Donald Trump’s billionaire ally urges him to temporarily suspend the ‘reciprocal tariffs’ on China: ‘The problem is that there remain…’

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman, a supporter of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, has publicly called for a three-month pause on the broad and steep reciprocal tariffs imposed on Chinese goods. This appeal comes after Trump extended similar pauses to most other countries last week.
Ackman, who has been critical of the current tariff policy, took to social media platform X to propose a temporary 90-day suspension of the tariffs. He pointed out that small and medium-size American businesses suffer from an inability to adapt to the tariffs on China overnight.
By launching the tariffs on April 2nd, President @realDonaldTrump has enabled our trading partners to experience the visceral impact of the tariffs on their markets, companies, and citizens, and he has shown that he is prepared to do what is necessary to address unfair trading practices.
The result has been nations lining up to negotiate deals with the administration. So far so good.
By pausing reciprocal tariffs for 90 days and exempting certain goods from tariffs this weekend, he has also shown considerable flexibility in understanding the challenges to US companies in adapting to the tariffs overnight.
By leaving a 145% tariff on China for the last few days, he has sent a message to China about the consequences to China of retaliating rather than coming to the negotiating table.
The problem is that there remain millions of small and medium-size American businesses that suffer from an inability to adapt to the tariffs on China overnight.


He further suggested that during this period, the tariffs on Chinese imports be reduced to 10%.
According to Ackman, this approach would effectively achieve the Trump administration’s stated goal of encouraging US businesses to relocate their supply chains away from China. However, he contends that this could be accomplished without the significant economic disruption and risks associated with the current high-tariff regime.
If President Trump were to pause the China tariffs for 90 days and reduce them temporarily to 10%, he would achieve the same objective in causing US businesses to relocate their supply chains from China without the disruption and risk to these businesses in the short term, and he would have time to negotiate a deal with China.
China is under the same pressure to negotiate a deal whether the tariffs take effect immediately or if they take effect in 90 days.
The benefit of waiting 90 days is two fold. It gives all US businesses the opportunity to make supply chain adjustments, and it gives China the opportunity to show that it is willing to negotiate a trade deal in good faith.
If China does not cooperate and negotiate a deal that makes sense for our country, President Trump can bring the hammer down in 90 days.