White House backtracks on tariffs: Which duties remain in effect?

On Wednesday, the White House announced that it would be pausing some of the most punitive tariffs it had threatened to impose a week ago. While administration officials have answered a few questions about the sudden change in policy, many remain, and uncertainty persists.

Since his major announcement on reciprocal tariffs last Wednesday, President Trump has announced his intention to impose further tariffs, specifically on pharmaceuticals, and whether or not they will be imposed before the ninety-day period expires remains unknown.

The tariffs that remain in effect

President Trump posted on Truth Social that tariffs on most countries would be paused and replaced with a baseline tariff of 10 percent.

For example, Vietnam’s imports were going to be tariffed at 46 percent beginning on April 9, but will only see a duty of 10 percent applied for the next ninety days. However, the White House is looking to punish China over its decision to retaliate, a move also taken by the European Union, which would see its imports hit with a tariff of 125 percent.

In addition to the baseline 10 percent tariff, import duties remain in place on foreign automobiles, as well as steel and aluminum.

Countries look to make a deal with the US

Speaking with the press this afternoon, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the phones have been ringing off the hook and that more than 70 countries have called to open negotiations over trade to avoid these duties.

Vietnam is one of the many countries that has reached out to the Trump administration to negotiate after it was hit with one of the highest duties on its exports into the US. Secretary Bessent said that the was going to be speaking with a Vietnamese trade delegation this week, with many other meetings being scheduled with offices within the Treasury Department.

*This is a developing story

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