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Trump pauses tariffs except for China... President Donald Trump said tariffs will be paused for 90 days on non-retaliating countries. The announcement came roughly 13 hours after reciprocal duties on dozens of countries and the European Union went into effect at midnight ET.
“I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately,” Trump posted on social media.
Trump added to tariffs on China, raising them another 21 basis points to 125%, noting “the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets.”
The list of non-retaliating countries includes most of the U.S. trading partners in Asia. The 90-day tariffs pause was announced after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier today said he envisions reaching trade agreements with U.S. allies that would then lay the ground for a collective approach toward Beijing to address what he described as China’s unbalanced trade structure.
Bessent couched the turnabout as a victory for Trump, telling reporters the president “created maximum negotiating leverage for himself” in talks with other nations. He said he would be speaking to officials from Vietnam, Japan, India and South Korea in the coming days.
Bessent told the American Bankers Association, “We can probably reach a deal with our allies. They’ve been good military allies, not perfect economic allies. And then we can approach China as a group.”
In the Fox Business interview, Bessent said, “It’s unfortunate that the Chinese actually don’t want to come and negotiate, because they are the worst offenders in the international trading system,” Bessent said. What Beijing “should not do is try to devalue their way out of this,” he said.
Bessent also warned the European Union against seeking to pivot instead toward China and away from the US, singling out an apparent endorsement of that tack in Spain. “That would be cutting your own throat,” he said. Those comments came after the EU approved countermeasures against U.S. tariffs.
EU to start retaliating against U.S. tariffs next week... The European Union will launch its first countermeasures against U.S. tariffs next week, the bloc’s members agreed on Wednesday. The European Union will put in place duties mostly of 25% on a range of U.S. imports starting next Tuesday in response specifically to the U.S. metals tariffs. The bloc is still assessing how to respond to vehicle and broader levies.
U.S. goods facing tariffs include corn, wheat, barley, rice, motorcycles, poultry, fruit, wood, clothing and dental floss, according to a document seen by Reuters. They totaled about 21 billion euros ($23 billion) last year, meaning the EU’s retaliation will be against goods worth less than the 26 billion euros of EU metals exports hit by U.S. tariffs. They will be enacted in stages – on April 15, May 16 and a final stage on almonds and soybeans on Dec. 1.
It remains unclear whether the EU is among those affected by Trump’s 90-day tariffs pause — and whether member countries might lift their own set of sanctions following the announcement.
Rollins says administration weighing potential farmer aid amid trade war fallout... USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins repeated previous statements that the administration is considering plans to offer assistance to farmers amid worries the U.S./China trade war will have a disastrous effect on American agricultural producers. During a trade battle with Beijing during Trump’s first term, his administration used the Commodity Credit Corporation for $28 billion in aid to U.S. farmers.
“We are looking at that again,” Rollins told Bloomberg. “Obviously everything is on the table, but we’re in such a period of uncertainty in terms of what this looks like. The goal is we won’t need to do it at all, that these changes and the realignment of the economy will result in an unprecedented air of prosperity for all Americans, but especially for our farmers and our ranchers.”
Bipartisan scrutiny and frustration greet Trump administration’s global tariff plan... Tensions flared during a Senate Finance Committee hearing Tuesday as lawmakers from both parties raised pointed concerns over the Trump administration’s sweeping new trade policy, which imposes a minimum 10% tariff on all U.S. trading partners (except Canada and Mexico) starting today. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, testifying on behalf of the administration, faced sharp interrogation — particularly from Democrats but also from several Republicans — over the strategy’s potential inflationary impact, opaque formula for setting rates and lack of country exemptions. Several lawmakers appeared more intent on making statements than receiving answers, leaving Greer with limited opportunity to respond.
Greer defended the policy as a bold step toward reducing the record $1.2 trillion U.S. trade deficit in 2024. He described the tariffs as part of a “global approach to a global issue,” asserting that the administration aims to negotiate with individual countries to remove both tariff and non-tariff trade barriers. “There will be no exclusions or exemptions,” Greer emphasized.
Concerns over rising consumer and business costs were top of mind, especially for import-heavy industries. Greer acknowledged the divide: “Some [companies] are excited about the prospects. Some are concerned because they’re import-dependent instead of U.S. product-dependent.”
Despite fears of retaliation from trading partners, Greer insisted this was not a trade war, noting many nations have indicated they won’t respond with countermeasures.
While partisan tensions were evident, some Republican lawmakers broke ranks to question the policy’s blunt design and economic consequences. The growing discomfort signals potential resistance to the administration’s aggressive trade realignment — even within its own party.
BP pauses plan to make SAF at Spanish plant... BP Plc is pausing a project to expand biofuels production at its Castellon oil refinery in Spain, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The plan to make sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) was part of a €2 billion ($2.2 billion) decarbonization initiative at the site on the country’s east coast. The decision to pause the biofuels investment was taken due to weaker-than-expected growth in that market.
The company is trimming investment in low-carbon energy as part of a strategic reset amid investor pressure. BP will continue to look at a biofuels expansion in Rotterdam, with the financial investment decision in that plant due by 2027, the person said.
BP had at one time planned to build five new biofuels sites, but then shelved plans for new plants in Germany and the U.S. and also paused a project in Australia.
Fed officials worried about stagflation risks... Federal Reserve officials pointed to the risk of stagflation at their meeting last month, a scenario in which economic growth slows even as inflation remains stubbornly high. Almost all Fed officials viewed “risks to inflation as tilted to the upside and risks to employment as tilted to the downside,” according to the minutes of the March 18-19 Federal Open Market Committee meeting, which was held before Trump unveiled tariffs against trading partners.
Some officials saw “difficult tradeoffs if inflation proved to be more persistent while the outlook for growth and employment weakened,” the minutes said.