#TariffsPause Trump's contradictory signals on tariffs make the fragile global economy nervous

President Donald Trump cannot stop contradicting himself on his own tariff plans.

He says he is on track to close several new trade deals in a few weeks, but he has also suggested that it is physically impossible to "hold all the necessary meetings."

Trump has said he will simply set new internally negotiated tariff rates within the U.S. government over the coming weeks, although he already did so on April 2, the day of the release, which sent shockwaves through the global economy.

The Republican president says he is actively negotiating with the Chinese government on tariffs, while China's and the United States' Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, has said that talks have not yet begun.

What should we believe? It is most likely that uncertainty will persist in ways that both employers and consumers anticipate will harm the economy and leave foreign leaders baffled.

And the consequences of all this tariff turmoil are enormous.

Trump imposed tariffs totaling 145 percent on China, which led China to retaliate with tariffs of 125 percent on the United States, essentially triggering a trade war between the two largest economies in the world with the potential to provoke a recession.

The president told Time magazine in an interview published on Friday that imposing tariffs of 20 percent, 30 percent, or 50 percent within a year would be a total victory, although panic in the financial market led him to temporarily reduce his basic import taxes to 10 percent for 90 days while talks are ongoing.