US Imposes 125% Tariff on China, Pauses Tariffs for 90 Days on Over 75 Countries

	Negotiation Over Confrontation: Countries Taking Cautious Approach to US Tariffs
	US President Donald Trump: Reciprocal Tariffs Will Target All Countries

Not a Random Move

In a post on the social media platform Truth, President Trump declared an immediate hike in tariffs on China to 125%, citing the country’s “lack of respect that China has shown to the World's Markets”.

President Donald Trump addresses the press at the White House following his announcement on the tariff delay. (Photo: Reuters)

Trump continues in the message, “based on the fact that more than 75 countries have called US representatives, including the Departments of Commerce, Treasury and USTR, to negotiate a solution to the issues under discussion related to trade, trade barriers, tariffs, currency manipulation, and non-monetary tariffs and that these countries have not, at my strong suggestion, taken any retaliation against the US, I have authorized a PAUSE of 90 days and a significantly reduced reciprocal tariff during this period, by 10 per cent, also effective immediately.”

According to ABC News, shortly after President Donald Trump suddenly backtracked on his destabilizing "reciprocal" tariffs, reporters asked him what led him to the change in course.

"I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line. They were getting yippy. You know, they were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid," Trump said during a photo op with racing champions outside the White House.

"Over the last few days it looked pretty glum," he said, before quickly turning to tout the stock uptick immediately after his announcement of the 90-day pause.

According to CNBC, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessett claimed to reporters that Trump had always intended to put the brakes on the wide-ranging tariffs the president announced last week.

“This was his strategy all along,” Bessent said at the White House.

Lingering Concerns

According to Sky News, a spokesperson for the British government stated that the country will continue negotiations 'coolly and calmly' as Trump pauses some tariffs.

“We don’t want any tariffs at all, so for jobs and livelihoods across the UK, we will coolly and calmly continue to negotiate in Britain’s interests,” the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, analysts continue to express concern over the impact of trade tensions between the US and China.

World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said that the US-China tariff war could reduce trade in goods between the two economic giants by 80 per cent, pulling down the rest of the world economy.

“The escalating trade tensions between the US and China pose a significant risk of a sharp contraction in bilateral trade. Our preliminary projections suggest that merchandise trade between these two economies could decrease by as much as 80 per cent,” WTO Director-General said in a statement.

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