Thursday, April 10

Around midday yesterday, United States President Donald Trump confirmed a pause on reciprocal tariffs for the next 90 days, sending stock markets around the world soaring-- but there is an exception.

In case you missed it, last week, Trump announced a baseline 10% tariff on all countries that the US imports goods from, and specific countries received additional, reciprocal tariffs depending on how much alleged "cheating" they had done to get money from the US. This "cheating" included factors like tariffs and the trade deficit between countries and the US. Read more about the initial announcement of the tariffs here.

Then, two days ago, as part of an escalating trade war with China, Trump announced additional 50% tariffs for the East Asian nation after they retaliated to his reciprocal tariff with a 34% tariff of their own. That brought China's tariff total to 104%, sinking stocks even further. Read more into the growing US-China trade war here.

Next, yesterday afternoon, Trump announced a 90-day pause on all reciprocal tariffs, with the exception of China. He stated that all countries will still be charged the baseline rate of 10%, but countries like Vietnam, Thailand, and India can breathe sighs of relief after being slapped with rates of 46%, 36%, and 26%, respectively.

However, there is a catch. The 90-day pause does not apply to China, who Trump will still be charging. Instead, due to the fact that China implemented additional retaliation tariffs yesterday, he raised their tariff even higher-- bringing the total to a staggering 125% on all products.

In addition, Canada and Mexico will continue to be charged with the existing 25% rate they face, as those are not considered reciprocal tariffs.

Despite the fact that China was not included, stock markets skyrocketed yesterday after the news was released. The Dow shot up 7.87%, gaining almost 3,000 points in a major rally, while the S&P 500 Index went up 9.52% to achieve its best day since 2008. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite, a primarily tech-focused index, blasted up 12.16% in its best day since 2001 and its second-best day of all time.

Fact of the Day (Today): Tooth enamel is the only part of the human body that cannot heal itself.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning. (William Arthur Ward)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Vouchsafe (verb, vowch-SAYF) - Vouchsafe is a formal and old-fashioned word meaning "to give (something) to someone as a promise or a privilege."

In a Sentence: He vouchsafed the secret to only a few of his closest allies.