Trump reverses, pauses all reciprocal tariffs except for China

WASHINGTON—In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced he has authorized a 90-day pause of the majority of his previously announced reciprocal tariffs. He added that at least 75 countries have reached out to renegotiate its trade agreements with the United States. Trump’s statement said the 10% baseline tariffs would still remain in effect for those countries, but the additional reciprocal tariffs would be paused. China is not included in the pause. Due to retaliatory tariffs from Beijing, Trump is increasing China’s total tariff rate to 125%. On Monday, Trump said during remarks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he was not considering any tariff pauses.

How has Washington responded to tariffs? In remarks to the press on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Trump is organizing individualized trade deals with all 75 countries currently in talks with the administration. On Tuesday and Wednesday morning, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told lawmakers in hearings on Capitol Hill that the tariffs are not up for negotiation, but countries may reach out to the White House to offer suggestions on how to lower the trade deficit. Trump’s announcement came while Greer was testifying before the House Ways and Means Committee. He said that he was not informed of the pause until after Trump posted online. Lawmakers have demanded clarity on whether Trump is approaching tariffs as a negotiating tool or as a way to refill the Treasury Department’s coffers.

What is the market response? Within minutes of Trump’s social media post, U.S. stocks began to rally. The S&P rose 7% in only minutes. The Dow jumped more than 2,300 points within the hour. Last week, the stock market plummeted to its worst day since the 2008 recession following Trump’s announcement of 10% baseline and reciprocal tariffs. Economists warned that the markets were trending toward another recession due to high tariffs.

Dig deeper: Read my report in the Stew about why Congress is reconsidering the authority it gave the president to levy tariffs.