\n<\/p>\n
When the White House finally released the text of Mr. Trump\u2019s orders on Thursday evening, it appeared that some of the tariffs \u2014 those covered in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement that Mr. Trump negotiated and celebrated in his first term \u2014 were indeed permanently suspended. Other tariffs were merely paused.<\/p>\n
Most everyone involved was confused, which may well have been the point.<\/p>\n
As Mr. Trump hands down tariff determinations and then pulls them back for a month or so, world leaders call to plead their case, a bit like vassal states appealing to a larger power. Chief executives put in calls<\/a> as well, making it clear that Mr. Trump is the one you need to deal with if you are bringing in car parts from Canada or chips from China.<\/p>\n And the president responds, as if he is granting reprieves, though not pardons. If, in a usual presidency, tariffs are debated by layers of experts and aides, their potential impact weighed with care, in the Trump White House the determinations are part whim, part weave, part pique. Explanations for what triggered the imposition of tariffs shift, and decisions to delay or suspend them are not accompanied by detailed rationales. Mr. Trump himself says he makes the call based on his latest conversations.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was a short-term deal,\u201d he told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon, when asked about his calls the previous day with top executives of American car makers. \u201cThey came back to me yesterday. They said, \u2018Could we have some help on the tariffs because of the speed?\u2019 And I said, \u2018Look, I\u2019m going to do it, but that\u2019s it.\u2019 They\u2019ll come back to me after the second. April 2.\u201d<\/p>\n He quickly added: \u201cI don\u2019t want to hear from you after April 2.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether he will hold firm is once again an open question. It may depend on the markets, or whether more industry pronouncements come like the one Target\u2019s chief executive, Brian Cornell, made this week, before the latest tariff shift. The retail chain leader said customers looking for avocados and lettuce and other staples would \u201clikely see price increases over the next couple days.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n