Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a 90-day “pause” on tariffs for countries who are actively negotiating new trade deals with the United States, reducing penalties to 10% for compliant nations while simultaneously hitting China with a whopping 125% tariff on import goods.
Trump announced both moves in the same Truth Social post. The financial markets responded positively to the midday decree after an already promising Wednesday morning, with the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones all starting the day with healthy gains.
The early trading action came after the president placed a 104% tariff on China at 12:01 a.m.