President Donald Trump changed course again on Wednesday and announced a 90-day pause of his so-called “reciprocal” tariffs while hiking other duties on China to 125 percent.
The president’s decision followed several days of sharp losses on the stock market. In a Truth Social post, Trump claimed that his revesal was a result of what White House officials have claimed are dozens of foreign nations reaching out with the intention of re-negotiating trade policy with the United States, rather than implementing tariffs of their own.
“Conversely, and based on the fact that more than 75 Countries have called Representatives of the United States […] 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,” the president wrote on Wednesday.
He added of China: “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.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent addressed reporters at the White House shortly after the president’s post on Truth Social went live. Leavitt characterized the decision on China tariffs as a result of Beijing’s announcement that it would hike tariffs on U.S. goods to 84 percent.
“The tariff on China will now go up to 125 percent because China imprudently decided to retaliate against the United States,” she said, before going on to confirm that the “reciprocal” tariff rate on other countries would drop to 10 percent for the duration of the 90-day pause.
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