BREAKING: Trump Authorizes 90-Day Pause on Tariffs With 75 Countries — Raises China Tariff to 125% for ‘Lack of Respect’
(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Did President Donald Trump just blink on his controversial tariff policy?
In a social media message posted early Wednesday afternoon, Trump announced “a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff” for the 75 Countries who have “called Representatives of the United States,” who have “negotiated a solution to the subjects being discussed relative to Trade, Trade Barriers, Tariffs, Currency Manipulation, and Non Monetary Tariffs.”
In the same message, Trump announced that he was raising the retaliatory tariff rate to China to 125 “based on the lack of respect.”
“Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately,” Trump wrote. “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:
Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately. 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. 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. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
The inimical rhetoric between China and the Trump administration has ramped up considerably over the last 24 hours, with China refusing to back down and increasing tariffs on US imports.
There is an enormous trade imbalance between the two super powers, but the US economy enjoys a massive windfall from products it exports to China, notably soybeans, petroleum and technology.
