Trump Pauses Reciprocal Tariff, Maintains Baseline At 10%; Trains Guns On China

In the first sign of a thaw in the United States-versus-the Rest standoff, Washington on Wednesday put on pause the “reciprocal tariffs” on all countries—except China. The 10% baseline tariff would still apply to all.

For China, which had imposed retaliatory custom duties on the US, President Donald Trump raised the tariff to 125%, claiming Beijing’s "lack of respect for global markets".

To be sure, the reciprocal tariff has not been withdrawn but paused for 90 days.

Key highlights from Trump’s social media post:

• Tariff on China raised to 125% due to its disregard for global market norms.
• More than 75 countries have contacted US agencies to negotiate trade-related issues.
• A 90-day pause on further trade actions has been authorised for these cooperative countries.
• During this pause, a reduced reciprocal tariff of 10% will apply to all except China.

On Tuesday, Trump had declared a sweeping national emergency aimed at reversing what he described as decades of economic sabotage caused by unfair trade practices. The executive order—issued under the rarely used International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977—imposed a 10% tariff on all imports into the US.

A separate set of reciprocal tariffs was enforced on countries identified as having persistently benefited from non-reciprocal trade, currency manipulation, or policies that Trump claimed had “hollowed out” American industry.

For India, the tariff was set at 26%. 

This significantly disrupted trade flows, roiled global markets, and strained diplomatic ties. In response, China retaliated with its own tariffs on the US.

Today, US equity markets reversed earlier losses and rallied following Trump’s announcements.