US President Donald Trump announced a reduction in reciprocal tariffs to 10%, postponing implementation for 90 days but only for some countries that "do not retaliate", while China's tariffs were increased to 125%.
Mr. Trump issued this announcement at noon on April 9 (US time), about half a day after the reciprocal tariffs he initiated against 180 trading partners took effect and about 6 hours after China announced an 84% tariff on US goods in response.
In a post on the social network Truth, the US President announced an immediate increase in tariffs on China to 125% due to "the country's lack of respect for the global market".
On the other hand, the US President also announced a 90-day postponement of reciprocal tariffs and reduced the tariff to 10% for other economies.
He made this decision because more than 75 countries had contacted US officials to negotiate a trade agreement. "These countries have not retaliated, as I requested," Trump wrote.
According to NBC News, the White House said it would not release a list of countries that had contacted for tariff negotiations.
Less than an hour later, President Donald Trump also appeared at the White House to explain to the press the delay in tariffs. When asked about calling for calm in the morning and then postponing the tariffs just a few hours later, he said he thought "people were overreacting."
"It's not over yet, but we feel a great spirit of cooperation from countries, including China. They want to make a deal, but they just don't know where to start," Trump shared.
A reporter asked if Trump would consider exempting US companies from tariffs in the next 90 days, especially those that have been hit hard in the past few days. The US president said "we will consider" and "we may be flexible". He said some were really hit hard through no fault of their own, but because they operate in sectors that were hit harder.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also posted on social media that he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent witnessed President Trump writing the Truth post. Lutnick called it one of the most special posts of Trump's term.
Meanwhile, Secretary Bessent said the tax delay was not due to a market reaction. Speaking to reporters outside the White House, the Treasury Secretary explained that the move would allow more time for negotiations and predicted more countries would contact the US.
Bessent added that Mr. Trump wants to be directly involved in the tariff negotiations. "Each one will be individual, tailored to each country," the US Treasury Secretary said.
After Trump's announcement of the tax delay, the US stock market immediately soared. At the close of trading on April 9, key US stock indexes such as the S&P 500, DJIA and Nasdaq Composite all increased sharply.
