Welcome to today’s episode. We’re looking at President Trump’s decision to roll back his record-high tariffs on China as part of a “90-day pause.” Just months after hiking duties north of 145 percent, Trump has agreed to cut them back to 30 percent, and China will hold its own tariffs at 10 percent.

If tariffs are too big, they damage markets and cause pain. If they’re too modest, they won’t spark the wholesale rebalance of global trade Trump once promised. His team hoped for a “just right” Goldilocks solution, but entrenched supply chains won’t yield without real economic chaos.

Critics on both sides of the aisle agree the U.S. needs to rethink its dependence on China, yet true decoupling would be painfully disruptive. Trump’s scaling back suggests he’s decided the short-term pain was too steep, even if it means shelving grand ambitions to “restore American manufacturing.”

As one observer quipped, these tariffs are a bit like the food in Annie Hall—“terrible, and such small portions.” Thanks for listening.
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