Sky News was forced to interrupt its regular programming on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump announced major changes to his tariff policy. In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump declared a 90-day pause on the heightened reciprocal tariffs for over 75 countries, while simultaneously raising duties on Chinese imports to 125%.
Trump stated that the pause was in response to proposals from dozens of nations seeking negotiations, and that the reciprocal tariff would be lowered to 10% during this period. He cited a 'lack of respect' from Beijing for the decision to escalate tariffs on China, accusing the country of 'ripping off the U.S.A. and other Countries'.
The announcement caused an immediate surge in US stock markets. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that more than 75 countries had reached out to negotiate, and that the administration had been 'overwhelmed' by requests. She added that the media had 'failed to see what President Trump is doing here'.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted the pause was not a reaction to market movements, but rather a strategy targeting 'bad actors'. He claimed that China's actions would 'impact their economy more than ours'. The move comes after China imposed an 84% tariff on US imports following Trump's earlier 104% tariff on Chinese goods.
