#TariffsPause

Trump Temporarily Halts Tariffs

(CNN) -- President Donald Trump's surprising decision to backtrack on his comprehensive tariff plan, announcing a suspension for 3 months, revealed his capacity to endure political pain: one week.

On Wednesday, Trump commented on the growing criticisms that poured onto the White House over the past week: "They were shouting, they were shouting a little, and they felt a little scared."

And even for a president known for his political volatility, his announcement on Wednesday to suspend the long-awaited reciprocal tariffs for 3 months represents a stunning reversal from a plan he appeared to fully support just one day prior, and this came at a time when his trade representative was testifying on Capitol Hill about the benefits of tariffs, seemingly unaware of the suspension decision.

It seems that days of pressure from his Republican colleagues, business leaders, and even close friends did not move Trump, who insisted last week that "my policies will never change."

But by Wednesday, it was clear that the campaign to persuade Trump to change his course would not ease, as it became apparent after a sharp sell-off in the U.S. government bond markets, which are usually a safe haven for investors, that the economic repercussions of Trump's strategy could be catastrophic and worse than anticipated.