US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for 75 countries, lowering them to 10%.
At the same time, Trump escalated the trade war with Beijing by raising tariffs on Chinese goods to 125%, up from the previous 104%. The increase came in response to China’s earlier tariff hike on American products to 84%, in response to Washington’s previous round of increases.
“Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China... At some point... China will realize that the days of ripping off the US, and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable,” Trump wrote in a post on social media.
The 10% baseline tariff also excludes Mexico and Canada, according to US media, citing White House officials. Car manufacturers and steel and aluminum producers in both countries will continue to face the 25% tariffs imposed earlier by the Trump administration.
11 April 2025
01:18 GMT
The European Union is prepared to impose bloc-wide tariffs on major US tech companies, such as Meta and Google, if negotiations with Washington fail to resolve the escalating trade dispute, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the Financial Times.
“We are developing retaliatory measures,” von der Leyen said, adding that these could include the first use of the EU’s anti-coercion mechanism to hit services rather than goods. “There’s a wide range of countermeasures... in case the negotiations are not satisfactory.”
“An example is you could put a levy on the advertising revenues of digital services,” she added, outlining a measure that would apply across the bloc’s entire single market – on top of digital sales taxes set individually by member states.
While the EU remains committed to seeking a “completely balanced” agreement during Trump’s 90-day tariff freeze, von der Leyen made clear that Brussels would not hesitate to act if talks fail.
After US markets on Thursday lost about half of the gains made during the historic rally the day before, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro – a key architect of President Trump’s tariff initiative – dismissed concerns that the seemingly improvised policy could damage the US and global economy in the long term.
“You had the highest rise in stock market history yesterday. Of course there’s gonna be a little pullback… It’s just normal retracement after a big day. It’s no big deal,” Navarro said during an interview with CNN.
The United States and Vietnam have agreed to begin formal discussions on a trade deal, as part of Washington’s wider push to renegotiate terms with partners amid President Trump’s sweeping tariff campaign. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc, following talks between the Vietnamese delegation and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer earlier on Thursday.
“I emphasized the need for continued engagement and quick, demonstrable progress to resolve outstanding issues,” Bessent wrote in a post on X, noting that the meeting marks the start of formal negotiations with Vietnam.
President Donald Trump has said that the United States is already reaping “billions” of dollars daily from the “baseline” 10% tariffs, while the country’s trade partners are lining up to sign deals to avoid the full impact of higher levies he placed on a three-month hold the day before.
“The country is making approximately $2 billion a day… We’ve never done that before, never come close to it. And the number is probably $3.5 billion a day. And that makes us a very strong country,” Trump told a Cabinet meeting at the White House.
Dismissing concerns that the tariffs on foreign goods and market instability could harm US consumers and investors, Trump insisted the situation would “work out really very well.”
“We’re in good shape. There’s no inflation. There’s very little inflation,” the president said.
US tariffs on Chinese goods will effectively total 145%, a White House official has clarified to CNBC. Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump announced he is raising the tariffs on Chinese imports to 125%. That figure comes on top of a 20% fentanyl-related tariff that Trump previously imposed on China, according to the administration official cited by the outlet.
About 20 countries are currently in talks with Washington over tariffs, Trump’s economic adviser Kevin Hassett has said in an interview with CNBC. He told reporters separately that around 15 of those nations have made “explicit offers,” though he did not disclose the details.
Hassett added that the administration is “studying and considering” the proposals and “deciding whether they’re good enough to present to the president.”
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