President Trump Pauses Many Reciprocal Tariffs for 90 Days, Hits China With Higher Tariffs

Less than a week after instituting wide-ranging tariffs against nearly every American trading partner, President Trump announced a 90-day pause on all “reciprocal” tariffs that went into effect at midnight, with a significant exception: China, which will see tariffs further increased to 125%.

Amid fears of President Trump’s tariffs causing a severe global recession, the White House says that dozens of countries had reached out to try to negotiate new trade deals, Axios reports. For countries that have tried to negotiate and not instituted reciprocal tariffs of their own, the existing 10% global tariff rate remains in effect. However, significantly higher reciprocal tariffs on around 60 nations have been lifted.

“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,” Trump said on Truth Social, emphasis his. 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. Conversely, and based on the fact that more than 75 Countries have called Representatives of the United States, including the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and the USTR, to negotiate a solution to the subjects being discussed relative to Trade, Trade Barriers, Tariffs, Currency Manipulation, and Non Monetary Tariffs, and that these Countries have not, at my strong suggestion, retaliated in any way, shape, or form against the United States, I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Immediately following Trump’s announcement, markets surged strongly, helping recoup some of the major losses incurred since the initial tariff announcement earlier this month.

As for the plan for when the 90-day pause expires, it will depend heavily upon ongoing negotiations between foreign nations and the United States. It is also unclear how the pause will impact the pricing of a wide range of imported products, including electronics, smartphones, and cameras, as many of these are made, in part, in China. Some are, of course, manufactured in other countries like Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam, which are now unburdened by the high reciprocal tariffs and are back to a base 10% rate, which will still impact product pricing in the United States.

So far, few tech companies have specifically addressed pricing changes due to tariffs, with Blackmagic Design a notable exception. The company announced higher prices for many of its cameras earlier this week. It will be fascinating to see how today’s tariff news impacts Blackmagic’s plans in the United States. As the company told PetaPixel this week, the tariff situation has been rapidly changing, and further pricing changes are possible. The company also said it was actively reorganizing its production strategies to help reduce the impact of tariffs. How those plans are affected by today’s news remains in flux.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.