President Donald Trump said Wednesday that most countries have suspended higher target tariffs for 90 days.
In a post on X before 1:30pm, Trump wrote that he came to the decision as more than 75 trading partners did not retaliate and contacted the US to “discuss” some of the issues he raised.
However, the suspension did not apply to China, which is being retaliated – on 84% of hikes. Instead, Trump raised the country’s duties to 125%, which he quickly took effect.
“Based on the lack of respect China has shown to the global market, I am by this raising the tariffs charged to China by the United States to 125% and immediately taking effect,” he wrote. “I hope at some point we will recognize that in the near future, the era in which China will tear the US and other countries apart is no longer sustainable or acceptable.”
However, the trade war was not exactly over, and the pause did not return the world before Trump touched on global instability. A full 10% obligation will be maintained, including some products in Canada and Mexico.
It was not immediately clear which countries would be covered by the suspension. The White House doesn’t say it. Earlier on Wednesday, the EU voted to impose fresh retaliatory duties, but they are not scheduled to take effect until next week.
Additionally, separate tariffs on imported automobiles, iron and aluminum remain, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent said that while planned tariffs on items such as timber and medicines are still ongoing;
It’s not clear why Trump urged him to change his mind. He delved into the question hours ago and seemed to say “cool” to Americans in a true social post, and he suggested that tariffs could be permanent so long ago.
“We put a 90-day pause for those who didn’t retaliate. “If you retaliate, we’re going to double it,” Trump said. “And that’s what I did in China, because they retaliated. So we’ll see how it works. I think it’s amazing.”
However, the market is incredible turmoil. —Major stock indexes have dumped trillions of dollars worth, but the surprising signal from the bond market is putting Wall Street at the edge.
The market has surged temporarily in false headlines at a time when Trump suggested he would film a 90-day suspension around the internet on Monday. And the chorus of business leaders and Trump’s allies have come publicly against tariffs, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
The market surged to astonishing news on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 rising more than 9%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq closing more than 12%, and the industrial average of Dow Jones rose nearly 3,000 points. Of the big winners, Tesla stocks rose 22%.
As some investors may be afraid of prolonged fallout from the tariff episode, the borrowing costs, which had surged early on Wednesday, have also been slightly eased as tariffs became effective.
Although it has not been significantly eased as some investors may fear a prolonged fallout, tariffs have also eased slightly lower borrowing costs, which had surged early on Wednesday.
Even before he became president, Trump has been talking about tariffs as a solution to the US economic problems. He branded “The Day of Liberation” on April 2 – when he announced his plans, saying that “the decades of plunder, plundered, raped and looted by other countries will end.
The global market was bounced back, and last year it was wiped out by just $6.6 trillion. But Trump and his allies have argued that until Wednesday, they will double until 2018, tariffs are needed to bring manufacturing back to the US and meet national funding with trillions of dollars in revenue that can be used to pay off debt and offset tax cuts.
It is not clear how the White House expects policies to promote great interests now. A low 10% tariff rate remains, resulting in less incentives for businesses to transfer production to the US, generating revenue.
After the news, the Treasury Secretary aimed to face negotiation tactics, claiming that it was a way to scare him to come to the negotiation table by showing how expensive the US will be.
“President Trump has created his own maximum negotiation leverage,” Bescent said.
However, given Trump’s repeated threats over the past few months, it is unclear how successful the US will be in negotiating a new trade deal with other countries. Previously, Trump has returned most of them after threatening all import duties from Mexico and Canada.
And while markets surged Wednesday after Trump’s suspension, economic uncertainty remains in the US trade war with China, which exports more than $400 billion in goods each year.
Under Trump’s new tariffs, the cost of US companies importing goods from China has more than doubled. These products include everything from toys and sneakers to TVs and iPhones.
US companies that export products to China are caught up in a fight after China has increased tariffs on American goods such as agricultural products and machinery. But the White House downplays that risk.
“What I’m sure is that what China is doing is because of its export-driven impact on far more than our economy.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick posted to X, who sat with Trump when he posted his first message, adding, “The world is ready to work with President Trump to fix global trade, and China has chosen the opposite direction.”