Cliff Notes – Trump pauses tariffs for most countries for 90 days
- Donald Trump pauses tariffs for most countries for 90 days on “reciprocal” tariffs for over 75 trading partners, maintaining a reduced baseline tariff of 10%
- While increasing tariffs on China to 125%
- Trump has backed down and is quoted as saying people were “getting a little too afraid”
- Stock markets rallied significantly, with the S&P 500 index jumping 9.5%, following the announcement of the tariff pause amidst fears of a global recession
- The tariff pause does not apply to existing 25% duties on steel and aluminium imports from Canada and Mexico, nor does it impact the UK, which already faces a 10% tariff
Trump pauses tariffs for most countries for 90 days but increases those on China to 125%
Donald Trump has paused his so-called “reciprocal” tariffs on most of America’s trading partners for 90 days – while increasing those on China to 125%. Europe has been gifted a reprieve or did the President preempt any further retaliation from another major global powerhouse.
There have been fears of a global recession and stock markets around the world had plummeted after Mr Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs on Wednesday 2 April.
However, the S&P 500 stock index jumped 9.5% and global markets bounced back following Mr Trump’s announcement on Wednesday that the increased tariffs on nearly all trading partners would now be paused.
Tariffs latest: Trump gives reasons for pausing some tariffs
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said the “90-day pause” was for the “more than 75 countries” who had not retaliated against his tariffs “in any way”.
He added that during this period they would still have to pay a “substantially lowered” 10% tariff, which is “effective immediately”.
It is lower than the 20% tariff that Mr Trump had set for goods from the European Union, 24% on imports from Japan and 25% on products from South Korea.
The UK was already going to face a blanket 10% tariff under the new system.
Mr Trump said the increased 125% tariff on imported goods from China was “effective immediately”.
He added: “At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realise that the days of ripping off the USA, and other countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable.”
Hours after Mr Trump announced the pause on tariffs for most countries, a White House official clarified that this did not apply to the 25% duties imposed on some US imports from Mexico and Canada.
The tariffs were first announced in February and Mexico and Canada were not included in the “Liberation Day” announcements.