As Trump’s 145% levies on Chinese imports drove fears of soaring costs for consumer goods and threatened a recession, the US president agreed to roll back duties on most of those goods to 30%. The detente announced May 12 — which was matched by a pullback from Beijing — followed talks between the world’s two largest economies and is designed to allow at least 90 days for additional negotiations. Trump ignited market turmoil and a pullback from US treasuries in April when he hit dozens of US trading partners with levies as high as 50%. The White House denied a report of a possible reprieve, and the president took to social media, urging investors to “BE COOL!” while calling it A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!” Hours later, Trump announced he was pausing his higher tariffs, resetting them to 10% for 90 days in a bid for talks. In response, stocks staged their best rally since 2008. Trump’s March announcement he was slapping a 25% tariff on imported automobiles and auto parts ignited furious lobbying by carmakers who said the levies would cripple the industry and undermine investments made under Trump’s renegotiated North American trade deal. A month later, Trump yielded to that pressure, effectively easing separate metals duties for the auto industry while offering a temporary offset for American-made vehicles. Consumers had fretted about higher expected prices for consumer electronics under Trump’s April tariffs, when the administration in a surprise move exempted smartphones, computers and other technology. Administration officials said those tariff exclusions were designed to allow time for the Commerce Department to conduct a separate trade probe targeting semiconductors.