OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
6:45 PM – Tuesday, April 8, 2025
President Donald Trump’s surprise decision to impose a 90-day halt on reciprocal tariffs against foreign trading partners, excluding China, was hailed by billionaire hedge fund investor Bill Ackman on Wednesday.
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As one of the most reputable investors in the business world today, Ackman serves as the CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management.
He has been referred to as “Baby Buffett,” since he is known for taking a handful of large positions in his portfolio, frequently on “high-profile” consumer stocks — according to Nasdaq.
“This was brilliantly executed by @realDonaldTrump,” Ackman wrote on the social platform X. “Textbook, Art of the Deal.”
His praise followed Trump’s decision to raise tariffs on Beijing to 125% in response to retaliatory tariffs from China’s Ministry of Commerce.
Early on Wednesday, the Trump administration imposed a 104% import tax after China had implemented a 34% reciprocal tariff on the U.S., reacting to the president’s new tariff announcement from the previous week.
The Chinese government then hiked tariffs on U.S. goods by an additional 50%, pushing the total to 84%. Later that afternoon, Trump finally announced the 90-day pause — along with the increase of import taxes on Beijing
The pause comes after a turbulent few days for markets worldwide as mainstream media-frenzied concerns about a “potential recession” began to circulate in the United States while the trade conflict intensified.
The stock market jumped as the three-month reprieve on reciprocal tariffs went into force overnight. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also increased by 2,000 points shortly after the president’s announcement.
“Thank you on behalf of all Americans,” Ackman, who initially pressed Trump for a pause over the weekend, wrote on Wednesday in a separate X post. He doubled down on his initial request on Tuesday, expressing that he was supportive of the tariffs, but still wanted the president to allow room for negotiations.
The billionaire hedge fund manager had reaffirmed his suggestion that the Trump administration should halt its broad import taxes earlier on Wednesday. He implied that small businesses would find it difficult to cope with the president’s vast trade policy — most likely going “bankrupt” if Trump decided not to pause it.
“If the president doesn’t pause the effect of the tariffs soon, many small businesses will go bankrupt,” Ackman declared on X. “Medium-sized businesses will be next.”
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