Trump Eats Humble Pie on Tariffs After Huge Market Loss Force His Hand

New Delhi: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (April 9) ‘paused’ the so-called reciprocal tariffs that went into effect earlier in the day against various countries, including India, for 90 days, but carved out an exception for China, against whom he has escalated retaliatory measures.

The specific tariffs that were announced earlier this month for around 90 countries will be replaced by a lower tariff of 10% during the 90-day period, Trump said.

He said he decided to effect the pause in light of “more than 75 countries” calling Trump administration officials for negotiations and because the countries did not, “at my strong suggestion, [retaliate] in any way, shape or form against the United States”.

“I have authorised a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately,” he added in a post on his Truth Social platform.

China announced on Wednesday – after mutual escalation by either side led to Trump levying a 104% tariff on Chinese goods – that it would would raise its retaliatory tariff on US imports from 34% up to 84% starting Thursday.

But this prompted a further increase in US tariffs against China to 125%, with Trump blaming Beijing's “lack of respect” to world markets as he announced the move on Truth Social late on Wednesday IST.

“At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realise that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable,” he continued.

Trump's "reciprocal" import tariffs against dozens of countries went into effect on Wednesday one week after Washington's ‘baseline’ tariff of 10% against all countries kicked in. While the Trump White House has called these rates "reciprocal", economists have pointed out that the formula used in fact had nothing to do with tariffs imposed by other countries on the US.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a briefing that the tariff level would be “brought down to a universal 10%”.

India was set to be subject to a 27% reciprocal tariff, with Trump having expressed his displeasure at New Delhi's high import duties on US goods multiple times after assuming office.

Following the announcement of the 27% tariff, the Modi government said it was “carefully examining the implications” of the move and that it was in touch with the US regarding negotiations for a bilateral trade deal that has been in the works since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington in February.

This is a developing story.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.