them by raising tariffs even further. You've just returned from China. What did you hear on the ground there in terms of their response to this Trump tariff battle?

Jim Nels: What people are saying off the record is that they're extremely concerned with a tariff war with the United States. Their economy is hurting a bit. Their manufacturing sector is not where it has been in the past. Some of the factories are running at between 40 and 60% capacity utilization, which is not good. That's also why a lot of my clients, before Trump announced all the reciprocal tariffs, their Chinese suppliers were saying, hey, we'll send you components to other places in Asia, and you can assemble the components there to avoid the Chinese tariff. They're doing everything they can to try to figure out how to get around these tariffs that are in place.

Georgia Howe: So when the Trump administration says they believe this is a good moment to apply a lot of pressure to China, do you agree? Do you think that they are correct in their assessment of China and its vulnerabilities at this time?

Jim Nels: Yes, I think it's a good time to do it. What I really hope that we can see is everyone get rid of all the tariffs and all of the non-tariff trade restrictions so that we can have what we all want, which is free and fair trade, where the countries that are good at manufacturing some things, manufacture those. And the countries that are good at manufacturing other things, manufacture those.

Georgia Howe: And you might even say that he goaded China into a bad position. They responded. They have shown themselves to the world to be the bad actors. And according to the White House, China will be forced to blink first and make a favorable deal with the U.S. That's because they say their economy is so reliant on shipping cheap goods to other countries, mainly America. In Trump's words, China may be projecting strength, but they are desperate for relief. China wants to make a deal. They just don't know how quite to go about it. President Xi is a proud man. I know him very well. And they don't know quite how to go about it, but they'll figure it out.

Jim Nels: Well, that's what I hope. And I think a lot of it comes down to what President Trump is actually trying to achieve because he's sending mixed messages right now. One hand, he's saying that he wants manufacturing to return to the United States. But that's not going to happen. And even if it did, I'm not sure how much of an impact that has. So, for example, U.S. manufacturing peaked in 1979 where 20 million workers were employed in manufacturing. That was about 22 percent of the non-farm workforce. Today, it's about 13 million people who are employed in manufacturing, which is about 10 percent of the non-farm workforce. So even if it doubled back to where it used to be, you're only looking at another 13 million jobs. America was never a nation that were manufacturing represented 80 percent of the economy or anything like that. So to think that we're going to make everything in the United States is simply wrong.

Georgia Howe: We are starting to see, though, people really thinking hard about repatriating some things into the United States. I have clients that are looking longer term here. There's one thing to remember with these tariffs. If you look back to the first set of Trump tariffs in 2018, President Biden did not reverse those. He left those in place. So even when President Trump leaves office in 2028, the tariffs may not go away. So I think a lot of companies are taking a slow, let's figure this out approach. And then what is the right long-term solution?

Jim Nels: Well, it's interesting. There are two theories on this right now. One is that, and it's not just China, it's any Asian culture, right? Saving face is very, very important. So they are probably having a lot of internal discussions about how they can adapt to the tariffs or come to some sort of a deal while saving face. Another theory that's been floating around is that China may actually aggressively come back and reduce all their tariffs and try to negotiate a deal with Trump, looking like they typically do to the long term and saying, we'll go through three and a half years of pain with no tariffs, we'll placate the United States, we'll placate President Trump. And then when there's a new president, we'll slowly put these restrictions back in place, and they won't do anything. That actually seems like a very likely scenario, given how not just the Chinese, but again, Asians tend to look long term, not on a quarter by quarter basis, which we do typically here in the United States.

Georgia Howe: Well, as we said, this situation is rapidly developing, so we'll see how this all settles out. Jim, thanks so much for joining us.

Jim Nels: Thank you. Take care.

Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.

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Georgia Howe: And don't forget to sign up for Acorns and get started with your financial literacy journey. Visit acorns.com slash wire or download the Acorns app to get started.