Nebraska trade expert isn’t surprised by Trump’s tariff pause

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause Wednesday on higher tariffs on almost every country.

During that time, the Trump administration will be negotiating with individual countries.

The treasury secretary said this was part of Trump’s plan all along.

A researcher in Nebraska also said he saw this coming.

“I did not anticipate the permanent tariffs,” said Matthew Schaefer, a professor at the Nebraska College of Law who studies international trade and finance. “But economic advisers to the president view these as a tool for negotiation.”

SEE ALSO: Trump pauses tariffs on most nations for 90 days, raises taxes on Chinese imports

Schaefer said the tariff pause is good news for everyday Americans, though the affected nations will still be paying a 10% baseline tariff.

“This is good news,” he said. “There’s a big difference between a 10% tariff and 40% to 50%.”

And he said not all of that 10% tariff is going to be passed on to the consumer.

“The retailer of the supplier is going to accept a lower margin of return,” he said.

But Trump is being tough on China.

After he imposed a 104% tariff, the Chinese retaliated with an 84% levy on American products.

Trump, then ratcheted up the tariff on China to 125%.

Schaefer said all clothing and textile products made from China will see a huge increase in price.

He also adds that products shipped before April 2 will not be affected, even though they will arrive after the tariffs began.