Only 13 hours after reciprocal tariffs of 11% to 84% began, President Donald Trump said he is pausing the higher country-specific tariffs for 90 days -- except for China, whose total emergency tariff will go from 104% to 125%, according to a White House spokesperson. The baseline additional 10% tariff -- which applies to nearly all countries, but not Mexico and Canada -- remains in place.
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President Donald Trump, on his social media account, said that he will drop high reciprocal tariffs that started today for 90 days. However, the 10% tariff imposed on nearly all trading partners will remain.
President Donald Trump shared on social media April 8 that he'd just talked to South Korea's acting president on the phone, and they had discussed not just trade and possible purchases that would lower Korea's trade surplus, but also payment for U.S. military bases in their country.
Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee mostly stood by President Donald Trump's dramatic tariff moves, though many emphasized that the result should be lower non-tariff barriers for U.S. agricultural exports, not a permanent tariff wall around the U.S. economy.
President Donald Trump posted on social media that "if China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th." Also, "all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated!" he said. "Negotiations with other countries, which have also requested meetings, will begin taking place immediately."
President Donald Trump declared that if China doesn't withdraw its 34% retaliatory tariff hike, "above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th. Additionally, all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated! Negotiations with other countries, which have also requested meetings, will begin taking place immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
Republicans are not exactly turning against the dramatic tariff actions President Donald Trump is taking, but some are expressing hope that the reciprocal tariffs will be temporary cudgels to liberalize trade, and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, acknowledged that the free trade advocates in the Republican Party may not be right about that being where this is heading.
The New Civil Liberties Alliance filed a lawsuit on behalf of paper importer Emily Ley Paper, doing business as Simplified, on April 3 challenging President Donald Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose 20% tariffs on all goods from China. Filing suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Simplified laid out three constitutional and statutory claims against the use of IEEPA to impose tariffs and one claim that the tariffs violate the Administrative Procedure Act for unlawfully modifying the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (Emily Ley Paper, doing business as Simplified v. Donald J. Trump, N.D. Fla. # 3:25-00464).
A resolution that would eliminate the fentanyl smuggling and migration emergency for Canada, and thereby end 25% and 10% tariffs on Canadian goods, passed the Senate April 2, 51-48.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., called on the Senate to revoke what he called "the fake emergency" of drug smuggling and migration across the Canadian border, the pretext for imposing 25% tariffs on most Canadian goods and 10% tariffs on energy and potash fertilizer.