After falsely claiming that more than 75 countries were eager to negotiate, Donald Trump paused his irrational reciprocal tariffs for 90 days. (Reciprocal tariffs are the US President's clever attempt to disguise 50 percent of the US trade deficit-to-imports ratio as tariffs.) Some outrageous tariffs remained in place: 134 percent on China (rendering trade virtually impossible at such rates), 10 percent on all countries, and 25 percent on steel and aluminum.
Facing the adverse effects on domestic services, consumption, and a looming risk of recession and inflation, Trump has begun rolling back. Just two days back, on 12 April, he cancelled new tariffs (including those on China) on smartphones, laptops, and various electronic goods. Further rollbacks are likely in the coming days and weeks.