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President Donald Trump on Wednesday − in the latest twist of the tariff saga that has roiled financial markets for days − said he was authorizing a 90-day pause in reciprocal fees while raising China's levy to 125%.

China and the European Union earlier had unveiled stiff retaliation levies aimed at counteringTrump's tariff blitz, while an unfazed Trump urged global companies to set up shop in the U.S.

The Chinese Finance Ministry announced 84% tariffs on U.S. goods starting Thursday, up from the 34% previously announced.

“If the U.S. insists on further escalating its economic and trade restrictions, China has the firm will and abundant means to take necessary countermeasures and fight to the end,” the Ministry of Commerce wrote in a document released Wednesday.

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President Trump on Monday threatened to impose a 50 percent tariff on imports from China, a massive escalation of a potential trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

Trump’s threat is the latest tit for tat between the U.S. and China in the last week. The White House last Wednesday announced it would impose a 34 percent tariff on Chinese imports as part of “reciprocal” tariffs against dozens of countries.

Beijing responded by announcing a 34 percent tariff on American imports, leading to Trump’s warning on Monday.

Trump said in a post on Truth Social that China made the move, “despite my warning that any country that Retaliates against the U.S. by issuing additional Tariffs, above and beyond their already existing long term Tariff abuse of our Nation, will be immediately met with new and substantially higher Tariffs, over and above those initially set.”

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President Trump has played down the shock impact of his tariff shift on markets, which kept spiraling downward on Friday as fears for the global economy grew.

US trading partners have vowed to retaliate after Trump ended months of suspense on Wednesday by revealing broad reciprocal duties on all countries, in what he has referred to as "Liberation Day." On Friday, China announced it will impose countermeasures against the US starting April 10, including a 34% tariff on US goods.

Trump's administration is imposing a baseline tariff of 10% across all countries beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday. The US is upping those duties for various partners whom he described as bad actors starting next Wednesday, April 9.

Trump vowed to "never change" his policies on Friday, even as he touted progress with Vietnam, a country set to see one of the biggest US tariff hits.

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The White House on Thursday defended its decision to not include Russia, North Korea, Cuba or Belarus in the latest round of tariffs, which targeted dozens of global trading partners that were labeled the “worst offenders” when it came to trade barriers.

A White House official told The Hill in a statement that the four nations “are not subject to the Reciprocal Tariff Executive Order because they are already facing extremely high tariffs, and our previously imposed sanctions preclude any meaningful trade with these countries.”

The official added that Trump has “recently threatened to impose strong sanctions on Russia” to further explain leaving out Moscow.