Trump says he will pause tariffs for 90 days, but not for China

President Trump on Wednesday said on social media that he would pause tariffs on most countries for 90 days but would immediately hike tariffs on China to 125%.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House that tariffs would be brought down to a “universal 10%” level during the 90-day pause, aside from China.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters, “It took great courage — great courage — for him [Trump] to stay the course until this moment.”

Bessent said China was the “biggest source” of trade issues for the United States and the rest of the world.

“I’m not calling it a trade war, but I’m saying that China has escalated, and President Trump responded very courageously to that, and we are going to work on a solution with the our trading partners,” he said.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to the press outside the West Wing of the White House on Wednesday about President Trump's decision to pause tariffs on U.S. trading partners, but not for China.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to the press outside the West Wing of the White House on Wednesday about President Trump’s decision to pause tariffs on U.S. trading partners, but not for China. (Saul Loeb | AFP via Getty Images)

Bessent said the decision to pause tariffs was not made because of the sharp decline in the stock market, insisting the pause was needed to come to “bespoke” trade arrangements with other countries.

“It is going to take some time, and President Trump wants to be personally involved. So that’s why we’re getting the 90-day pause,” he said.

Bessent said that a range of issues would be on the table during talks with other countries, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) deals, non-tariff trade barriers, currency policies and subsidies. He said he has a meeting with Vietnamese officials today.

“These are complicated negotiations. These are imbalances that have taken decades to create,” he said.

Bessent told reporters that Trump had made his decision on Sunday. “This was driven by the president’s strategy. He and I had a long talk on Sunday, and this was his strategy all along.”

 

Judge puts temporary hold on Trump’s latest ban on Harvard’s foreign students

Admitted students around the world are anxiously tracking the school's feud with the Trump administration, which is seeking to keep it from enrolling international students.

Private lunar lander from Japan crashes into moon in failed mission

The Tokyo-based company ispace declared the mission a failure several hours after communication was lost with the lander.

Young offenders are often denied credit for “dead time” behind bars

Juvenile detention systems often deny young offenders credit for the time they spend waiting behind bars

From bromance to breakup: How Elon Musk and Donald Trump blew up

The blow up marks the end of an alliance between the president and the billionaire that lasted far longer than many observers expected.

Fans drive huge Nintendo Switch 2 launch; others play the waiting game

Criticized for its high cost but still selling out nearly everywhere, Nintendo's sequel to their popular Switch console releases as a trade war squeezes the video game industry.

Israel says it’s arming clans to fight Hamas in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged the government was arming factions in the Gaza Strip to combat Hamas, after accusations from an opposition politician.

More Front Page Coverage