The corporate world went into confusion and chaos by President Donald Trump's announcement of a 90-day halt to his harsh tariff plan against the majority of nations. As losses grow on global stock markets, wealthy business leaders are turning against US President Donald Trump over his proposal to impose a massive set of tariffs on America's trading partners. In response, the market, which had fallen after hearing about the president's trade policy, jumped. On the other hand, world leaders are not exactly happy with President Donald Trump's tariff policy. Leaders in the industry from all political parties shared their initial responses:
Bill Ackman
The billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman wrote in a post on X: "This was brilliantly executed by @realDonaldTrump. Textbook, Art of the Deal." Ackman had previously advocated for a pause in the tariffs' implementation, saying it would "enable negotiations to be completed without a major global economic disruption that will harm the most vulnerable companies and citizens of our country."
China, he said, was a "bad actor." "Tell China to pick up the phone and call the President," he wrote. He is a fair negotiator who is firm. China's situation will deteriorate the longer it persists and retaliates.
N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata group
According to N Chandrasekaran, chairman of the Tata group, reciprocal tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump across nations are anticipated to be discussed bilaterally, and company supply chain models would alter over the next few years. In light of this, Chandra stated that India is in a strong economic position and that demand for all goods, including infrastructure, healthcare, lodging, and education, will increase in the years to come.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, described the new 20 percent levy on the EU as a "major blow to the world economy."
Von der Leyen stated that the EU was prepared to engage in negotiations with the US but was also ready to take actions in response to the "serious deficiencies" in the global economic system.
David Sacks
Former PayPal chief operating officer and product head David Sacks wrote on X that Trump's tariff reversal was a huge win for the president. "They did everything they could to create a panic," Sacks wrote. "They predicted a Black Monday that never came. They became jubilant over an intraday correction on Tuesday. They were rooting for Trump to fail even if it meant the market and economy crashed."
Now a White House advisor, Sacks added: "Fortunately their hopes have been dashed. Trump has been vindicated. China is isolated, and the rest of the world is lining up to negotiate new trade deals. Do you think this would have happened if Trump had asked nicely? Maybe if he had said pretty please? Never. This was the only way to rewrite the rules of global trade. Once again, Trump was right about everything!"
Diane Swonk
In a series of posts on X, Diane Swonk, chief economist at the professional services business KPMG, stated that the nation has "not escaped the tariff problems" in spite of the announcement of the implementation freeze.
"The effective tariff rate is actually HIGHER with the pause than it was as announced on April 2, due to the tariffs on China," Swonk wrote. "There will be some diversion through connector countries. However, the effective tariff rate now peaks at 30.5 percent during the pause. That is worse than our worst case scenarios."
She added: "The tariff pause is a moving target and given the high level of tariffs on China and 10 percent across the board plus potentially more in the pipeline, takes the effective tariff rate to a RECORD. The market must be hoping everything goes away."
Mexico
President Claudia Sheinbaum stated that she has no intention of imposing import taxes on the United States, the country's biggest trading partner. She voiced confidence in Mexico's ability to grow its economy independently of its partners in North America and seemed cautious about inflaming the escalating global trade war in her own neighborhood.
The UK
Although London is taking steps to determine which tariffs could be implemented that would have the least negative effect on its own businesses, U.K. leaders have stated time and again that they would not immediately respond to the blanket tariff, which when combined with the steel and auto tariffs, could have a significant impact on the country's economy.
Richard Branson
"As I wrote earlier this week, this was a moment for the US administration to accept their mistake and change course," Richard Branson wrote in a post on X. "This reversal is a huge relief for the whole world."
Earlier this week, the Virgin Group founder called on the US government to "own up to a colossal mistake."
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Bill Gross
Investors should carefully consider whether to purchase stock whose value is dependent on Trump's whims, according to Bill Gross.
"My portfolio of defensive stocks is green so I don't begrudge today's market," Gross, a cofounder of the global fixed-income investment company PIMCO, wrote Wednesday night on X.
He added: "But I ask you, would you want to own highly volatile US stocks whose price depends on whether the POTUS had a good night's sleep and woken up the next morning to reverse yesterday's policies?"
Ray Dalio
Ray Dalio wrote on X that he hoped all parties would "reconsider their approaches."
"There are better and worse ways of handling our problems with unsustainable debt and imbalances, and President Trump's decision to step back from a worse way and negotiate how to deal with these imbalances is a much better way," he wrote.