BY: ASHLEY MURRAY
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will pause his sweeping tariffs for 90 days on countries willing to negotiate new trade deals but will not relent on China, according to a post Wednesday on his social media platform.
Stocks surged upon his announcement after days of wrecked markets erased trillions of dollars from investors. The Nasdaq saw the biggest single-day hike in five years as of Wednesday afternoon, according to financial media.
The pause will not extend to China, which he announced will see a further hike to 125% on imports to the U.S. “effective immediately,” he said.
“At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“Conversely, and based on the fact that more than 75 Countries have called Representatives of the United States, including the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and the USTR, to negotiate a solution to the subjects being discussed relative to Trade, Trade Barriers, Tariffs, Currency Manipulation, and Non Monetary Tariffs, and that these Countries have not, at my strong suggestion, retaliated in any way, shape, or form against the United States, I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately,” Trump continued.
The tariffs, which the administration maintains are “reciprocal,” went into effect just after midnight Wednesday.
The announcement came just hours after the president posted on social media “BE COOL!” and “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.”
Trump’s sudden pause also came hours after U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer defended the steep tariffs before nervous lawmakers on Capitol Hill for the second day in a row.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for a list of countries whose tariff rates will drop to a universal baseline of 10%.
A rollercoaster few days
Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” announcement sent shock waves through the economy after he unveiled import taxes on trading partners and allies, some as high as 46% as in the case of Vietnam, a major tech exporter to the U.S.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters outside the White House Wednesday that the tariffs were “a successful negotiating strategy.”
“As I told everyone a week ago in this very spot, do not retaliate, and you will be rewarded,” Bessent said.
The administration met with Vietnamese officials Wednesday, according to Bessent, and meetings with Japan, South Korea and India are expected shortly, though he didn’t provide details.
When asked by reporters if Trump’s tariff policy was mainly now focused on China, Bessent said “it’s about bad actors” but added that China “is the biggest source of the U.S. trade problems.”
The trade war — though Bessent said he is “not calling it a trade war” — between the U.S. and China expanded rapidly overnight Wednesday when Chinese officials raised levies on U.S. goods to 84%.
“The US’s practice of escalating tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake, which seriously infringes on China’s legitimate rights and interests and seriously damages the rules-based multilateral trading system,” according to a translation of a statement Wednesday from the country’s State Council Tariff Commission.
European Union
Bessent did not answer shouted questions about whether the European Union would see a 90-day reprieve from Trump’s 20% tax on EU imports.
The European bloc of 27 nations approved new tariffs on a range of American goods Wednesday in retaliation to an earlier round of levies that Trump imposed.
EU lawmakers did not yet publish a final list of the U.S. products it targeted Wednesday.
The EU import taxes are set to begin April 15 and are in response to Trump’s “unjustified and damaging” 25% tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum that went into effect in mid-March, according to a statement from the European Commission.
“These countermeasures can be suspended at any time, should the US agree to a fair and balanced negotiated outcome,” the statement continued.