Trump declares 90-day reciprocal tariff pause except for China

US President Donald Trump holds a Foreign Trade Barriers document as he delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 2, 2025. — Reuters
US President Donald Trump holds a “Foreign Trade Barriers” document as he delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 2, 2025. — Reuters

President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on his sweeping tariffs on Wednesday, giving all countries a 10% baseline except China, which will see even higher levies.

“Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World´s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Saying that more than 75 countries had asked for negotiations over the tariffs, Trump said he “authorised a 90-day pause, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately.”

At some point, he wrote, China would realize that the days of ripping off the US, and other countries, is “no longer sustainable or acceptable”. 

Trump’s sudden reversal came less than 24 hours after steep new tariffs kicked in on imports from dozens of trading partners. The new trade barriers have hammered markets, raised the odds of recession and prompted retaliatory responses from China and the European Union.


This is a developing story and is being updated with further details

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