Trump Raises Tariffs on Chinese Goods to 125%, Pauses Tariffs for Other Countries

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a 90-day pause on the massive import tariffs he had imposed on some countries. In a post on the social network Truth Social, he noted that he had significantly reduced tariffs for many countries and also announced higher tariffs for China, CNBC reports.

Image source: Unsplash / Vince Fleming

In the statement, the US president said that tariffs on China had been raised to 125% and were “effective immediately” due to China’s “lack of respect for global markets.” He explained his decision to suspend import tariffs for some countries by saying that US officials had been “contacted by more than 75 countries to negotiate a resolution” to trade issues that arose after the new tariffs were imposed.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick posted on his X page that he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were with Trump as he prepared his statement, which was later published on Truth Social. Lutnick noted that “this is one of the most unusual Truth posts of the Trump presidency.” “The world is ready to work with President Trump to fix global trade, and China has chosen to go in the opposite direction,” he wrote.

Below is the full text of Trump’s post on his Truth Social:

«Based on the disrespect that China has shown for world markets, I hereby raise the tariff levied on China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately. At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that its days of ripping off the United States and other countries are no longer sustainable or acceptable.

Also, based on the fact that more than 75 countries have called upon United States representatives, including the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Treasury, and the Office of the United States Trade Representative, to negotiate a resolution of the issues under discussion regarding trade, trade barriers, tariffs, currency manipulation, and non-monetary tariffs, and that these countries, at my urging, have not taken any retaliatory action against the United States, I have authorized a 90-day pause and substantially reduced the reciprocal tariff during that period, to 10%, also effective immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”