Trump says 90-day pause on ‘reciprocal' tariffs, with the exception of China

President Donald Trump announced a 90-day moratorium on additional tariffs as his trade battle threatens the global economy.

At the same time, he declared that he would raise tariffs on China to 125%, ratcheting up the tit-for-tat with Beijing.

According to Trump, he has "authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately."

In reality, Trump stated that they will be raised to 125% from 104% after China imposed more retaliatory tariffs against the US earlier Wednesday. All other nations that were subjected to reciprocal tariff rates on Wednesday would have their charges reduced to the universal 10% rate, he added.

“Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately,” Trump said in his social media post. “At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable,” he wrote.

Trump told reporters that his decision to go with the halt was motivated in part by individuals "getting a little yippy yappy."

“You have to have flexibility,” he added, a stark about-face from recent comments he and administration officials have made recently insisting Trump was not going to back off his promises.

“China has vowed to ‘fight to the end,’ and there are risks of even more escalations,” Zhang said in an email. “China has already reduced its reliance on US products, such as soybeans and other agricultural products, since the 2018-19 trade war. But this time around, Chinese leaders have the backing of a more supportive general public to stand up to the US and pivot to domestic consumption.”

Announcing China’s response, the State Council Tariff Commission said in a statement: “The US escalation of tariffs on China is a mistake upon mistake, severely infringing upon China’s legitimate rights and interests, and seriously damaging the multilateral trading system based on rules.”

The World commerce Organization director predicted Wednesday that the US-China tariff battle may cut commerce between the two economic powerhouses by 80 percent, dragging down the rest of the world economy.