US duties to China total 145%. Trump: 'We will deal with the EU as one'

"I have great respect for President Xi. He is, in the truest sense of the word, a friend of mine for a long time and I believe we will end up finding a solution that is good for both of us." Donald Trump thus expressed his conviction that the trade war unleashed with China, to which his administration now applies 145% tariffs, can be resolved with an agreement. And he reiterated that with his action he intends to rebalance a situation that is unfair to the United States: 'We're rearranging the table, I'm sure we'll be able to get along very well'.

For Donald Trump, the European Union was "very tough" but also "very smart" in keeping retaliatory tariffs against the US on hold. "They were very smart, they were ready to announce the retaliation and then they heard what we did to China and others, but then they decided to wait," the US president said, responding to reporters after his cabinet meeting. Trump did not fail to attack the EU again for having 'really taken advantage of the US'. "It was formed for the purpose of taking advantage of the US," he continued, repeating an accusation made several times now. "I don't blame them, I blame the people who were sitting at that desk in the Oval Office," he added referring to his predecessors, "many presidents are to blame, they should never have allowed this to happen.

Donald Trump says he will deal with the European Union over tariffs as one bloc and not with individual states. "We see it as one bloc," he said in response to a question on the matter after the cabinet meeting.

Donald Trump admitted at a meeting of his cabinet that 'there will be a transition cost' for the tariffs but assured that 'everything will be fine' and that the US is 'making billions a day' from the tariffs.

New US trade squeeze on China. The Trump administration announced an increase to 120% of tariffs on parcels worth up to $800 from Beijing, which were previously exempt from duties. The measure will go into effect on 2 May and replaces the original plan of a 90 per cent imposition. According to the White House, postal taxes will also go up: for items arriving between 2 May and 1 June, USD 100 per piece will be paid, while from 1 June the figure will rise to USD 200, instead of the originally planned USD 75 and USD 150. In the crosshairs of the initiative, part of the ongoing trade war, are shipments linked to online platforms such as Temu and Shein, which are increasingly popular among US consumers. The new increases come on top of the 145% duties already imposed on many Chinese products.

The nominee chosen by President Donald Trump to lead the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management abruptly withdrew her nomination today, just as her confirmation hearing was about to begin. Kathleen Sgamma, head of a Denver-based oil and gas industry trade association called the Western Energy Alliance, "withdrew from the nomination," Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Mike Lee said at the start of the hearing. The reason for Sgamma's decision is unclear. But it comes after the investigative group Documented published a 2021 letter on Tuesday in which Sgamma declared herself "disgusted" that Trump was "spreading disinformation" about the 6 January 2021 attack on the Capitol by his fans.

Donald Trump's tariffs against China total 145%. This is reported by Cnbc citing White House sources, according to which the 125% reciprocal tariffs announced by the president come on top of the 20% tariffs previously imposed on fentanyl.

The Portuguese government has presented a EUR 10 billion plan to help its companies absorb the impact of US customs duties. The funds will be provided in the form of credit lines to compensate for their loss of competitiveness and to find new outlets. According to Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, the plan was presented after a series of meetings between the centre-right executive and various business and sectoral organisations. The United States accounts for 7% of Portuguese exports and is the Iberian country's fourth largest foreign market. Montenegro also spoke about the temporary truce in the trade war. 'We welcome the 90-day pause,' said Montenegro, who called the European response 'appropriate', 'robust and proportionate', because 'the first priority is the negotiations with the United States'.

Volatility in the US bond market was not a direct reason for President Donald Trump to pause the tariffs, but it probably added "some urgency" to doing so. Kevin Hassett, the White House's top economic adviser as director of the National Economic Council, said this in an interview with Cnbc. "The decision would have been made, but what happened yesterday," namely an unusual sharp rise in Treasury bond yields, "put a little bit of urgency".

Spain's Minister of Economy, Trade and Enterprise, Carlos Cuerpo, traced PM Pedro Sanchez's trip to China back to what is the EU's strategy towards the Asian giant and pointed out that this strategy of rapprochement with Beijing, of Spain and the EU as a whole, "did not arise with the trade conflict" triggered by US President Donald Trump but "has been going on for some time". "We are aware" that China, which has "such an important economy", "as well as being a rival must also be a strategic partner", "is a huge potential market of great interest" and "a very important potential source of investment for Spain", Cuerpo said, bearing in mind, however, that "our companies must compete on equal terms". The minister, in a press point at the end of a meeting with the regions on tariffs, recalled the recent visit of EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic to China, and remarked that 'when leaders travel to different countries' they bring with them 'the unitary strategy' of the EU, as will 'Sanchez in China'. Cuerpo remarked that Spain is aware that it is necessary to 'protect relations with the US', which are very important, but said that this is not incompatible with a rapprochement with China. "The EU must have its own vision and be a relevant player," he remarked.

Polish Prime Minister and acting EU President Donald Tusk held talks with President Ursula von der Leyen on tariffs. "Defending our interests firmly and decisively and, at the same time, protecting our transatlantic alliance from any adversity is our common goal," Tusk reported.

China's GDP falling under the weight of US duties. Goldman Sachs analysts have revised down their forecast for Chinese GDP growth from 4.5 per cent to 4 per cent in 2025 and from 4 per cent to 3.5 per cent in 2026. Tariffs of up to 125% on some Chinese products have an 'impact' on growth in the world's second-largest economy, the investment bank's analysts say, predicting more monetary policy easing by the Asian giant in response to the GDP slowdown. "However," they warn, "even these significant easing measures are unlikely to fully offset the negative effects of tariffs.

President Donald Trump said he did not expect Chinese President Xi Jinping to back down in the trade war, after announcing a 90-day suspension on the tariff increase, but not against China. Asked by a CNN reporter if he was expecting a backtrack from Xi, Trump quickly shook his head and replied: 'No'.

"Look, for years we have been robbed and exploited by China and others, actually, but China is the main one," Trump said. China, meanwhile, said it remained willing to negotiate, even after Trump raised US tariffs on Chinese imports to 125%.

"Anything that eases the bill" for US tariffs "is good to take". This was stated by Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin on the sidelines of a press conference in Bern, explaining that he sees the 'glass half full' thanks to the 90-day truce on tariffs, despite the uncertainty generated by the new US trade policy. "Ten per cent is better than 31 per cent," Parmelin added, speaking of the rate applied to Switzerland. "We have to see the glass half full and not half empty," the economy minister said, adding that the 90-day suspension will give the Swiss government time to "deepen the issue and understand what the US wants." Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter will travel to the US at the end of April for the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Parmelin hopes that this trip will be an opportunity to organise meetings 'at ministerial level' with the US administration. Meanwhile, Keller-Sutter spoke with Trump on the phone yesterday, although "there are no negotiations yet", the economy minister said, according to the Swiss news agency Ats.

More than 15 countries have made offers to the US on tariffs that "we're studying and evaluating to decide if they're good enough to present to the president". This was said by White House National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett in an interview with Fox, during which a meeting is scheduled today among the president's staff to discuss the way forward in the tariff negotiations.

"It is good to suspend the European tariff countermeasures immediately. This is the line I had asked for, on behalf of the Italian government, at last Monday's meeting in Luxembourg'. This was stated in a post on X by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. It is 'important to continue the negotiations with the US in order to find mutually convenient solutions,' he added. 'Tariffs are not good for anyone, we do not want a trade war with the US.

The collapse of the Treasury market and the recession warning of JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon contributed to Donald Trump's decision on a 90-day tariff pause. According to US media reports, in the 18 hours leading up to the turnaround the president listened to the concerns of many Republicans and his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who had been overwhelmed by phone calls from Wall Street executives over the past weekend. Privately, Trump had admitted that the tightening of tariffs could create a recession and said he was willing to endure it as long as it did not become a depression. But on Tuesday, the performance of the Treasury market began to deeply irritate the US Treasury, which was worried about the possibility of the situation spiralling out of control. Bessent then talked to Trump and convinced him, although he later reported in the impromptu press conference outside the White House after the announcement that the pause had been the 'president's decision' and that the decision was the 'strategy all along'.

President Donald Trump will only reduce tariffs below 10% if he is offered an 'extraordinary' deal in return. This was said by the director of the White House National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, in an interview with Cnbc. Hassett explained that signals from the bond market contributed in part to Trump's decision to suspend duties for 90 days.

Germany's leading economic institutes have revised down their 2025 growth forecasts for Europe's largest economy to 0.1 per cent for GDP, down from 0.8 per cent previously, in the face of the trade war unleashed by Donald Trump. "In the short term, the new US customs policy and economic uncertainty weigh on the German economy," the institutes explained in a joint statement. However, GDP in Germany is expected to increase by 1.3 per cent next year.

China, in response to the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, will cut the number of US films imported and shown in the country. This was announced by the China Film Administration, as reported by Chinese media.

Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff called on Congress to investigate whether President Donald Trump committed insider trading or market manipulation when he suddenly suspended a series of tariffs, sending stock prices skyrocketing, after he called on Truth to buy stocks shortly after markets opened in the morning. "I'll do my best to find out," Schiff told Time, "The family meme coins and everything else are not outside of insider trading or personal enrichment. I hope to find out soon."

The EU has decided to suspend yesterday's tariffs against US products for ninety days. This was announced by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Shares of major automotive groups rose more than 9% on the stock exchange today, following news of a 90-day suspension in the application of US import duties, announced by President Donald Trump on Wednesday. The carmaker with the biggest gains in its share price was Nissan, whose shares rose 9.05%, closing the day in Tokyo at 339.7 yen a share. A similar case was Honda, whose stock rose 8.44% on the stock exchange, to ¥1,348 per share; both Japanese manufacturers hold a significant share of the North American market. For its part, the world's largest manufacturer by volume, Toyota, rose 7.5% on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, taking its share price to 2,543 yen, while Mitsubishi rebounded 6.72%, taking its share price to 2,566 yen. Mazda, for its part, closed 2.86% higher at 830 yen. Also in Asia, the largest South Korean carmaker, Hyundai Motor, gained 5.06%, bringing its share price to 187,000 won.

Car manufacturers in Europe are also seeing the positive impact of Trump's tariff suspension news on the stock market, especially Stellantis. The multinational automotive group, which owns brands in North America such as Dodge, Ram, Chrysler and Jeep, gained 8.69 per cent on the Milan Stock Exchange at 10.40 a.m., reaching EUR 8.43 per share. The group formed after the 2021 merger of French group Psa and Italian-American Fiat Chrysler jumped 18.64% on Wall Street on Wednesday, taking its share price to $10.12. Stellantis was one of the companies most affected by the imposition of duties. According to Scope Ratings, assembling most of its cars in Mexico and Canada and producing only a portion of them in the US, the group chaired by John Elkann was one of the hardest hit. German car groups also saw the news have a positive impact on their share price. The Volkswagen Group rose 4.2 per cent on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange to EUR 87.43, while Mercedes-Benz rose five per cent to EUR 48.96. For its part, Bmw rose 5.76% to EUR 67.14 per share, while sports car manufacturer Porsche advanced 3.65% to EUR 32.6. For its part, French manufacturer Renault Group rose 4.4 per cent to EUR 43.43. The news also affected the share price of luxury carmaker Aston Martin, which rose 6.09% on the London Stock Exchange on Thursday to £63.6.

Wall Street's critical stance on US President Donald Trump's tariffs continues. The co-founder of the US investment firm Oaktree, Howard Marks, likens the duties affair to "an own goal" and what happened last week to the "events of 2008 and the global financial crisis they produced". "They are very similar to Brexit and we know what it has resulted in. The Brexit has cost the British a great deal in terms of GDP, morale and alliances and damaged their reputation for governance and stability. All this damage has been self-inflicted,' Marks wrote in a note, according to Bloomberg reports. If the tariffs were implemented for Marks they would accelerate a US recession accompanied by higher inflation. "If the tariffs are also lifted altogether, it is unlikely that other nations will be able to ignore this incident and conclude that they have nothing to fear in terms of their relations with the US," says the Oaktree manager, owner of Inter, among others.

US duties will be detrimental to the country's economy, said Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau.

There are two 'bad ingredients in the American salad', Villeroy told radio station France Inter. One is the lack of visibility of the current administration's trade policy, which clouds confidence and growth, Villeroy says.

The other negative ingredient is protectionism. Raising barriers to entry into the US market will raise prices, leaving American consumers to foot the bill, says the governor. "At the same time, US growth will be negatively affected, much worse than in Europe," he says. However, Villeroy welcomes President Trump's decision to suspend an important part of the duties on European goods. 'It is the beginning of a return to economic common sense'.

President Trump's decision to pause higher tariffs on imports opens the door to negotiations that could avoid "unfair and harmful" trade duties, says Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. European goods will be subject to basic duties of 10 per cent but not the higher ones, up to 20 per cent, on all products, according to the pause announced by the US president on Wednesday.

The stop is 'a gateway to negotiations and an agreement between nations,' Sanchez told a Hispanic-Vietnamese business breakfast in Ho Chi Minh City. "Trade is not a zero-sum game: If one side wins, the other side can win too," Sanchez said, adding that the EU would continue to push for free and fair trade, including through new agreements with friendly nations. "Nobody wins in a trade war," the PM said. "Everyone loses."

The US is imposing "tariffs in an arbitrary manner" and China "strongly opposes and will never accept such authoritarian and bullying behaviour" after Donald Trump's 125% tariffs on made in China. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said that taking necessary countermeasures to counter the US's overbearing actions is not only about protecting our sovereignty, security and development interests, but also about upholding international fairness and justice," Lin added, on the day China's 84% counterduties on US goods came into effect.

A new meeting of the Permanent Representatives of the 27 on the tariff dossier will be held this morning at 10am, according to European sources. The Coreper II meeting was convened in light of the 90-day tariff suspension by the White House. The meeting, as is the practice on this dossier, will be in a restricted format.

"Even Trump is beginning to think that one should not react from the gut, but from the head. And the 90-day pause in reciprocal duties announced now opens up more room for negotiation, exactly what we had hoped for'. Thus the Minister for Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, in an interview with 'Avvenire'.

For Urso, 'Trump intends to realise the programme on which he has obtained a broad consensus: 'make America great again', in order to contain China, which aspires to become a global superpower. This is why the dispute is shifting to the Pacific, the Atlantic is in danger of becoming residual, and so is Europe itself, which must take care of its own defence and security'. Precisely for this reason, stresses Urso, 'all the countries on our eastern border are very concerned and have significant defence investment programmes, in some cases over 2 per cent, in other cases already 5 per cent of their GDP. In this context, tariff measures are only one element of a broader and more articulated state policy'.

"Our compass must remain that of reunifying the West, not dividing it. And the free trade area between Europe and North America, with zero tariffs, must remain our strategic project,' Urso continued, who on the subject of the government's policies on the issue of duties announced that he wanted to ask the EU for 'a 'regulatory moratorium' on directives and regulations being implemented, as has already happened with the one on deforestation'.

EU Commission President von der Leyen welcomed 'President Trump's announcement to suspend reciprocal tariffs, it is an important step towards stabilising the global economy'. However, he made no announcement on the suspension of the US steel and aluminium tariff countermeasures. In his note von der Leyen says that "clear and predictable conditions are essential for the functioning of trade and supply chains."

"Dialogue has principles and consultation has an end result. We will never accept extreme pressure and bullying from the US'. Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokeswoman He Yongqian, on the latest developments in the trade war with the US, warned of the consequences on a global scale of the US posture and urged Washington to 'meet in the middle'. However, 'if the US insists on following its own path, China will follow them to the end. There is no winner in a trade war and protectionism is a one-way street,' He continued in the weekly briefing.

The Chinese stock exchanges closed the session in positive territory, but with gains lower than the other Asian lists on the fears of Donald Trump's duties against Beijing that on Wednesday were not only confirmed, but also tightened from 104% to 125%: the Shanghai Composite index rose 1.16% to 3,223.64 points, while that of Shenzhen advanced 2.46% to 1,868.39. The tycoon's move, in spite of the 90-day halt decided on reciprocal tariffs towards dozens of other countries, officially put China in the role of Washington's main target.

Taiwan's stock market rebounds and soars with the 90-day freeze decided yesterday by US President Donald Trump on reciprocal duties towards dozens of countries, except China, which also had its rate tightened from 104% to 125%: the Taiex index jumps 9.3%, to 19,000.03 points, driven by gains of around 10% by the island's tech giants Tsmc and Foxconn.

EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed US President Donald Trump's decision to suspend planned tariff increases, calling it an "important step towards stabilising the global economy". "Clear and predictable conditions are essential for trade and supply chains to work," von der Leyen said in a note. "The European Union remains committed to constructive negotiations with the United States," he said.

REUTERS/Yves Herman

The Tokyo Stock Exchange ended the session on a sustained uptrend, recovering from lows in a year and a half, on the back of the US stock market's acceleration, toasting the pause on tariffs decided in extremis by US President Trump, despite the tensions on global trade still present between China and the United States. The benchmark Nikkei list posted its second-biggest daily gain ever, up 9.13 per cent to 34,609 and up nearly 2,900 points, driven by technology and the auto sector. On the foreign exchange front, the yen was stable against the dollar at 146.90, as well as against the euro at 161.10.

Signs of volatility and uncertainty returned to the US market after the rally. U.S. futures pointed downwards, with contracts on the Nasdaq down 0.9%, those on the S&P 500 down 0.43% and those on the DJ down a fractional 0.09%. After yesterday's rally, the focus shifted to US-China relations as tariffs on imported US goods came into effect, increased to 84% from 34% yesterday in response to moves by the Trump administration. The US reduction of all reciprocal duties to 10% for 90 days excludes China, for which tariffs were raised to 125% from 104%. Yesterday, the Nasdaq 100 jumped more than 12%, while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones gained 9.5% and 8% respectively after Trump's announcement on the 90-day postponement of tariff increases. The markets therefore celebrated, 'but in reality, on closer inspection, there are major unknowns, the first of which relates to the new cold war between China and the US, which is not a good sign', ActivTrades analysts point out. Negotiations "become crucial at this point, if we do not want to further sour a relationship that already seems compromised and hopefully at least remain confined to trade. Late in the evening,' they add, 'some glimmer of hope was seen when Trump said he wanted to talk to Xi Jinping'.

Crude oil prices are still falling: the stock market rally after Trump's 90-day halt does not ease concerns about the US-China trade war, which, on the other hand, has escalated with 125% tariffs by the US. Brent crude is down 1% at $64.82 a barrel while Wti is down 0.85% at $61.82 a barrel. In Wednesday's roller-coaster session, oil prices rebounded (with Brent crude posting its best session since last October) after falling to four-year lows, on concerns of a global economic slowdown and thus falling demand. But Trump's turnaround on tariffs seems to have provided only momentary relief to the market, which, in Europe's pre-opening, is again focusing on the dangers of the trade war.

More on this / Oil: so Brent rises to $65, but remains in the Bear's clutches

Brandon Bell/Getty Images/AFP

Sharp fall in US Treasury yields, whose surge was according to many the real wake-up call that prompted US President Donald Trump to change course on tariffs. The yield on ten-year US government bonds, which had risen as high as 4.5 per cent yesterday, edged down to 4.29 per cent, while the yield on the 30-year bond, which had risen as high as 5 per cent, fell back to 4.69 per cent.

Goldman Sachs revises its GDP estimates for China downwards and cuts them by 0.5 per cent for both 2025 and 2026 to 4 per cent and 3.5 per cent, respectively, amid the escalating trade war with the US. The US investment bank had warned in recent reports that it sees downward pressure from the ongoing tariff escalation with Washington. But today, Bloomberg reports, Goldman Sachs remarked that even with 'significant easing measures' conceivable in the coming months 'it is unlikely' that Beijing will be able to 'fully offset' the impact of the US tariffs that have risen to 125%.

Futures on European stock exchanges soared as they prepared for the big rebound after days of slumps in the wake of the pause on bilateral tariffs decided yesterday by US President Donald Trump. Futures on the pan-European Stoxx 50 index advanced by 7.7 per cent, those on London's Ftse 100 by 5.2 per cent, those on Frankfurt's Dax by 7.7 per cent and those on Paris' Cac 40 by 7.6 per cent.

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China is easing the devaluation of the yuan, which is slipping to its lowest since 2007 against the dollar as the escalating trade war with the US threatens to sap the Asian giant's growth. The onshore yuan hit a low of 7.3518 against the greenback before recovering ground on rumours that Beijing leaders will meet to discuss further stimulus measures in response to Donald Trump's tariffs, Bloomberg reports. China's central bank (BoCB) has lowered its benchmark rate for six consecutive days, albeit moderately, indicating that China is banking on a gradual devaluation of its currency to support exports.

Exchanges against the dollar

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Asian stock exchanges continued their rally and rebounded on the heels of Wall Street's gains fuelled by the 90-day halt announced on Wednesday by US President Donald Trump of reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries, except China, towards which the tycoon tightened the rate with immediate effect from 104% to 125%. Investors' mood was not spoiled by the entry into force of Beijing's 84% counter-duties on US-made goods, which, moreover, were not adjusted to 105% as was to be expected given the posture of mirror reactions decided by President Xi Jinping on the basis of the law of retaliation. The Tokyo and Taiwan stock exchanges, the most penalised in the last few sessions, led the recovery by registering rises of 8.46% and 9.22% respectively. In Taipei, in particular, microprocessor giant Tsmc soared 9.94%. Singapore (+5.53%) and Seoul (+5.46%) also did well, followed by Jakarta (+4.47%) and Bangkok (+3.44%). More measured progress was made by Shenzhen (+2.47%), Hong Kong (+1.8%) and Shanghai (+0.93%) on Trump's new tariff squeeze on the Dragon. The latest stock market news

Xi Jinping 'is a friend of mine. I like him." Donald Trump said this. Asked whether he envisages talking to or seeing the Chinese leader, the US president replied: 'Of course, I would meet him'.

The decision to suspend the tariffs for 90 days was made "this morning". "Over the last few days, I've been thinking about it a lot," says Donald Trump, but "I think the whole thing came about early this morning, fairly early, and I just wrote it down." "It was written from the heart," says the US president: "It was written as something that I think is very positive for the world and for us, and we don't want to harm countries that don't need to be harmed, and everybody wants to negotiate," he explains.

The US expects that the European Union will also postpone its tariffs for 90 days. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said this. "Europe has imposed retaliatory tariffs, but said they won't go into effect for a couple of weeks. I think what's going to happen is they're going to be delayed 90 days, so they'll have time to negotiate with the president without having anything pending,' he stressed.

In his address to the 11th Summit of the countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC, held in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva criticised 'arbitrary tariffs' that 'destabilise the international economy and increase prices', adding that 'history teaches us that trade wars have no winners'. "Attempts to restore ancient hegemonies hover over our region", he added, pointing out that "freedom and self-determination are the first victims of a world without multilaterally agreed rules" and recalling that "today migrants are criminalised and deported in degrading conditions". In his speech, Lula stated that 'it is necessary to recover the plural and pragmatic spirit that united us in the early 2000s and led to the creation of Unasur and CELAC itself'. Finally, Lula suggested that the bloc discuss the unanimous consent rule, which according to him, 'generates more paralysis than unity, turning into a real right of veto' as 'the expectation of uniformity is unrealistic', calling for the creation of a working group to analyse a modification to this CELAC rule. The Brazilian president spoke 13 minutes during the plenary chaired by the Honduran president, Xiomara Castro, who handed over the rotating leadership of CELAC to his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro. According to the latter, 'accepting the deportation of chained migrants would be like returning to the era of slave ships', reports CNN Brasil.

"The sectoral duties, those on steel and aluminium and on cars, will remain unchanged." This was said by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, emphasising that "President Trump has been very clear on this".

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he was not in contact with Chinese officials on the duties, however Donald Trump "expects to have talks" with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "It's between them," Lutnick told CNN. "This is a phone call between the leaders of these two great countries, and they can find a solution together," he added.

The Japanese government "positively" welcomed Donald Trump's suspension of reciprocal duties, but "strongly" demands that Washington reconsider other taxes. "We welcomed the latest US announcement," said government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi, adding, "We continue to strongly demand that the US reconsider measures on reciprocal duties, steel and aluminium duties, and duties on vehicles and auto parts."

China and the EU agreed to hold early consultations to discuss market access issues in depth, to create a more favourable business environment for companies, and to start negotiations on price commitments for electric vehicles immediately, as well as to explore cooperation on investment in the automotive sector. This was reported in a note from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, giving an account of the video call held yesterday by Minister Wang Wentao with EU counterpart Maros Sefcovic, before Trump's tariffs came into force to be suspended thereafter for 90 days.

Both sides supported the resumption of the China-EU dialogue mechanism on trade remedies to address trade issues and properly manage trade tensions. China "stands ready to deepen trade, investment and industrial cooperation with the EU," Wang said, urging the sides to jointly safeguard the rules-based multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) at its core and to adhere to trade liberalisation and facilitation, which would help "inject more stability and certainty into the world economy and global trade," according to the ministry note. China and the EU will also continue to strengthen communication within the WTO and jointly promote its reform. At the end of October, after an anti-subsidy investigation, the EU imposed additional duties of up to 35.3 per cent on e-cars produced in China, on top of the standard 10 per cent duties on car imports from the EU. The Ministry of Commerce in Beijing said as early as last week that the parties had agreed to resume negotiations on minimum price commitments for Chinese electric vehicles, without specifying a timeline.

The 84% retaliatory tariffs imposed by China on the United States came into force shortly after 12 noon local time (6 a.m. in Italy) amid the escalation of the bilateral trade war. While showing no intention of backtracking, Beijing did not adjust its rates upwards in a manner mirroring the moves of US President Donald Trump who on Wednesday, freezing reciprocal tariffs for 90 days on dozens of countries, instead kept up the pressure on the Dragon with the duties kept up and raised at the last moment from 104% to 125%.