by Sharon Rondeau
(Apr. 9, 2025) — At an outdoor White House event Wednesday celebrating NASCAR racing shortly after 3:00 p.m. EDT, President Donald Trump expounded on his 1:18 p.m. order announced on TruthSocial to suspend trade tariffs, imposed on April 2 on at least 75 countries, for 90 days.
Trump’s reasoning for imposing the tariffs on “Liberation Day” was to encourage American businesses to return to the U.S. from overseas, boost current domestic product sales and achieve “fair trade.”
While suspending the tariffs on most countries which he said responded by attempting to negotiate new trading parameters, Trump declared a 125% tariff on China.
“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 wrote on TruthSocial. ?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. Conversely, and based on the fact that more than 75 Countries have called Representatives of the United States, including the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and the USTR, to negotiate a solution to the subjects being discussed relative to Trade, Trade Barriers, Tariffs, Currency Manipulation, and Non Monetary Tariffs, and that these Countries have not, at my strong suggestion, retaliated in any way, shape, or form against the United States, I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Stocks were some 6.6% higher as of 1:31 p.m. while undergoing rapid changes.
On Tuesday, Trump imposed a 104% tariff on China and signed an executive order to boost domestic coal production.
After the tariffs were announced, some economists said they feared inflation would worsen and a recession loom.
After Trump’s announcement Wednesday, some accused him of “panicking.”
“No other president would have done what I did…somebody had to do it,” Trump told reporters at Wednesday’s NASCAR event. “We’re making now $2 billion a day…somebody had to do it…I’m honored to have done it.”
When asked why he suspended tariffs on most trading partners, he admitted some investors were becoming “yippy” and “queasy” over the drop in the stock market since the tariffs were announced.
In a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office on Monday, as he often had previously, Trump railed against China for “long-term trading abuses” toward the U.S.
“China wants to make a deal; they just don’t know how to go about it,” he told reporters Wednesday. “…but they’ll figure it out…and we have many other countries, many more than 75, and they all want to come here…somebody had to do what we did, and I did a 90-day pause for those who didn’t retaliate…I think we’re going to have something that nobody would have dreamed possible…”
He indicated had there not been “a rigged election” in 2020, he would have imposed additional tariffs during what would have been a consecutive second term.
According to the Trump White House, “A 2024 study on the effects of President Trump’s tariffs in his first term found that they ‘strengthened the U.S. economy’ and ‘led to significant reshoring’ in industries like manufacturing and steel production.”
At 3:12, he referred to his earlier post on TruthSocial advising people to “Be cool.” “We have more car manufacturers coming in because of the tariffs, because they don’t want to pay 25 or 50…we had three cancelations in Mexico…Canada they’re coming in, from China…they’re coming in from everywhere…”
“It wasn’t sustainable, what was happening,” he said in response to a reporter’s question. “It should have been done long ago,” likening it to predecessor Joe Biden’s taking no action to halt the millions of illegal border-crossers from all over the globe during his four years in office.
Since his inauguration, the Trump administration has deported more than 100,000 criminal illegals and on Monday obtained a favorable ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court over a district court judge’s orders to return some deported illegals to the U.S. and halt further removals under the Alien Enemies Act.
The high court opined, however, that “AEA detainees must receive notice after the date of this order that they are subject to removal under the Act. The notice must be afforded within a reasonable time and in such a manner as will allow them to actually seek habeas relief in the proper venue before such removal occurs.”