Trump temporarily drops tariffs to 10%, except on China

Tariffs against Chinese imports raised to 125%

President Donald Trump said in a social media post that he was raising the tariffs imposed on imports from China to 125% “effective immediately.” (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

In a continuing whirlwind of policy changes, President Donald Trump on Wednesday dropped tariffs under his new trade plan to 10% on imports from most countries for 90 days.

Trump also said in a social media post that he was raising tariffs imposed on imports from China to 125%.

“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. At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable,” Trump wrote. 

He unveiled a broad “reciprocal” tariff plan for all U.S. trade partners April 2, including a baseline 10% tariff on trade partners, as well as 25% tariffs on certain imported vehicles and auto parts arriving into the U.S.

The wide-ranging reciprocal tariff policy went into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, including various levies on imports from about 90 U.S. trading partners.

More than 75 countries have contacted U.S. officials to negotiate a solution to trade tariffs, according to Trump.

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Noi Mahoney

Noi Mahoney is a Texas-based journalist who covers cross-border trade, logistics and supply chains for FreightWaves. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in English in 1998. Mahoney has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working for newspapers in Maryland and Texas. Contact nmahoney@freightwaves.com