Trump Pauses Tariffs for 90 Days on Countries Willing to Negotiate

President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he would pause his sweeping tariffs for 90 days on countries willing to negotiate new trade agreements but maintained his hard stance against China, imposing an immediate 125% tariff on imports from the country.

In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump outlined the conditions of his decision, noting that the pause would apply only to countries that have expressed interest in negotiating trade deals with the U.S. He further stated that over 75 countries had reached out to U.S. representatives to discuss issues related to trade, barriers, tariffs, currency manipulation, and other trade concerns, and they had not retaliated in response to the tariffs.

“As a result, I have authorized a 90-day pause with a substantially lowered reciprocal tariff of 10% during this period,” Trump wrote. “This pause is effective immediately.”

Stocks surged following Trump’s announcement, with the Nasdaq seeing its biggest single-day gain in five years. The decision came after days of turbulent markets, during which trillions of dollars were wiped from investors’ portfolios. Trump also took to social media earlier in the day, posting a message urging investors to “BE COOL!” and declaring, “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.”

The 90-day tariff pause will not affect China, however. Trump reaffirmed his administration’s hardline approach to China, stating that a further tariff increase to 125% would apply immediately to Chinese imports. He added, “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 U.S. Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, defended the steep tariffs on Capitol Hill just hours before the president’s announcement. While Trump’s tariffs are intended as a negotiating strategy, the White House did not immediately release a list of countries that would see their tariffs reduced to the new 10% baseline.

The pause comes amid a volatile few days following Trump’s announcement on April 2 of a major new round of tariffs, some as high as 46%, on several countries including Vietnam, which is a significant tech exporter to the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the tariffs a “successful negotiating strategy” and urged countries not to retaliate.

Meanwhile, the trade conflict between the U.S. and China continued to escalate, with Chinese officials raising tariffs on U.S. goods to 84%. In response, China criticized the U.S. for its “mistakes” in escalating tariffs, calling the move an infringement on China’s legitimate rights and damaging to the global trading system.

European Union leaders also responded to Trump’s actions, with the EU approving new tariffs on U.S. goods in retaliation to Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum. The EU’s tariffs, which are set to begin on April 15, will target a range of American products. EU officials indicated that the measures could be suspended if the U.S. agrees to a fair and balanced negotiated outcome.