Trump pauses tariffs for most countries, raises them for China

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday a temporary 90-day suspension of his “reciprocal” tariffs on many U.S. trading partners, while simultaneously increasing duties on Chinese imports, intensifying an already tense trade conflict.

The move came less than a day after new steep tariffs were implemented on goods from numerous countries. Trump's abrupt shift appeared to be a response to market turbulence and growing political pressure.

“Well, I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line,” Trump said. “They were getting yippy. You know, we’re getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid.”

Following the announcement, U.S. financial markets surged. The S&P 500 jumped over 9% as investor fears of a prolonged trade war were momentarily eased.

Trump's earlier wave of tariffs had shaken global markets, increased the risk of an economic downturn, and provoked retaliatory actions from key partners such as China and the European Union.

Despite the pause on some tariffs, Trump announced that the levy on Chinese imports would rise from the 104% rate that went into effect at midnight to a new high of 125%. The decision underscores an escalating standoff between the world’s two largest economies.

At the same time, Trump stated the temporary pause on tariffs for other nations would give U.S. negotiators time to reach revised trade terms with countries that have expressed a willingness to lower their own trade barriers.

A blanket 10% tariff on nearly all U.S. imports will remain unchanged.

“Nothing’s over yet,” Trump added. “But we have a tremendous amount of spirit from other countries, including China. China wants to make a deal. They just don’t quite know how to go about it. You know, it’s one of those things — they’re a proud people, and the president, he’s a proud man. I know him very well. They’ll figure it out in the process of figuring it out.”

Not everyone welcomed Trump’s approach. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the situation “chaos” and said it reflected a disorganized administration.

“This is chaos. This is government by chaos,” Schumer said on the Senate floor.

Although critical of the overall policy, Schumer acknowledged the tariff pause as a positive sign.

“Donald Trump is feeling the heat from Democrats and across America about how bad these tariffs are,” he said. “He is reeling. He is retreating. And that is a good thing. We will continue to put the heat on him because there are still many damaging tariffs in place.”

Since Trump’s broad tariff announcement on April 2, the U.S. stock market had fallen over 12%, marking the worst four-day selloff in five years.

This article was reported by journalist Jimmy.