Reuters retracted a story that had claimed President Donald Trump was considering a 90-day pause on his new tariff plan. The retraction came after the initial report caused significant market volatility, with stocks briefly rallying on the news before plunging again once the story was debunked. Reuters attributed the error to CNBC, stating that it had relied on CNBC’s incorrect reporting as the source for its original headline.
The confusion appears to have originated from a misinterpretation of comments made by Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council, during an interview on Fox News’ "Fox and Friends."
Hassett was asked about the possibility of a 90-day tariff pause, an idea suggested by billionaire investor Bill Ackman over the weekend. However, Hassett’s response was vague and non-committal: “I think the president is going to decide what the president is going to decide.”
This was misconstrued by some outlets and social media users as an indication that a pause was under consideration. A post on X by user Walter Bloomberg escalated the situation by claiming Hassett had confirmed Trump was considering a 90-day pause “for all countries except China,” a statement that was then picked up and broadcast by CNBC.
Reuters initially published a headline at 15:19 EDT (10:19 AM local time) stating, “HASSETT: TRUMP IS CONSIDERING A 90-DAY PAUSE IN TARIFFS FOR ALL COUNTRIES EXCEPT CHINA-CNBC,” based on CNBC’s reporting.
This triggered a rapid market response, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and other indexes swinging from deep losses to gains. However, within an hour, the White House labeled the reports “fake news,” with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt explicitly denying any such consideration. Reuters subsequently retracted the story, acknowledging that its reliance on CNBC’s erroneous coverage had led to the mistake.
Posts on X later confirmed that Reuters had indeed issued the initial headline to its terminal but withdrew it after realizing the error, pointing to the chaotic sequence of events involving CNBC’s role in the miscommunication.
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