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The trade war with China may not be done — as long as President Trump is still in the White House.

That's the sobering reminder to stock market bulls from one Trump insider.

"Well, I don't think it will ever quite be over, but what will be over are these tariffs up over 100%," billionaire businessman and longtime Trump confidant Wilbur Ross told me on Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid podcast (see video above or listen below).

Ross served as the 39th US Commerce Secretary from 2017 to 2021 and is the author of "Risks and Returns: Creating Success in Business and Life." During his tenure, Ross helped implement Trump's first tariffs on China.

"Once a tariff gets over 40% or 50%, it doesn't make much difference if you add more on top because you've really said, we're not doing any business with you," Ross added. "It's not absorbable even at 40% or 50%, let alone at 125% or 135%."

The US and China agreed on Monday to ratchet down the tariff war for 90 days as each economy begins to feel the pressure of bruising penalties.

After a weekend of high-level meetings in Switzerland, the US will reduce "reciprocal" tariffs on goods from China to 10% from 125%. A separate 20% tariff imposed by Trump over what he says is China's role in the fentanyl trade will remain intact.

China will cut its retaliatory tariffs on US goods to 10% from 125%.

Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet

Markets have reacted as one would expect: in full cheerleading mode, despite a series of unknowns on future Chinese trade policy.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.7% on Tuesday. It has now reversed its losses on the year and is up slightly. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) advanced 1.8% on Tuesday after entering a new bull market in the prior session.

The "Magnificent Seven" complex — Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Meta (META), Tesla (TSLA), Nvidia (NVDA), Amazon (AMZN), and Alphabet (GOOG) — are back leading the market higher in a clear show of renewed risk appetite.

But Ross thinks big hurdles remain on US-China trade, which may not be addressed in the next 90 days.

"This was just the tip of the iceberg," Ross added. "There are these other issues — the fentanyl, the intellectual property, and market access. And there's finally a complicated one. They use some junk science to keep our agricultural products out. Those are the issues that haven't been addressed to any real degree in this little thing."

Story Continues

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Three times each week, Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi fields insight-filled conversations and chats with the biggest names in business and markets on Opening Bid. You can find more episodes on our video hub or watch on your preferred streaming service.

Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email [email protected].

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