Trump Trade War Diary — Days 101–112

trade-wars

trump-trade-war-diary

After active trade policy actions in the first half of April, the second half of the month was relatively quiet. The most significant event was the announcement of a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for most countries, which was not extended to China.

Published

May 1, 2025

After active trade policy actions in the first half of April, the second half of the month was relatively quiet. The most significant event was the announcement of a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for most countries, which was not extended to China. This pause was seen as a potential opportunity for negotiations, but it did not lead to any significant breakthroughs in US-China trade relations. The US also announced the closure of the de minimis exemption for low-value imports from China and Hong Kong, effective May 2, 2025. This move was aimed at combating China’s role in America’s synthetic opioid crisis and was part of a broader strategy to tighten trade restrictions on China. China’s response during this period included an immediate retaliatory tariff increase to 84% on US goods and a comprehensive diplomatic offensive through the release of a White Paper outlining its position on the trade dispute. Despite these developments, the overall trajectory of US-China trade relations remained fraught with tension and uncertainty.

---
title: "Trump Trade War Diary — Days 101–112"
description: "After active trade policy actions in the first half of April, the second half of the month was relatively quiet. The most significant event was the announcement of a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for most countries, which was not extended to China."
date: "2025-05-01"
categories: [trade-wars, trump-trade-war-diary]
---

After active trade policy actions in the first half of April, the second half of the month was relatively quiet. The most significant event was the announcement of a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for most countries, which was not extended to China. This pause was seen as a potential opportunity for negotiations, but it did not lead to any significant breakthroughs in US-China trade relations. The US also announced the closure of the de minimis exemption for low-value imports from China and Hong Kong, effective May 2, 2025. This move was aimed at combating China's role in America's synthetic opioid crisis and was part of a broader strategy to tighten trade restrictions on China. China's response during this period included an immediate retaliatory tariff increase to 84% on US goods and a comprehensive diplomatic offensive through the release of a White Paper outlining its position on the trade dispute. Despite these developments, the overall trajectory of US-China trade relations remained fraught with tension and uncertainty.