Bill Ackman asked Donald Trump to pause his administration’s tariff plans for a length of time.
On Wednesday afternoon, that’s what the president did.
“Thank you on behalf of all Americans,” Ackman said in a post on X following the announcement from the president’s Truth Social account.
President Trump stunned market watchers with a social media post around 1 p.m. ET Wednesday authorizing a 90-day pause on his reciprocal tariff plans while keeping the 10% duties in place on most of the world that went into effect last weekend.
The president also announced he would unilaterally raise the rate on China to 125% because of “the lack of respect” that China has shown. The temporary reprieve from the massive tariffs was enough to send the S&P 500 index up more than 8% in intraday trading.
In a press conference with reporters, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Trump’s decision was not influenced by the major rout seen across markets after the initial unveiling of his sweeping tariff policy a week ago, saying that “this was his strategy all along.”
The 90-day pause allows the US to create a “bespoke” solution with over 75 countries that have engaged with the US for trade talks. “This was brilliantly executed by Donald Trump. Textbook, Art of the Deal,” Ackman said in a subsequent post.
“We now understand who are our preferred trading partners, and who the problems are,” Ackman said in a later post. “This is the perfect setup for trade negotiations over the next 90 days.”
A billionaire hedge fund manager who runs Pershing Square Holdings (PSHZF) and backed Trump during the 2024 campaign, Ackman started a public campaign to slow down the rollout of President Trump’s tariffs beginning Sunday.
In a series of posts on X, he called the April 9 launch of “reciprocal” tariffs a “mistake,” asked for a 90-day pause, and warned of “a self-induced, economic nuclear winter.”
Several other billionaires this week offered warnings of their own as the magnitude of what Trump proposed became apparent, with heightened odds of a recession. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Wednesday morning that the chance of a US recession is a “likely outcome,” warning that a negative market reaction to trade policies “could get worse if we don’t make some progress.”
