Experts reveal why Trump paused tariffs and how the 'art of the deal' had nothing to do with walkback

WASHINGTON, DC: Experts have revealed that President Donald Trump’s decision to backtrack on his sweeping tariff plans was driven by a "fire sale" in the bond market, not merely his trademark "art of the deal."
The bond market crisis, which threatened to trigger an economic meltdown, forced the president to announce a 90-day pause on new "reciprocal" tariffs. This reversal sparked one of the largest stock market rallies in history.
Key figures, including Fox Business senior correspondent Charlie Gasparino, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, weighed in on the situation, shedding light on the economic forces at play.

Fox Business's Charlie Gasparino reveals what led Trump to back down on his tariff plans
Fox Business senior correspondent Charlie Gasparino stated that the bond market crash left President Trump with no choice but to back down on his tariff plans.
While speaking on Fox Business, Gasparino explained, "Let's be clear what happened. Who capitulated here and why? I don't want to say this because I am a patriot, I am an American, but it is the White House who capitulated based on everything I hear and all my sources."
Fox Business' Charlie Gasparino: "Let's be clear what happened, who capitulated here and why ... it is the White House who capitulated based on everything I hear and all my sources, and the reason why is because of the bond market and what happened last night" pic.twitter.com/EC8xheuydl
— Lis Power (@LisPower1) April 9, 2025
He attributed the reversal to the turmoil in the bond market, pointing out that when the 10-year Treasury yield spiked to 5 percent -- "stuff starts shutting down," and the lending markets were thrown into disarray.
The bond market crisis, described as a "fire sale", reached its peak late Tuesday and into Wednesday.
Gasparino further claimed that, according to his sources, while Trump was in negotiations with Japan, the country began selling off US Treasury bonds, signaling a loss of confidence in the US economy. This move, he argued, forced the White House to reconsider its tariff strategy.
Trump admitted to monitoring the bond market while considering tariff pause

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent maintained that the decision to delay the tariffs was based on "the president's strategy" rather than the dramatic rise in bond yields.
In an interview with reporters outside the White House on Wednesday, Bessent said, "He and I had a long talk on Sunday, and this was his strategy all along," as per DailyMail.
However, President Trump himself acknowledged that he was closely monitoring the bond market as he considered the tariff pause.
"The bond market right now is beautiful," Trump told reporters. "I saw last night where people were getting a little queasy."
Economist Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz, also pointed to the bond market sell-off as the driving force behind Trump’s change of course.
In a post on X, El-Erian noted, "Up to an hour ago, there was a debate on what would convince the US Administration to opt for some type of pause on tariffs. Would it be Congress, the President's advisors, business leaders, the legal system, markets, or something else?"
He concluded, "We got the answer today: It's the government bond market--particularly, how close it gets to the line that separates wild price volatility from market malfunctioning."
Up to an hour ago, there was a debate on what would convince the US Administration to opt for some type of pause on tariffs.
— Mohamed A. El-Erian (@elerianm) April 9, 2025
Would it be Congress, the President's advisors, business leaders, the legal system, markets, or something else?
We got the answer today:
It's the…
Internet split over experts' explanation of Trump's decision to pause tariffs
After experts explained the reasoning behind Donald Trump's decision to pause tariffs, internet users joined the conversation, with some praising the president for his choice.
One user hailed, "Hes a trading genius,end of the day before all this tariffs talk the trading deals would of stayed the same ,now they are negotiating,markets go up and down and always have." One more praised, "Brilliant move by trump."
One user slammed the president, aying, "Trump has overplayed his hand, and lost."
A comment read, "What a clown. I blame the Democrats for Trump. Had they put forward a decent candidate we wouldn’t be in this position now."
A social media user commented, "The US has to refinance a very large amount of government debt this year. The 90 day hiatus is to take the pressure off rapidly escalating bond yields while they do so, or the US financial system would have been in deeeeep do-do."
A person questioned, "Was his plan all along, he said now it’s time to buy right before he announced the pause. Insider market trading, must be impeached."
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