US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would pause many of his new tariffs for 90 days, even as he raised them further on imports from China.
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.
Trump said he would raise the tariff on Chinese imports to 125 per cent from the 104pc level that took effect at midnight. At the same time, he said he would lower them on other countries also subject to his new targeted duties.
“I have authorised a 90-day pause, and a substantially lowered reciprocal tariff during this period, of 10pc, also effective immediately,” Trump wrote on social media.
Earlier, China said it would impose 84 per cent tariffs on US goods from Thursday, up from the 34pc previously announced, its finance ministry said on Wednesday, firing the latest salvo in a global trade war sparked by US President Donald Trump.
Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of countries took effect earlier today, including massive 104pc duties on Chinese goods. The European Union is also preparing its own retaliatory measures for later today.
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Trump’s punishing tariffs – which he says aim to end US trade deficits with many countries — have upended a global trading order in place for decades, raising fears of recession and wiping trillions of dollars off the market value of major firms.
Global markets took a pummelling today as Trump’s eye-watering 104pc tariffs on China came into effect, and a savage selloff in US bonds sparked fears that foreign funds were fleeing US assets.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in an interview with Fox Business Network, said China’s new tariffs were unfortunate.
