Ninety Day Pause on US Tariffs... Trump didn't just flinched. He ducked!

Trump stuns with 90-day tariff pause but hits China even harder with 125% rate

Mr Donald Trump denied that he had backtracked on the tariffs, telling reporters that “you have to be flexible”.
PHOTO: ERIC LEE/NYTIMES

APR 10, 2025

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump abruptly paused tariffs on most countries, sparking euphoria on global markets on April 10, but upped the ante on a brutal trade war with superpower rival China.

After days of global market turmoil, stocks on Wall Street and across Asia saw huge surges in reaction to Mr Trump’s announcement that he was halting a levy hike for almost all nations for 90 days.

Mr Trump denied that he had backtracked on the tariffs, telling reporters that “you have to be flexible”.


“People were jumping a little bit out of line, they were getting yippy, a little bit afraid,” Mr Trump said. Yippy is a term in sports to describe a loss of nerves.

He said he had been watching the “very tricky” state of the crucial US bonds market before his decision.

“I saw last night where people were getting a little queasy,” he said, as US bond yields rose during the stocks sell-off – a major economic red light as American sovereign government debt is normally seen as a safe haven for investors in troubled times.


Mr Trump also predicted that trade deals will be made with all countries, including China, which has for now, refused to roll back on retaliatory tariffs on US goods.


“A deal’s going to be made with China. A deal’s going to be made with every one of them,” Mr Trump said, adding however that China’s leaders “don’t know quite how to go about it.”

Mr Trump also said that he “can’t imagine” increasing Chinese tariffs more than he has.

China duel

Markets have been on a roller-coaster ride since Mr Trump’s announcement of sweeping global tariffs one week ago on what he called Liberation Day before his dramatic pause on April 9.

Mr Trump had imposed a 10 per cent baseline tariff on all countries that came into effect on April 5, and higher rates on key trading partners like China and the European Union that he accused of cheating the US, which activated on April 9.

But as markets swayed yet again, Mr Trump said in a surprise announcement on his Truth Social network that “I have authorised a 90-day PAUSE” on the higher tariffs, while the baseline 10 per cent would remain.

He said that he took the decision after more than 75 countries reached out to negotiate and did not retaliate.

At the same time, Mr Trump ramped up his confrontation with China, which has announced retaliatory tariffs of 84 per cent on US imports from midday.

The new levies on US imports are effective from 12.01pm on Thursday.

Beijing said Washington’s steps pile “mistakes on top of mistakes”.

The European Union had earlier launched its own counterattack, announcing measures targeting some US products from next week in retaliation for American duties on global steel and aluminum exports.

The 27-nation bloc will hit more than €20 billion (S$29.4 billion) worth of US products, including soya beans, motorcycles and beauty products.

But the EU notably did not retaliate against the separate Liberation Day tariffs of 20 per cent that came into effect on April 9.

‘BE COOL!’

Wall Street stocks rocketed on Mr Trump’s pause announcement. The S&P 500 surged 9.5 per cent to 5,456.90, snapping a brutal run of losses over the past week.

Markets in Asia on April 10 also rallied, with Australia, Hong Kong, Taipei and Tokyo surging on opening after days of losses.

Stocks in Chinese economic powerhouse Shanghai were also up, despite Mr Trump’s decision to further hike tariffs.

Before his pivot, Mr Trump said world leaders were rushing to negotiate “tailored” deals with the US, with Japan and South Korea among those sending delegations to Washington.

“I’m telling you, these countries are calling us up, kissing my ass,” Mr Trump told a dinner with fellow Republicans on the night of April 8.

Mr Trump believes his policy will revive America’s lost manufacturing base by forcing companies to relocate to the US.

The billionaire former property tycoon has particularly raged against China, accusing it of excess production and “dumping” inexpensive goods on other economies.

With the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies showing little signs of abating, China told tourists on April 9 to “fully assess the risks”before travelling to the US.

Separately, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth warned against Chinese “threats” as he visited Panama, whose canal is at the centre of a row between Beijing and Washington. AFP