Facing a global market meltdown, President Donald Trump on Wednesday abruptly backed down on his tariffs on most nations for 90 days, but raised his tax rate on Chinese imports to 125%. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Trump was pausing his so-called ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on most of the country’s biggest trading partners, but maintaining his 10% tariff on nearly all global imports. Imports tariffs on goods from China, though, would surge to 125% “effective immediately” Trump said on social media. Bessent told reporters at the White House that the tumult in the market came because investors didn’t understand Trump’s tariff strategy. "The market didn't understand, those were maximum levels. The countries can think about those levels as they come to us to bring down their tariffs, their non-trade barriers,” Bessent said. He said Trump “created maximum negotiating leverage for himself" and the Chinese have "shown themselves to the world as the bad actors." It was seemingly an attempt to narrow what had been an unprecedented trade war between the U.S. and most of the world to one between the U.S. and China. Global markets surged on the development.