What do Americans think of Trump’s 90-day tariff pause? Here’s what a poll found

The majority of Americans support President Donald Trump’s decision to pause some of his new tariffs, according to new polling.

In the latest YouGov survey, 64% of respondents said they strongly or somewhat approve of the president’s tariff delay, while just 15% said they strongly or somewhat disapprove. There was a consensus across the political spectrum, with most Democrats (69%), Republicans (68%) and independents (59%) in support.

Trump, on April 9, announced a 90-day pause on higher import duties for dozens of countries, while maintaining a baseline tariff of 10% for most nations. Conversely, he raised the tariff rate on China — the top supplier of goods to America — to 125%.

In a post on Truth Social, he said the delay was initiated after “more than 75 countries” reached out to the U.S. to negotiate, though he also offered another explanation.

“I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line … they were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid,” he told reporters at the White House when asked to explain his thinking.

He may have been referencing the dramatic stock market downturn that took place after his tariffs — described by J.P. Morgan as the largest tax hike since 1968 — were first announced on April 2. Markets quickly rebounded after the 90-day pause was issued.

The YouGov poll — conducted on April 9 with 5,040 U.S. adults — also asked respondents how Trump’s delay would affect ordinary Americans.

A strong plurality, 45%, said the pause would help the average American, while 16% said it would hurt them. An additional 11% said it would have no effect, and 27% said they weren’t sure.

A majority of Democrats (53%) said the decision would help Americans, while smaller shares of Republicans (43%) and independents (41%) said the same, according to the poll, which has a margin of error of 1.7 percentage points.

In light of Trump entering into negotiations with other countries, the poll also asked respondents to rate the president’s ability to make deals with other nations that are advantageous to the U.S.

Forty-four percent rated Trump’s deal-making abilities as terrible or poor, while 37% rated them as excellent or good. Nine percent called them fair, and 9% said they were not sure.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there was a huge partisan divide on this question. A majority of Republicans (51%) said Trump’s negotiating abilities are excellent, while most Democrats (62%) said they are terrible. A plurality of independents (38%) also labeled them as terrible.

This story was originally published April 10, 2025 at 11:35 AM with the headline "What do Americans think of Trump’s 90-day tariff pause? Here’s what a poll found."