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| President Trump has reversed course on the steep levies. Eric Lee/The New York Times |
Markets jumped as Trump paused tariffs
Just hours after President Trump imposed steep tariffs on dozens of America’s trading partners, he reversed course. The president announced yesterday afternoon that nearly all of his so-called reciprocal tariffs would be paused for 90 days, and that he might consider exempting some U.S. companies from the tariffs.
Nearly every U.S. trading partner instead faces a 10 percent blanket tariff, on top of 25 percent tariffs on cars, steel and aluminum — but China, which had sharply retaliated, will have an even higher 125 percent tariff, up from a 104 percent figure proposed yesterday. Neither side wants to look weak by backing down, but a collapse of their trade ties could have profound consequences.
Slumping markets quickly rallied. The S&P 500 ended the day up 9.5 percent, its largest daily increase since 2008. The tariffs, which Trump had raised to the highest level in a century, had caused economists to warn of recession risks. Markets in Asia soared in the countries that were spared.
White House officials repeatedly tried to suggest that the change in policy was a premeditated strategy devised to secure favorable deals. But Trump himself acknowledged that his decision was made in response to the market turmoil, particularly in the bond market. (Go inside his decision.)
Quotable: “Trump is obsessed with tariffs, but he’s also obsessed with doing deals,” Steven Erlanger, who covers trade and diplomacy for The Times, told me. “No one can quite decide whether he was actually trying to remake the entire global trading system, which he has said some days, or whether he wants all these countries to come crawling on their knees to him to do a better deal, which is what he has said other days.”
| More on the trade warViewership of Fox Business and CNBC has soared over the past week.Canada vowed to use the billions of dollars it expects to raise from retaliatory tariffs to help companies under threat from the U.S.The parallels between Trump and Liz Truss, Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister, are growing starker.As Trump’s tariff threats fly and panic rises, the Philippines sees a business opportunity.China appears to be censoring online discussion about the size of Trump’s tariffs.Many companies see China as the safest port in this tariff storm.European luxury goods makers are “biting their nails” over tariffs.Track Trump’s actions since he took office. |
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| Men accused of being Islamic State fighters in a prison cell in Hasaka, Syria, last month. Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times |
The Islamic State is eyeing a return in Syria
The Islamic State is regaining strength in Syria and may try to find a way to free thousands of its hardened fighters from prisons, experts say.
Between 9,000 and 10,000 Islamic State fighters are detained in northeastern Syria. A recent U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that the Islamic State would try to exploit the end of the Assad government to free prisoners and revive its ability to plot and carry out attacks.
Israel news:
| An Israeli airstrike on a Gaza City neighborhood killed 23 people, including eight children, and left more than 70 wounded, Gaza’s civil defense service said.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government was serious about the “voluntary” migration of Gazans from the territory.Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and Baptist minister, was confirmed as U.S. ambassador to Israel. |
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| The site of the roof collapse in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Tuesday. Francesco Spotorno/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
Hope faded as the toll rose in the Dominican Republic
The situation turned grim yesterday at the site of the fatal roof collapse of the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo. The authorities acknowledged that they hadn’t found anyone alive in the rubble since Tuesday afternoon, hours after the disaster occurred during a merengue concert. At least 124 people have died.
The authorities said it was too early to determine the cause of the roof collapse. Among the dead were a provincial governor and the president of one of the country’s most important banks, as well as the right-handed baseball pitcher Octavio Dotel and the merengue singer Rubby Pérez.
| MORE TOP NEWS |
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| Finbarr O’Reilly for The New York Times |
| Ukraine: A Russian missile strike near a playground in Kryvyi Rih killed 19 people, including nine children. It’s now a scene of mourning. Germany: Centrist parties reached a coalition agreement that will allow Friedrich Merz to take the reins as chancellor. Climate: The Trump administration cut $4 million in global warming research to Princeton University because it causes “climate anxiety.” China: The Foreign Ministry rejected Ukraine’s accusation that many Chinese citizens were fighting on behalf of Russia. Congo: Three Americans who had been sentenced to death over a failed coup were sent back to the U.S. Space: Chinese scientists have started studying lunar samples taken from the moon’s far side, which appears to be drier than the side we see. Thailand: An American academic was arrested on charges of criticizing the monarchy. The move alarmed U.S. authorities. Theme parks: Universal Studios will build its first European resort, in Bedfordshire, England. Migration: Federal judges in Texas and New York restricted the Trump administration’s use of a wartime statute to deport Venezuelan migrants. Business: An heir to the Hermès fortune agreed to sell his stake to the royal family of Qatar. Then the lawsuits began. England: A statue of Paddington Bear was returned to its bench (with marmalade), a month after it was vandalized. Animals: A woman from the Bronx was denied boarding on a flight home — because gate agents wouldn’t let her “emotional support” parrot on the plane. |
| SPORTS NEWS |
| Hockey: The Vancouver Canucks became the first N.H.L. team to overcome a three-goal deficit in the final minute of a game. Basketball: Mark Cuban sold the Dallas Mavericks expecting to still have a voice. Then he heard the team had traded Luka Dončić. Olympics: The International Olympic Committee approved several additions to the program for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, including more women’s teams in soccer and water polo. Soccer: How Arsenal came of age on a night that could change everything. |
| MORNING READ |
In a world shaped by war, a pandemic and extreme weather, more American gun owners are getting ready for a crisis — whether it’s fighting tyranny or responding to a natural disaster.
The training once pursued by members of a peripheral “prepper” culture is growing more mainstream. Gun owners are learning radio skills, night-vision shooting, drone reconnaissance and military tactics.
| ARTS AND IDEAS |
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| Charlie Ley/Mirrorpix, via Getty Images |
Is the Yokossance finally here?
A new biography and film about Yoko Ono offer more opportunities to assess her contributions to culture. Jon Pareles and Lindsay Zoladz, two pop music critics for The New York Times, debated whether they’re worthy of their subject, and why the idea that Ono broke up the Beatles has remained so pervasive. Read what they had to say.
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| Armando Rafael for The New York Times |
Cook: Here are seven ways to turn a tin of tuna into dinner, starting with this spicy tostada.
