Summary
Donald Trump abruptly reversed his tariff policy Wednesday, announcing a return to a 10% baseline tariff on most countries and a steep 125% rate on China.
His administration appeared blindsided, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unable to explain the move and press secretary Karoline Leavitt resorting to combative rhetoric.
The shift likely responds to mounting criticism from conservative allies and market instability marked by a debt sell-off.
Despite confusion and lack of clarity, officials tried to play up Trump’s unpredictability as strategic leverage rather than a sign of disarray.
I’m actually extremely happy that he changed from 104 to 125. Ending on a 4 is such a big no no. We gotta end our tariff values on 0s or 5s so this change has been tremendous. The greatest tariff ever made… Believe me.
At least it still ends in a 5?
Look I don’t want the give the mad king too much praise, but this unironically. 104 was causing me to fling my dick into orbit, I’m at least happy they picked a nice round number.