U.S. President Donald Trump surprised the world Wednesday by pausing tariffs for 90 days for most countries—while slapping China with even more levies.
Wall Street stocks surged in reaction to Trump’s sudden announcement on his Truth Social network. Minutes after the announcement, the S&P 500 surged 6% to 5,281.44, in a turnaround of losses over the past week.
“I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE” on higher tariffs that took effect on Wednesday, Trump said in a post on TruthSocial, adding that he took the decision after more than 75 countries had reached out to negotiate instead of retaliating against the United States.
Only a flat rate of 10% tariffs on all countries that took effect on Saturday will remain in place. This marked a stunning reversal from often punishing levies that hit even many of the closest U.S. allies.
But Trump accused China of still “ripping off” his country.
“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 percent, effective immediately,” Trump said.
Trump had only hours earlier ramped up the duties on Chinese goods to a giant 104%. China then retaliated by raising tariffs on U.S. imports to 84%.
“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 said.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted that Trump had not backtracked, saying: “This was his strategy all along, and you might even say that he goaded China into a bad position.”
