A U-Turn on Tariffs

After promising that tariffs against dozens of countries were here to stay, no matter how much they hurt businesses or the stock market, President Trump has abruptly reversed course.

But there’s an exception: his levies on China, which he said he would raise to 125 percent.

Jonathan Swan, who covers the White House, explains why the president changed his mind, and David Pierson, who covers China, discusses why Beijing won’t back down.

Guest:

• Jonathan Swan (https://www.nytimes.com/by/jonathan-swan) , a White House reporter for The New York Times.
• David Pierson (https://www.nytimes.com/by/david-pierson) , a foreign correspondent for The New York Times covering China.

Background reading: 

• Inside President Trump’s reversal on tariffs (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/us/politics/trump-tariff-pause-be-cool.html) .
• The United States and China are engaged in a risky game of chicken (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/world/asia/china-us-tariff-trade.html) with no off-ramp in sight.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily (http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily) . Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Photo: Eric Lee/The New York Times

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