Bill Ackman urged Donald Trump to temporarily halt his administration’s tariff initiatives.
On Wednesday afternoon, the president responded to this request.
“Thank you, on behalf of all Americans,” Ackman expressed in a post on X after the announcement made through the president’s Truth Social account.
President Trump surprised market analysts with a social media statement around 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday, instituting a 90-day pause on his reciprocal tariff plans while maintaining the 10% duties that were enacted last weekend on most imports.
Additionally, the president declared that he would unilaterally escalate the tariff rate on China to 125% due to what he described as “the lack of respect” shown by China. This temporary suspension of substantial tariffs contributed to a more than 8% surge in the S&P 500 index during intraday trading.
During a press conference with the media, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that Trump’s decision was not a reaction to the significant market downturn witnessed after the initial announcement of his extensive tariff policy a week prior, asserting that “this was his strategy all along.”
The 90-day pause enables the US to craft a “bespoke” solution with over 75 countries currently engaged in trade discussions with the US. “This was brilliantly executed by Donald Trump. Textbook, Art of the Deal,” Ackman remarked in a follow-up post.
“We now know who our favored trading affiliates are and who poses challenges,” Ackman noted in another post. “This sets the stage perfectly for trade negotiations in the upcoming 90 days.”
As a prominent billionaire hedge fund manager leading Pershing Square Holdings (PSHZF) and a supporter of Trump during the 2024 campaign, Ackman initiated a public effort to decelerate the implementation of President Trump’s tariffs starting Sunday.
In a sequence of posts on X, he characterized the April 9 introduction of “reciprocal” tariffs as a “mistake,” appealing for a 90-day delay while cautioning against “a self-imposed, economic nuclear winter.”
This week, several other billionaires also issued warnings as the scale of Trump’s proposals became clearer, indicating increased chances of a recession. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon mentioned on Wednesday morning that a US recession is a “likely outcome,” cautioning that a negative market response to trade policies “could worsen if we don’t achieve some progress.”
