President Trump announced on Wednesday (9) that he would suspend his reciprocal tariffs for most countries for the next 90 days, backing away from his policy that provoked a drop in markets and threatened to harm global trade. But Trump stated that his suspension did not include China, announcing instead that he would increase tariffs on its exports to 125% after Beijing announced a new round of retaliations.
Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary, said that the tariff level would be reduced to 10% — a significant reduction for many countries.
The reversal, which immediately provoked strong gains in the stock market, occurred after another turbulent day. Trump’s latest tariffs hit almost all US trading partners and increased import taxes on Chinese products to 104%. Beijing then announced additional tariffs on imports from the United States, totaling 84%, which went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time.
Shortly before that, European Union member states voted to approve counter-tariffs against the United States, which would go into effect next Tuesday, in a first response to the rates imposed by Trump. Documents showed that 25% tariffs would be applied to a wide range of products imported from the United States, including items as varied as corn and laminated glass. The bloc stated that its countermeasures “can be suspended at any time if the US agrees to a fair and balanced negotiated solution”.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried to frame the pause as part of Trump’s strategy and not a capitulation, stating that the tariffs worked to bring some of China’s closest neighbors to seek deals with the United States. “Don’t retaliate, and you will be rewarded,” he said.
The government did not make clear exactly which countries will benefit from the temporary suspension of tariffs.
Source: The New York Times