Mike Pence Reacts to Trump’s 90 Day Pause on Reciprocal Tariffs

President Donald Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence reacted to news that Trump has temporarily reversed course on initiating sweeping tariffs to numerous trading partners calling the adjustment “a win for the American people” in part.

Newsweek reached out to Pence’s organization, Advancing American Freedom, via email Wednesday for comment.

Why It Matters

Stock markets dipped and experts’ worries of a recession increased following Trump announcing last week that the U.S. would impose tariffs on more than 180 countries and that there will be a 10 percent “baseline” tariff on all imports.

Following pushback from a number of Republicans and advisers, Trump reversed course on Wednesday, announcing on social media that he was issuing a 90-day pause and a “substantially” lower reciprocal tariff rate of 10 percent.

Stocks immediately took off following the announcement.

What To Know

In Trump’s initial tariff announced, which he dubbed as “liberation day” for the United State, he singled out about 60 countries, including some of the U.S.’s top trading partners, for what he described as “discounted reciprocal tariffs” above 10 percent. The president said those countries would face higher tariffs because he believes they engage in unfair trade practices.

He reversed that on Wednesday, but continued to take aim at China, stating that he was increasing the rate on imports from there to 125 percent.

Reacting to the moves on Wednesday, Pence posted on X, formerly Twitter, saying, “I am grateful that President Trump has committed to embracing a pause on many of the broad-based tariffs that were imposed on our trading partners around the world. When America trades with allies, it’s a win for the American people.”

Pence continued, “Our goal should be free trade with free nations. I also strongly support the efforts by the Trump Administration to bring China to the table after years of trade abuses and intellectual property theft. It’s time we recognize China is the greatest national and economic security threat of our time.”

When Trump made his “liberation day” announcement regarding the tariffs, Pence criticized the decision saying, in part, that, “The Trump Tariff Tax is the largest peacetime tax hike in U.S. history. These Tariffs are nearly 10x the size of those imposed during the Trump-Pence Administration and will cost American families over $3,500 per year.”

Pence also posted a photo from Advancing American Freedom called “Spoiling America’s Golden Age” blasting the tariffs.

This is a developing story that will be updated with additional information.