Trump trade advisor says stock market plunge 'No big deal': Live updates

The White House accused Democratic lawmakers of "playing partisan games" by asking whether any stock market purchases in recent days were executed with advance knowledge that Trump would announce a pause in a key part of his tariff plan.

Stock market indices sharply rose on Wednesday on Trump's announcement after four straight days of declines.

Trump imposed higher tariffs on Chinese imports even as he revealed a 90-day pause for steeper-than-baseline rates for many other countries. Hours before he made that announcement, Trump in social media posts Wednesday wrote, "BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well," and "THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!"

"It is the responsibility of the President of the United States to reassure the markets and Americans about their economic security in the face of nonstop media fearmongering," White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement.

"Democrats railed against China's cheating for decades, and now they're playing partisan games instead of celebrating President Trump's decisive action yesterday to finally corner China," Desai said.

Earlier, Sen. Adam Schiff. D-Calif., sent a letter to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer requesting they conduct "an urgent inquiry into whether President Trump, his family, or other members of the administration engaged in insider trading or other illegal financial transactions, informed by advance knowledge of non-public information regarding his change to tariff policy, yesterday or at any time during this administration."

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters that Democrats "need to get to the bottom of the possible stock manipulation that is unfolding before the American people, including what if any advanced knowledge did members of the House Republican Conference have of Trump's decision to pause the reckless tariffs that he put into place?"

- Eamon Javers and Dan Mangan

Bessent met today with Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc of Vietnam, and posted a photo of the pair. "I emphasized the need for continued engagement and quick, demonstrable progress to resolve outstanding issues," he posted on social media.

— Christina Wilkie

Trump's 145% total tariff on Chinese imports would stop most trade between the U.S. and China, economist Erica York said Thursday.

"It depends on how narrowly the tariff is applied or how broadly it's applied, but generally if you get north of a triple-digit tariff, you are cutting off most trade," the vice president of federal tax policy at the Tax Foundation's Center for Federal Tax Policy said on CNBC's "The Exchange."

"There may still be some things without any substitutes that companies just have to foot the bill, but for the most part, that cuts it off," York said.

York also said that Trump's new China tariffs and the others he's imposed will bring the average tariff rate to "highs that we haven't seen since the 1940s."

— Sean Conlon

After stocks plunged, Trump's top trade advisor Peter Navarro laughed off the suggestion that Trump's freewheeling tariff policy switch-ups may have caused a lasting impact on the global financial system.

"I think CNBC's gonna sue CNN for intruding on their financial analysis," Navarro said in response during a CNN interview after markets closed.

"That to me is pure spin," he said. "You had the highest rise in stock market history yesterday. Of course there's gonna be a little pullback. The question is: What spin are you gonna put on it?"

"It's just normal retracement after a big day. It's no big deal," Navarro said.

— Kevin Breuninger

Trump's aggressive tariff policy and his escalating trade war with China are creating a panic among Amazon sellers who source products there.

Read CNBC's full report here.

— Katie Tarasov

Stocks resumed their punishing sell-off, giving up a large chunk of the gains from a massive rally that followed Trump's announcement of a 90-day pause on most of his "reciprocal" tariffs.

The S&P 500 dropped more than 3.4%, and the Nasdaq tanked 4.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 1,014.79 points, or 2.5%.

— Kevin Breuninger

At least six lawmakers say they were on a plane on the ground at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport when the plane's wing was hit by another aircraft.

"Just now while stationary on the runway at DCA, another plane just bumped into our wing," Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., writes on X. "Heading back to the gate, but thankfully everyone is ok!"

"I was just on a grounded plane that was struck by another aircraft," writes Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y. "Thankfully, no one was injured—just the inconvenience of a delayed departure."

Four House Democrats on the New York City-bound flight are now highlighting the importance of funding and staffing the Federal Aviation Administration — which recently faced hundreds of layoffs by the Trump administration.

"Aviation mishaps are at an all-time high, and the Trump administration's reckless decision to fire FAA control staff has put us all in danger," Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., writes. "We are thankful that no one was injured and that a catastrophe was avoided."

Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., writes, "Cuts and firing FAA employees are not the answer. Seven members of Congress were on board along with dozens of other concerned passengers."

— Kevin Breuninger

Trump is declining to rule out the possibility of extending the 90-day pause he placed on his "reciprocal" tariffs yesterday.

Trump told a reporter in a Cabinet meeting that if he can't reach the deals he wants with U.S. trading partners, then tariffs will revert to their higher rates once the pause expires.

"That's what would happen," he said. "It's just got to be good for both parties."

But when asked if that means he would not extend the pause, Trump said, "We'll have to see what happens."

— Kevin Breuninger

Asked for his reaction to today's market sell-off, Trump says, "I haven't seen it."

"I've been here for two and a half hours," Trump tells a reporter at his Cabinet meeting.

Prompted to weigh in, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says that as tariff negotiations develop, "we will end up in a place of great certainty over the next 90 days."

Bessent also touts today's better-than-expected inflation reading, as well as a "successful bond market."

"So I don't see anything unusual today," Bessent says.

— Kevin Breuninger

Trump says while discussing his tariff policies that he expects "there'll be a transition cost and transition problems," even while insisting, "we think we're in very good shape."

The president also claims that the U.S. is raking in billions of dollars each day as a result of his protectionist policies, saying, "that makes us a very strong country."

Critics have repeatedly noted that tariffs are taxes on imported goods that are paid by the importers, not the country from which the goods are sent.

Trump made the comments at the start of a Cabinet meeting, as major stock indexes gave up much of their gains from yesterday's historic rebound rally.

— Kevin Breuninger

Former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is speaking out against Trump's chaotic tariff efforts, panning the protectionist push as "the worst self-inflicted wound that I have ever seen ... imposed on a well-functioning economy."

Yellen, who served under former President Joe Biden, tells CNN that even though it's a "relief" that Trump paused his so-called reciprocal tariffs, "the U.S. and global economies have suffered a huge protectionist shock."

Even if the reciprocal tariffs are abandoned, the U.S. now has "the highest average tariff rate since 1934," Yellen says in her first interview since the start of the second Trump administration.

Yellen, a professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, is also asked what grade she would give the administration so far.

"I'm afraid I could not give it a passing grade," she says.

— Kevin Breuninger

Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer called Trump's purported tariff strategy "the art of stupidity."

Gottheimer, during an interview with MSNBC's Ana Cabrera, scoffed at a claim by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that Trump's decision Wednesday to pause stiffer tariffs on many countries above a 10% baseline was part of a plan, despite days of denying there would be such a pause.

"I don't really understand their strategy because every day is a new day of chaos," said Gottheimer, D-N.J. "I think it's the art of stupidity."

Trump authored a book called "The Art of the Deal," and that phrase is routinely invoked by his supporters to suggest that various moves he makes are part of a well-thought-out plan to get a "deal" done.

Gottheimer is the co-sponsor of a bill with Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., to restrict a president's ability to impose unilateral tariffs as Trump has done.

— Dan Mangan

The U.S. stock market fell to its lows of the session in midday trading, giving up more of Wednesday's historic rally.

The S&P 500 is now down more than 4%, and the Nasdaq Composite is off by more than 5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has lose about 1,640 points, or 4%.

— Jesse Pound

Trump's latest executive order hiking tariffs on Chinese imports also raises a separate U.S. duty on low-value packages imported from China — for the third time in eight days.

Until this year, the so called de minimis tariff exemption had provided the China-based online retailers Shein and Temu with a major advantage over many of their competitors.

Starting May 2, U.S.-bound packages from China valued at $800 or less will face a 120% tariff rate, according to the order.

This is an increase of 30 percentage points over a previous executive action signed Tuesday, which tripled de minimis tariffs to 90%.

The order signed Wednesday also increases the "per postal item" cost for those low-value shipments to $100 starting May 2, rising to $200 on June 1.

The order allows transportation carriers delivering the shipments to choose whether to pay the percentage rate or the flat rate — but they are locked into that choice and can only change it once a month.

— Kevin Breuninger

Technology stocks declined, giving back gains from the previous session.

The Nasdaq Composite is coming off its best day since 2001 and its second-best day ever.

Apple, which rallied more than 15% Wednesday for its biggest one-day gain since 1998, fell more than 4%. Tesla and Nvidia dropped about 7% and 5%, respectively.

— Samantha Subin

The U.S. tariff rate on Chinese imports now effectively totals 145%, a White House official confirmed to CNBC.

Trump's latest executive order hikes tariffs on Beijing to 125% from 84%.

But that comes on top of a 20% fentanyl-related tariff that Trump previously imposed on China.

— Megan Cassella and Kevin Breuninger

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told CNBC that the company's third-party sellers could end up passing the cost of tariffs onto consumers.

"I mean, depending on which country you're in, you don't have 50% extra margin that you can play with," Jassy said in an interview with CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin. "I think they'll try and pass the cost on."

Amazon is doing "everything we can" to keep prices as low as possible, he added.

The online retail giant has seen some evidence of consumers stocking up on items in anticipation of price hikes, "but it's hard to know if it's just an anomaly in the data because it's just a few days, or how long it's going to last," Jassy said.

— Annie Palmer

Vice President JD Vance is accusing some of Trump's China tariff critics of being "insane."

"There is a category of DC insider who wants to fight an actual war with China but also wants China to manufacture much of our critical supply," Vance writes in a post on social media platform X.

"This is insane," the vice president says.

"President Trump wants peace, but also wants fair trade and more self-reliance for the American economy."

— Kevin Breuninger

Trump privately acknowledged that his plan for tariffs could push the U.S. economy into a recession but he wanted to avoid a depression, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with his conversations.

Trump had lunch Wednesday with legendary investor and brokerage founder Charles Schwab on Wednesday, the Journal reports.

While many economists were starting to predict a recession from Trump's original plan for sweeping global tariffs, none of them were saying it would lead to a depression.

Read The Wall Street Journal's report here.

— Alex Harring

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said he will demand that the White House tell him "who knew in advance" that Trump "was going to once again flip-flop on tariffs."

"Are people cashing in? There is just all too much opportunity for people in the White House and the administration to be insider trading, and you can't put it past them for a minute. So we're going to try to find out," Schiff told reporters Wednesday afternoon.

Hours before Trump announced he was temporarily lowering his "reciprocal" tariff rates to a baseline 10% for all affected countries except China, he declared, "THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT."

Schiff said he believes that "someone is knowing about these events in advance."

"They may have an hour to know, or they may have a day, but someone knows," he said. "And the question is, are they trading on that information? Are they profiting while people's retirement savings are on fire? Are people in the administration making money out of it?"

— Kevin Breuninger

National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett says that "we've already got offers on the table for more than 15 countries" for trade deals.

The administration is looking at those offers and "deciding whether they're good enough to present to the president," he said on Fox News.

Earlier on CNBC, Hassett said that the number of countries actively beginning negotiations with the U.S. is "closing in on 20."

Hassett drew a distinction between those talks and the total number of countries who have reached out. Trump on Wednesday said more than 75 countries have contacted U.S. officials seeking to discuss their new tariff rates.

— Kevin Breuninger

Trump in a late-night Truth Social post basked in the afterglow of a massive stock market rebound that was prompted by his decision to pause his steep "reciprocal" tariffs on dozens of countries.

"What a day, but more great days coming!!!" Trump wrote in the post, published at 12:45 a.m. ET.

— Kevin Breuninger

Hassett says the 10% universal baseline tariff rate is likely to stay in place for most countries as part of any negotiated trade deals.

"It is going to take some kind of extraordinary deal for the president to go below" that rate, he said.

Hassett also said "closing in on 20" countries have offered the U.S. a trade deal. The 90-day timeline for hammering out these deals under the universal baselines is "very doable," he added.

"We had two deals almost closed as of last week," he said. "Almost closed. Getting them closed requires the lawyers to work forever and so on, and so getting them closed by yesterday was not quite going to happen."

— Jesse Pound

Hassett said on "Squawk Box" that the volatility in the bond market was not a direct reason for the Trump tariff pause but likely added "a little more urgency" to the decision.

"Everything was moving forward in an orderly fashion," Hassett said. "There's no doubt that the Treasury market yesterday made it so that the decision that, you know, it is about time to move was made with, I think, perhaps a little more urgency. But it was going to happen."

The 10-year Treasury yield rose above 4.5% and the 30-year rate spiked above 5% overnight on Wednesday ahead of the pause, with bond prices tumbling.

Traders said Japan and China may be dumping U.S. government bonds and that the developments could be concerning to the White House, according to Reuters.

Long-term Treasury yields have moved lower since the tariff pause was announced, with the 10-year yield trading around 4.308% on Thursday morning.

— Jesse Pound

China is not looking to fight a trade war, but will not flinch if tariff hostilities escalate to that point, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters on Thursday, according to Chinese news outlet Xinhua.

His comments came in response to Trump's threat to impose further levies on imports from China.

Beijing and Washington have been engaging in the imposition of tariffs and retaliatory measures since the U.S. kicked off its protectionist trade regime under Trump's second administration, triggering global fears of a trade war between the world's two largest economies. China has also filed official complaints accusing the U.S. of breaching the rules of the World Trade Organization.

— Ruxandra Iordache

The European Union will pause the adoption of its retaliatory trade countermeasures against a spate of U.S. goods for 90 days, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said following the White House reprieve on most of its own tariffs.

EU members had on Wednesday voted in favor of a package of retaliatory steps in response to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum.

"We want to give negotiations a chance," von der Leyen said on social media. "If negotiations are not satisfactory, our countermeasures will kick in. Preparatory work on further countermeasures continues. As I have said before, all options remain on the table."

The EU, a historically close transatlantic ally of the U.S., was further hit with 20% tariffs when Washington issued reciprocal duties on trade partners on April 2. The levy has been reduced to just 10% for 90 days following Trump's Wednesday announcement.

— Ruxandra Iordache

U.S. tariffs on China imports could potentially knock off 0.5 percentage points off China's GDP growth, Fred Neumann, chief Asia economist at HSBC, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe."

Neumann said China's 5% GDP target is "certainly under pressure now," assuming that U.S. tariffs on China imports remain in force. Lower GDP would require "quite a significant increase" in stimulus to offset that weaker expansion, he said, adding that China does have tools at its disposal to offset those risks.

The U.S. and China are "putting on a brave face at the moment and saying they're not going to budge, but it is clear that for both sides, there's plenty of disruption to come if these tariffs stay in place, and therefore one cannot rule out some negotiations behind the scenes," Neumann said.

— April Roach

U.S. tariffs on aluminum, steel and vehicle imports could reduce the gross domestic product growth of export-reliant Germany by 0.1 percentage points in each of 2025 and 2026, German economic institutes warned on Thursday.

They added that this impact could double as a result of the additional White House duties announced on April 2, while disclaiming that "specific effects are difficult to quantify," given the sharp hike in rates.

The institutes forecast Germany's GDP will pick up by 0.1% and by 1.3% year-on-year in 2025 and 2026, respectively. Europe's largest economy has come under pressure since the announcement of U.S. tariffs, particularly in its languishing auto sector.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Planned U.S. tariffs could deliver a blow of 0.3 to 0.5 percentage points to Indonesia's gross domestic product, Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said, according to Reuters.

The International Monetary Fund projects that the economy of the country, which was hit with U.S. tariffs of 32%, will grow 5.1% this year.

Indonesia is considering higher U.S. imports, trimming taxes and easing import processes amid Washington's levies, Sri Mulyani said.

— Ruxandra Iordache

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has been engaging on trade relations with officials in partner countries, including the European Union, Ireland, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, according to multiple social media updates.

"Free trade works. It lifts incomes. It creates jobs. It builds partnerships. And it secures peace. I think that's worth fighting for — and I'm up for that fight," Luxon said in a post on the X platform.

New Zealand was struck with the White House's baseline 10% tariff under Trump's April 2 announcement.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Polish Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski welcomed the U.S. temporary suspension of most reciprocal tariffs.

"The first right step towards de-escalation. Less emotion, more focus on economic growth," he said in a Google-translated social media post.

Poland has historically been a stalwart U.S. ally in Europe, especially in matters of regional security. As a member of the European Union, Poland was struck with 20% reciprocal tariffs under the White House's April 2 announcement.

— Ruxandra Iordache

European stocks soared at the Thursday market open, with the Stoxx 600 index up by 7.25% by 8:21 a.m. London time.

All sectors were in the green at the start of the session, with banks, autos and health care logging some of the highest hikes, higher by 9.95%, 7.43% and 7.41%, respectively.

— Ruxandra Iordache

The 10-member ASEAN group pledged not to impose any retaliatory measures in response to White House tariffs and to "engage in a frank and constructive dialogue" with Washington on trade relations.

"We regard the U.S. as a longstanding and valued economic partner of ASEAN," the group said in a statement, adding, "We remain committed to safeguarding ASEAN's economic interests as well as maintaining strong and mutually beneficial trade relations with the U.S."

The ASEAN group comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. 

— Ruxandra Iordache

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed Trump's decision to pause "reciprocal" tariffs against several nations, adding the bloc "remains committed to constructive negotiations" with the White House.

"It's an important step towards stabilizing the global economy. Clear, predictable conditions are essential for trade and supply chains to function," she said in a social media post.

"Tariffs are taxes that only hurt businesses and consumers. That's why I've consistently advocated for a zero-for-zero tariff agreement between the European Union and the United States."

At the same time, the EU, which on Wednesday voted to approve its first set of retaliatory steps to counter U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, is focusing on diversifying its trade partnerships, von der Leyen said.

— Ruxandra Iordache

In a note to clients on Wednesday evening, Deutsche Bank Research's George Saravelos noted that U.S. President Donald Trump had mentioned the bond market during his press conference at the White House that day.

"The administration is finally signalling responsiveness to the very extreme market conditions we highlighted in the morning. At the margin, this should reduce the probability that such an extreme policy mix returns," Saravelos said.

Stocks on Wall Street surged on Wednesday after Trump announced a 90-day pause on country-specific tariffs, with the exception of new duties on China.

Despite the market response, Saravelos warned that "the damage has been done" by Trump's reciprocal tariffs policy.

"Even if the tariffs are permanently suspended, damage has been done to the economy via a permanent sense of unpredictability in policy," Saravelos explained. "The events of the last few weeks will resonate amongst global economic partners during the upcoming negotiations on trade and indeed for many years to come. The desire to build greater strategic independence from the US across all fronts will be here to stay."

— Chloe Taylor

China has been "isolated as a bad actor" as a result of mounting trade tensions and tariff impositions with the U.S., billionaire investor Bill Ackman said Thursday in a social media post.

"Every American company is immediately moving their supply chains out of China back to the U.S. or to trading partners of the U.S. who are likely to make favorable tariff deals with the U.S. Time is not China's friend," he noted.

"As more time goes by, more companies find other and better alternative suppliers outside of China. So China is incentivized to come to the table soon and to be reasonable in their negotiations."

Washington has doubled down on trade levies with Beijing, which has in turn resorted to countermeasures and complaints to the World Trade Organization. While granting most other nations a tariff reprieve on Wednesday, Trump raised duties against imports from the world's second largest economy to 125%. China had earlier in the day raised its own tariffs on U.S. goods to 84% in response to White House policies.

— Ruxandra Iordache

South Korea will press ahead with efforts to lower tariffs rates in talks with Washington, after acting President Han Duck-soo's phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, according to South Korean outlet Yonhap.

South Korea, which exported roughly $127.8 billion to the U.S. in 2024, had been slapped with a 25% tariff rate under the White House announcements of April 2, prior to Trump's temporary reversal of Wednesday.

"As high-level talks have taken place, we will now prepare concrete proposals and begin negotiations on individual issues with relevant trade authorities," an official from the South Korean Prime Minister's Office told reporters on Wednesday. "Our foremost goal is to adjust (U.S.) tariff rates."

— Ruxandra Iordache

Higher tariffs from China on U.S. imports have kicked in at 12.01 p.m. Beijing time, raising the tariff rate from 34% to 84%.

On Wednesday, China's ministry of finance announced the 84% tariff rate after U.S. President Donald Trump had increased tariffs on Chinese imports to the U.S. to a net total tariff of 104%.

Trump later raised the tariff on China again, to 125% at about 1.18 a.m. Thursday, saying it would take effect "immediately".

— Lim Hui Jie

This is CNBC's live blog covering U.S. trade tariff policy developments of April 10. Head here for the previous day's blog.