President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he is pausing his tariffs regime for 90 days on more than 75 trading partners who did not retaliate in the hours after it went into effect, a stunning reversal from the White House after days of painfully volatile moves in U.S. markets.
In a post on Truth Social just before 1:30 p.m., Trump wrote that his decision was based on these countries having called to “discuss” trade-barrier issues with the U.S. after Trump’s latest round of tariffs went into effect after midnight.
The pause did not apply to China — which has clapped back at Trump’s tariffs. Trump instead said duties against China would now climb to a total of 125%, effective immediately. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said separate tariffs on imported autos, steel and aluminum will remain in place — while planned “sectoral” tariffs on items like lumber and pharmaceuticals are still in the works.
“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,” he 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.”
The announcement came just hours after Trump appeared to be digging in, telling Americans “BE COOL” in a Truth Social post, insisting: “Everything is going to work out well. The USA will be bigger and better than ever before!”
It’s not clear what prompted Trump to change his mind — he suggested not that long ago the tariffs could be permanent. But a growing chorus of his allies and business leaders came out publicly against the tariffs, including Elon Musk.
Read the full report on NBC News.
