How Bessent and Lutnick were able to outmaneuver Navarro in tariff battle

President Donald Trump‘s 90-day pause on his higher, so-called reciprocal tariffs was reportedly set into motion via a meeting that did not include a key adviser who has pushed for the tariffs.

On April 2, Trump announced higher tariff rates on dozens of countries, causing markets to tank and economic uncertainty. A week later, on April 9, Trump suddenly announced that the higher tariff rates would be paused for 90 days for every country except China as trade negotiations progressed.