
President warned today that no country would be getting 鈥渙ff the hook鈥 on tariffs, despite a 90-day reprieve on some levies, while also downplaying exemptions for technology.
Global markets have been on a rollercoaster since Trump鈥檚 April 3 tariffs announcement, declining sharply before partially recovering with his on the steepest rates last week.
Most nations will now face a for the near-three-month period 鈥 except China, which launched a tit-for-tat escalation.
The exchanges have seen US levies imposed on China rise to 145% and Beijing setting a .
Trump鈥檚 administration has said it intends to negotiate trade deals, including with China, but it is not clear what terms the President would be willing to accept.
He has long said that US trade deficits are the result of unfair practices that need to be corrected, though his tariffs also hit countries with which the US has a trade surplus.
鈥淣OBODY is getting 鈥榦ff the hook鈥 for the unfair Trade Balances, and , that other Countries have used against us, especially not China, which, by far, treats us the worst!鈥 he wrote on his Truth Social platform today.
In addition to the general reprieve for other countries, over the weekend Trump issued exemptions for Chinese-made semiconductors and electronics, amid warnings that US consumers faced skyrocketing prices for products such as smartphones and laptops.
Today, however, Trump asserted that there was on those products, saying that they remained subject to a 20% rate in 鈥渁 different tariff 鈥榖ucket鈥欌.
Earlier, Beijing鈥檚 Commerce Ministry had said the weekend鈥檚 move only 鈥渞epresents a small step鈥 and insisted that the Trump administration should 鈥渃ompletely cancel鈥 the whole tariff strategy.
Short-lived relief?
The relief could be short-lived, with some of the exempted consumer electronics targeted for upcoming sector-specific tariffs on goods deemed key to US national defence networks.
Trump has said he will give 鈥渧ery specific鈥 details on Monday, UST, and his commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, said would likely be in place 鈥渋n a month or two鈥.
Lutnick said pharmaceutical products would 鈥渁lso be outside the reciprocal tariffs鈥, using an administration term for tariffs aimed at bringing all US trade imbalances to zero.
The White House says Trump remains optimistic about securing a deal with China, although US officials have made it clear they .
Trump鈥檚 trade representative Jamieson Greer told CBS Face the Nation that 鈥渨e don鈥檛 have any plans鈥 for talks between the US President and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
China looks elsewhere
China has sought to present itself as a stable alternative to an erratic Washington, courting countries spooked by the global economic storm.
Xi on Monday kicks off a for talks with the leaders of Vietnam, a manufacturing powerhouse, as well as Malaysia and Cambodia.
The fallout from Trump鈥檚 tariffs 鈥 and subsequent whiplash policy reversals 鈥 has sent particular shockwaves through the US economy, with investors dumping government bonds, the dollar tumbling and consumer confidence plunging.
Adding to the pressure on Trump, Wall Street billionaires 鈥 including a number of his own supporters 鈥 have openly criticised the tariff strategy as damaging and counterproductive.
The insists the aggressive policy is bearing fruit, saying dozens of countries have already opened trade negotiations to secure a deal before the 90-day pause ends.
鈥淲e鈥檙e working around the clock, day and night, sharing paper, receiving offers and giving feedback to these countries,鈥 Greer told CBS News.
鈥 Agence France-Presse
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