Trump administration accused of insider trading as stock markets soar in wake of tariff U-turn
10 April 2025, 14:16 | Updated: 10 April 2025, 14:23
The Trump administration has been accused of insider trading in the hours before he announced a shock U-turn on his global tariffs.
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Democrat leaders have demanded an investigation into the president's behaviour in the hours before he announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs above 10% for all countries except China.
Stock markets across the globe soared in the wake of the announcement, with the S&P 500 rising by almost 10% in the minutes after the news.
At 9:37am on Wednesday, before announcing the tariff U-turn, Trump took to TruthSocial and wrote: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY.”
Minutes after this post, calls flooded into the Nasdaq, the place where traders can buy the right to purchase stocks.
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Trump limits tariffs on most nations for 90 days but raises them for China
Now, Democrat leaders have accused the White House of using Trump’s social media to tip off his wealthy allies in what they say amounts to “insider trading.”
California Democrat Senator Adam Schiff said: “I’m writing to the White House to demand who knew in advance that the president was gonna once again flip flop on tariffs? And are people cashing in?
“There is just all too much opportunity for people in the White House and the administration to be insider trading.”
Former presidential candidate added: “Right before Donald Trump declared that some of his tariffs were off again, he sent out a message to his billionaire buddies.
“Was that market manipulation? Was that corruption in plain sight? We need an independent investigation.”
While progressive Democrat congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote: “Any member of Congress who purchased stocks in the last 48 hours should probably disclose that now.
“It’s time to ban insider trading.”
The White House has flatly rejected any allegations of insider trading, with spokesperson Kush Desai saying: “Instead of grasping at straws to try landing a punch on President Trump, Democrats should focus on working with the administration to restore American greatness.”
UK must ‘rise to the moment’ over tariffs, Starmer says
Despite this, Trump was seen bragging about the money his wealthy allies made following the U-turn, joking that his billionaire pal Charles Schwab made $2.5billion on Wednesday alone.
In his shock announcement on Wednesday, Trump said he would be delaying tariffs on most nations for 90 days while slapping Chinese imports with a staggering 125% tax rate - a move that saw China hit back with reciprocal tariffs on US imports.
Effective from 12.01am today, Beijing responded to Trump's hike by imposing its own 84% tax on imports of US goods.
In response to the tariffs, Beijing has said that it won't be "bullied" by the United States.
The pause came as a surprise announcement posted by the US President to his platform Truth Social, later telling reporters in Washington that he would be "flexible" with the tariffs.
According to the US treasury secretary, Trump will now keep his 10% baseline tariffs on most countries, with those taxed above this reduced to the baseline rate for the time being.
The pause saw US markets rally towards Wednesday's close, but despite this, the index of top UK stocks shut at a fresh 13-month low.
Meanwhile, stocks in Asia and elsewhere surged early on Thursday, as investors welcomed Trump’s tariff decision.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 8.8% in morning trading to 34,510.86, while South Korea’s Kospi gained 5.2% to 2,412.80 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 soared 5.1% to 7,748.00.
Given the UK currently faces a 10% baseline tax, it's understood there will be no immediate change.
In a statement late on Wednesday in response to the pause, a Downing Street spokeswoman said: “A trade war is in nobody’s interests.
“We don’t want any tariffs at all, so for jobs and livelihoods across the UK, we will coolly and calmly continue to negotiate in Britain’s interests.”
A Downing Street source said the development shows that “cool and calm can pay off” and that the way Sir Keir Starmer “does business” is the “right approach”.