Trump China tariff truce ignites stock markets – will it also pump up president’s poll numbers?

Global stock markets are soaring in the wake of the trade truce between the U.S. and China.

The agreement, announced early Monday, implements a 90-day cooling-off period between the world’s two largest economic superpowers, bringing a temporary end to their tariff war that last month triggered a massive financial market sell-off. 

U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports, which were jacked to 145% last month as President Donald Trump hiked tariffs on countries around the world, will be scaled down to 30%, with Beijing lowering its tariffs from a retaliatory 125% to just 10%.

“We both have an interest in balanced trade, the U.S. will continue moving towards that,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said after talks with Chinese officials in Switzerland.

WHAT’S IN THE TRADE TRUCE WITH CHINA

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, right, and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer take part in a press conference after two days of closed-door discussions on trade between the United States and China, in Geneva on Monday, May 12, 2025. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, in an appearance on “Fox and Friends,” said the agreement was “an extraordinary step in the right direction,” and a White House press release described it as “a historic trade win for the United States.”

While the initial agreement brought instant relief to the stock markets, for a president aiming to pass a sweeping agenda through Congress and hold onto his congressional majorities in next year’s midterm elections, it is the potential political payoff that may be of upmost importance.

The truce with China follows days after an initial trade deal with the United Kingdom – which is the first since Trump implemented tariffs last month. The president touted that the agreement with London would be “the first of many.”

“It’s a positive first step,” veteran Republican strategist and communicator Ryan Williams told Fox News.

COMMERCE SECRETARY SAYS MORE DEALS TO COME FOLLOWING US-UK TRADE AGREEMENT: ‘GOING TO DRIVE OUR ECONOMY’

Trump’s approval ratings have been sliding since he returned to power in the White House nearly four months ago and are now underwater in most national polling.

Most, but not all, of the most recent national public opinion surveys indicate Trump’s approval ratings in negative territory, which is a deterioration from the president’s poll position when he started his second tour of duty in the White House in late January.

Fueling the drop in Trump’s poll numbers are increased concerns by Americans over the economy and inflation, which were pressing issues that kept former President Joe Biden‘s approval ratings well below water for most of his presidency.  

Trump stood at 44% approval and 55% disapproval in the most recent Fox News national poll, which was conducted April 18-21.

(Fox News)

Additionally, getting past the top lines, the president’s approval registered at 38% on the economy and just 33% on inflation and tariffs.

Front and center is Trump’s blockbuster tariff announcement in early April, which sparked a trade war with some of the nation’s top trading partners and triggered a massive sell-off in the financial markets and increased concerns about a recession.

POLL POSITION: WHERE TRUMP STANDS 15 WEEKS INTO HIS SECOND PRESIDENCY

In discussing his tariffs soon after he announced them on what he called “Liberation Day,” the president touted that “these countries are calling us up, kissing my a–.”

“They are dying to make a deal. ‘Please, please, sir, make a deal. I’ll do anything. I’ll do anything, sir!’” Trump claimed.

Will the tariff truce with China give President Donald Trump a political bounce? (Fox News)

A month later, Trump finally has a chance to show tangible results.

The president touted, “NO INFLATION!!! LOVE, DJT” in a social media post Monday morning.

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“President Trump has argued that his agenda requires time for an adjustment and deal making. He’ll be given a period of time to execute deals to prove that his plans are working and the first major trade deal with a nation like the UK is at least a sign that some of the work has been going on behind the scenes thus and is starting to bear fruit,” Williams said last week, following the announcement of the deal with the United Kingdom.

Williams added that the president will “have to back it up with more, but it is a positive first step for him in securing other deals.”