President Donald Trump and his advisers said this was the plan all along: Scare the bejesus out of the world by announcing astronomically high tariffs, get countries to come to the negotiating table, and — with the exception of China — back away from the most punishing trade barriers as America works out new trade agreements around the globe.

But Trump’s 90-day pause on his “reciprocal” tariffs that were never actually reciprocal gives his administration just three months to strike enormously complex trade deals with dozens of countries that it says are lining up to negotiate.

Financial markets aren’t buying it. Stocks have whipsawed as volatility has spiked. And other markets, including oil, bonds and the dollar, are sending a clear message of deep skepticism that Trump will be able to pull this one off.

Stocks

Following another steep sell-off Thursday, stocks appeared calmer — for now — and posted strong gains Friday.

The Dow ended the day higher by 619 points, or 1.56%. The S&P 500 rose 1.81% and the Nasdaq was 2.06% higher. Markets were buoyed by Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins telling the Financial Times Friday that the central bank would step in to support financial markets if there were signs of distress.

But stock market investors have been trading on a knife’s edge, and any announcement coming from the Trump administration on tariffs has the ability to send stocks surging or tumbling. For example, stocks plunged Thursday after the Trump administration clarified the math it had already used to set China’s massive 145% tariff. The street had believed the tariff was 125%. The Dow sank sharply, at one point falling more than 2,000 points.