#TariffsPause Trump announces a 90-day pause on "reciprocal" tariffs except for China

President Donald Trump announced a total three-month pause on all "reciprocal" tariffs that took effect at midnight, except for China, a surprising shift in stance from a president who had insisted that historically high tariffs were here to stay.

However, the enormous tariffs on China, the world's second-largest economy, will remain in place. In fact, Trump announced that they will increase from 104% to 125% after China announced additional tariffs in retaliation against the United States on Wednesday. All other countries that were subject to reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday will see their rates reduced to 10%, he stated.

"Due to the disrespect that China has shown towards global markets, I hereby increase the tariff that the United States imposes on China to 125%, effective immediately," Trump stated in his social media post. "At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that cheating the United States and other countries is no longer sustainable or acceptable.

In remarks to the press after the announcement, Trump said: "Nothing is decided yet, but we have great enthusiasm from other countries, including China. They want to reach an agreement, but they don’t know how to do it."

Mexico and Canada will not face the 10% tariffs, according to a White House official speaking to CNN. Almost all products coming from both countries will continue to be subject to a 25% tariff unless covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, in which case they will not be subject to tariffs. However, this does not apply to sectoral tariffs that Trump has imposed.

Nonetheless, Wall Street breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Trump backtrack on other extreme trade measures. Stocks rose sharply after the news.