U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is pausing his so-called “reciprocal” tariffs for 90 days on countries facing rates higher than his 10 per cent baseline, after the White House said more than 75 countries have asked to begin trade negotiations with the U.S.
The pause, announced hours after his global tariff policy took effect at midnight Wednesday, will bring the tariff rate down to 10 per cent for all countries except China, which will now face a staggering 125 per cent levy on all goods exported to the U.S. after retaliating further in the ever-evolving trade war.
“I did a 90-day pause for the people that didn’t retaliate,” Trump said outside the White House later on Wednesday, acknowledging people were “yippy” and “afraid” due to declines in global financial markets.
“A deal can be made with every one of them,” he added. “There will be fair deals for everybody, but they weren’t fair to the United States. They were sucking …