Trump pauses higher tariffs for most countries as China’s fees multiply

In a change of policy, Trump said he was allowing a universal lowered tariff of 10% across many countries, a week after announcing a range of import taxes on all goods entering the US.

During the shift in policy, he increased tariffs on goods from China to 125%.

Trump accused Beijing of a “lack of respect” after it reacted by saying it would add an 84% tariff on US imports. 

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the 90-day pause was for the “more than 75 countries” that had not retaliated to the imposed tariffs “in any way”.

He continued to say they would still have to pay the “substantially lowered” 10% tariff.

Before this, many countries such as Vietnam, Japan, South Africa, South Korea and the EU were due to be hit with tariffs ranging from 11% to over 100%.

The UK was already going to face the 10% tariff.

Trump said the increased 125% tariff on imported goods from China was “effective immediately”.

He added: “At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realise that the days of ripping off the USA and other countries is no longer sustainable or acceptable.”

Speaking outside the White House, he later said the changes to the tariffs policy had to be done as people were “getting yippy” and “a little afraid”.

He said: “I did a 90-day pause for the people that didn’t retaliate because I told them, ‘if you retaliate, we’re going to double it’, and that’s what I did with China.”

A White House official later clarified that the pause on tariffs did not apply to the 25% taxes imposed on some US imports from Mexico and Canada.

In the UK, Downing Street said the country will act “coolly and calmly” in its continued negotiations with the US.

A Number 10 spokeswoman said: “A trade war is in nobody’s interests. 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.”