Trump puts 90-day pause on higher tariff rates for many countries — but raises rate on China
U.S. President Donald Trump, facing market turmoil in the wake of his sweeping tariffs, on Wednesday moved to pause higher tariff rates on many nations while ramping up the rate charged to China. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking outside the White House, said the so-called baseline tariff of 10 per cent would remain in effect.
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U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly changed his tariff policy again today, pausing his so-called “reciprocal tariffs” for many countries around the world for 90 days.The White House initially said the flip-flop would leave Canada with another 10 per cent baseline tariff, but specifics were not immediately clear.Ottawa said it had no clarity from the U.S. government.Stock markets soared after scrambling investors heard about the reprieve.Updates
April 9
25 minutes ago
Trump says bond markets didn’t force his hand, but an expert disagrees
Rhianna Schmunk
Trump at the White House this afternoon. (Nathan Howard/Reuters)Outside the White House just now, a reporter asked Trump whether it was the unnerving activity on the bond markets that pushed him to take a break from tariffs.
He said it was not, but admitted he realized people were getting “queasy.”
“No. I was watching the bond market. I was watching it. But if you look at it now, it’s beautiful. The bond market right now is beautiful. I saw it last night, where people were getting a little queasy,” he said, before trailing off to revisit the initial tariff announcement last week.
One international economic policy expert said she thinks the bond markets are exactly what swayed Trump.
“Clearly, President Trump got spooked by the markets, even though he said he wouldn’t, so this reversal is really him reacting to the downgrading of the U.S. market that we started seeing this morning,” Inu Manak, a fellow for trade policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, told CBC News.
“He got scared and reacted. And he’s saying he’s being flexible, but I don’t think that’s the case.”
35 minutes ago
Ottawa’s waiting for more info
Benjamin Lopez Steven
CBC News is learning initial information that the 10 per cent baseline tariff applies to Canada may not be accurate. Canada is now waiting for more clarity from the White House, according to a senior government official.
45 minutes ago
Dominic LeBlanc in contact with U.S. commerce secretary
Benjamin Lopez Steven
International Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc in Ottawa on March 12. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)CBC/Radio-Canada has been told International Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc is in contact with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick this afternoon.
I’m keeping an eye on the major party leaders’ social media accounts to see if they’re saying anything about Trump’s latest tariff announcement. So far, no leaders have commented on the developments.
As mentioned earlier by my colleague Rhianna Schmunk, a spokesperson with the Prime Minister’s Office said Ottawa has no further clarity on Trump’s shift this afternoon.
56 minutes ago
Tariffs ‘just a game’ for Trump, says Schumer
Verity Stevenson
Chuck Schumer speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., in February. (Nathan Howard/Reuters)Hi, I’m Verity Stevenson, and I’ll be your afternoon live page writer.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer reacted to today’s market and tariff chaos, calling it “just a game for Donald Trump.”
Schumer did not mention the new 10 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, but said Trump does not appear to be thinking his actions through and that a tariff strategy against China, for example, would have to involve creating alliances.
“What Trump has done is he’s created a situation where the whole world’s against us and everyone’s furious at America and we’re alone,” Schumer said.
“It is really real, very real for people’s lives, people’s livelihoods, people’s retirements, people’s income.”
Schumer said he had no faith “that this has been thought out, planned out and will lead to any good result at all.”
1 hour ago
A new U.S. ambassador to Canada
Alexander Panetta
Michigan Republican Party chair and incoming U.S. ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra back in March. (Dieu-Nalio Chery/Reuters)And into this maelstrom steps Pete Hoekstra, Donald Trump’s incoming ambassador to Canada.
He was just confirmed in a 60-37 vote in the U.S. Senate, while all this tariff news was breaking.
The former Michigan congressman, previously Trump’s ambassador to the Netherlands, testified recently in his confirmation hearing that “Canada is a sovereign state,” distancing himself from the president’s annexation talk.
1 hour ago
‘Did you know?’ Trump trade rep blasted during hearing
Alexander Panetta
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer during his testimony on Tuesday. (Kevin Mohatt/Reuters)Total chaos. It’s about the only way to describe the reaction to Trump’s abrupt shift on tariffs.
The president’s trade representative happened to be testifying on Capitol Hill when multitrillion-dollar news broke of the partial tariff pause.
Jamieson Greer had been testifying for hours, defending Trump’s trade policy, when news broke in the hearing room that many tariffs are paused.
“Did you know this was happening?” Democratic lawmaker Steven Horsford asked Greer.
“WTF. Who’s in charge?” Horsford said. “This is amateur hour, and it needs to stop…. It looks like your boss just pulled the rug out from under you…. There’s no strategy. You just found out, three seconds ago, sitting here.”
Greer appeared to indicate that he knew the tariff announcement was a possibility. But he did not explicitly say he was aware it was coming.
“We have been discussing all kinds of options,” Greer replied.
1 hour ago
Prime Minister’s Office in the dark
Rhianna Schmunk
I’m a senior writer on the national desk. A spokesperson with the Prime Minister’s Office said Ottawa has no further clarity on Trump’s shift this afternoon.
1 hour ago
Canada gets the new tariff
Alexander Panetta
U.S treasury secretary takes questions on tariff pause
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking Wednesday as global markets were roiled by tariff and trade uncertainty, took questions about the latest move from the U.S., which included boosting the tariff rate on China and pausing tariffs on many other nations.
Now, some bad news from Washington: the White House says Canada and Mexico will be subject to the new, worldwide tariff of 10 per cent.
It was confirmed in a statement to CBC News.
What’s not clear, and we’re awaiting details from the White House, is what happens to the earlier tariffs on Canada, the so-called fentanyl tariff of 25 per cent on some products, and similar tariffs on steel, aluminum and some automotive trade.
There’s no answer yet. What we do know is that this is a very chaotic development. Trump’s trade representative had just been on Capitol Hill and had insisted that Trump was abiding by the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, because he had spared those countries from a broad tariff.
Now? Who knows. Representatives of various industries are scrambling for clarity. As are we.
2 hours ago
Tech stocks leading the charge
Peter Armstrong
The Nasdaq index is now up 10 per cent since the White House announced a pause on some tariffs. The tech-heavy index is on track for its best day since 2008.
Tech stocks like Apple are leading the charge.
The new policy pauses many tariffs, but escalates the trade war with China. That would be bad for companies (like Apple) that are exposed to Chinese supply chains. A 125 per cent tariff would dramatically drive up the price of an iPhone.
2 hours ago
Is Canada included in the new tariff rate announced today? No one knows
Peter Armstrong
Flags fly at a Canada-U.S. border crossing known as the Peace Arch Border Crossing in Blaine, Wash., on April 2. (David Ryder/Reuters)The latest head-spinning change in tariff policy has businesses in Canada scrambling to figure out what this means for them. The White House says it’s dropping its so-called “reciprocal tariffs” to 10 per cent.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Canada and Mexico are included in the new rate. But Canada was not one of the countries hit by those tariffs. Canada faces different tariffs on steel and aluminum, as well as non-CUSMA-compliant auto parts.
CBC News is seeking clarification from the White House.
