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Trump suspends duties for three months: the reasons behind the about-face

Economic pressures, recession risk and political rifts behind US president’s decision to temporarily freeze trade measures

Donald Trump has announced a three-month suspension of the newly enacted tariffs, marking an abrupt retreat from the protectionist line flaunted until a few days ago. A move that hardly stems from a spontaneous rethink, but rather from pressure and strategic considerations that are difficult to ignore.

There are three main reasons that would have prompted Trump to revise his position, at least momentarily.

The first concerns the issue of the US public debt. Trump has always supported duties as a lever to rebalance the federal budget, but the negative reaction of the financial markets and the real risk of a trade war have generated a boomerang effect. The perceived instability has alarmed large international investors, who may decide to stop buying US Treasury bonds, making the objective of debt financing unfeasible.

The second factor is the awakening of domestic public opinion. The motto ‘we will soon be very rich again’ has begun to waver in the face of the immediate impact of the measures: 62% of Americans own stocks on the stock market and have seen their investments plummet, while the remaining 38%, more indebted and distant from global logic, have already perceived the risk of a recession that would hit consumption hard, with prices rising and purchasing power falling.

Finally, the third element: the loss of support from big finance and corporate America. That bloc that initially bet on a second Trump term has begun to deflect, along with growing discontent among Republicans. Within the inner circle of loyalists, increasingly marked divisions have emerged, and even figures such as Elon Musk have reportedly shown signs of breaking down.

Three converging pressures, therefore, which explain the step back. But the suspension is only temporary: the coming months will tell whether it is a tactical pause or the beginning of a strategic retreat.

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