Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a 90-day pause on the implementation of "reciprocal" tariffs, applying a 10 percent baseline tariff to South Korea and other countries. At the same time, duties on China have been increased to 125 percent following Beijing's retaliatory trade actions.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Trump made the announcement via social media as reciprocal tariffs took effect, with numerous countries seeking negotiations over new levies. The previous week, the administration had revealed tariffs of 25 percent on South Korea, 24 percent on Japan, and 20 percent on the European Union, among others.
Trump indicated that the decision for the pause was influenced by outreach from over 75 countries to U.S. representatives, including the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. Trade Representative, which have not retaliated against the new U.S. tariffs.
The President emphasized a firm stance against China, following Beijing's plan to increase tariffs on U.S. goods to 84 percent. "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 stated.
During a subsequent press availability, Trump mentioned that the 90-day pause was agreed upon as he sensed growing concerns over the tariffs' effects. "I did a 90-day pause for the people who didn't retaliate because I told them if you retaliate, we're going to double it," he said, referring to China's retaliatory actions.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent further explained Trump's pause, highlighting the administration's willingness to negotiate with countries to address trade barriers. "Every country in the world who wants to come and negotiate ... We are willing to hear you," Bessent told reporters, emphasizing the 10 percent baseline tariff for countries willing to negotiate, while maintaining the 125 percent tariff on China.
Bessent noted that the new U.S. tariffs targeted "bad actors" and identified some of the early countries for negotiations as China's neighbors, including South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and India. He also clarified that the initially announced reciprocal tariff rates were "maximum levels," leaving room for negotiation.
The secretary criticized China as the "most imbalanced economy in the history of the modern world" and a "major source of U.S. trade problems," while expressing expectations for countries to present their "best deal" during tariff negotiations.
Trump's introduction of country-by-country reciprocal tariffs aims to equalize what other countries impose on U.S. goods, increase federal revenue, reduce trade deficits, attract foreign investments, and support domestic manufacturing. These tariffs are customized based on trading partners' tariff and non-tariff barriers, along with other factors such as countries' exchange rate-related policies.