Trump hits 90-day pause on tariff hike claiming many countries are 'kissing my a**' to make a deal. But he punishes China

TOI correspondent from Washington: MAGA supremo Donald Trump on Tuesday paused his reciprocal tariff on most countries, including India, for 90 days, while further jacking up taxes on Chinese imports to 125 percent in an effort to isolate Beijing on the issue.

In a post on his social media account, the US President said based on the fact that more than 75 Countries had reached out to US to negotiate a solution and these countries have not retaliated in any way, shape, or form against the US, he was authorizing a 90 day PAUSE. Still, the countries would have to pay "a substantially lowered reciprocal tariff of 10 per cent during this period effective immediately," he added.

He however hiked tariff on China from 104 to 125 percent "based on the lack of respect that it has shown to the world’s markets," saying " at some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the USA, and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable."

Earlier, Trump claimed that many countries are calling him and "kissing my ass... dying to make a deal" after he unleashed a new tariff regime that by all accounts is starting to derail global trade and devastate economies worldwide, including in the US.

The distasteful remark came even as universal Trump taxes on imports into US kicked in at midnight, with most diagnoses suggesting the US President has thrown sand in the global trading mechanism. Washington has imposed a minimum 10 per cent on imports from most countries, with a record 104 per cent on China and 27 per cent on India.

Beijing retaliated within hours of Trump bumping up taxes on Chinese imports to 104 percent, announcing a 84 per cent levy on US imports into China, as the stand-off between the two sides cascaded into an escalatory showdown, with collateral damage across the world.

European Union too announced a staggered retaliatory levy of up to 25 per cent on American agro products, meat, and steel among other US exports as fallout from the Trump trade trainwreck rippled across the world.

In a speech at a Republican Congressional Committee dinner, Trump also said he will be "announcing very shortly a major tariff on pharmaceuticals" in what could be a body blow to the Indian drug industry, which accounts for 40 percent of US generic medications import, valued at around $ 12 billion.

The US President did not identify any kiss-assy supplicant countries but said they were calling him and saying "please please sir let me make a deal, I'll do anything, sir."

Trump revealed last week that he had a "very productive call" with Vietnamese leader To Lam, "who told me that Vietnam wants to cut their Tariffs down to ZERO if they are able to make an agreement with the US." He also spoke of calls with Japan's Prime Minister and South Korea's acting president to discuss trade issues. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also met him in the Oval Office.

Beyond this, the White House has not released any call records, although it claimed on Tuesday that "phones have been ringing off the hook (with calls from foreign leaders), wanting to talk to this administration, this president and his trade team to try to strike a deal."

Not from Beijing though. If anything, it was Trump who said he is waiting for a call from Beijing even as China rejected US warning not to retaliate to tariffs Washington announced first.

Trump is known to use blunt words and hyperbole with little regard for facts, but his latest salvo upset even some of his MAGA cult followers who said it was unbecoming of the president to use such language.

"That's no way to talk about other countries. All his negotiating tactics could be turned against him, and the American people would end up paying for all his arrogance," one supporter wrote on X. Another critic said the remarks were "beyond shameful, embarrassing- & very bad for our country. No one can respect the US with such a low life as head of state."

On his social media platform, Trump said he is "proud to be the President for the workers, not the outsourcers; the President who stands up for Main Street, not Wall Street; who protects the middle class, not the political class; and who defends America, not trade cheaters all over the globe." But even MAGA diehards seemed unconvinced as stock portfolios and retirement savings have evaporated by more than 20 per cent since Trump returned to the White House in January, much of it over the past week.