US President Donald Trump announced a break from imposing heavy tariffs on many countries, except China. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explained that the problem was with "bad actors" in global trade. He specifically pointed to China, where a huge 125% tariff has been placed, saying that such countries are creating problems in the global economy.

The treasury secretary said that trade talks were mostly happening with countries near China, such as Japan, South Korea, and India. "It's not a trade war. It's about bad actors. And what we see is some of the very early countries are China's neighbours that we're going to see. I saw Vietnam today. Japan is in front, South Korea and India," Bessent said. The tension with China increased after the country raised its tariffs on US goods from 34% to 84%, starting April 10.

Bessent explained that the broad tariffs announced by Trump on April 2 — most of which are now on hold for 90 days — were meant as a "negotiating strategy". After this unexpected move, global markets bounced back, putting an end to several days of instability. According to the top US official, President Trump will participate directly in the trade talks. "We saw the successful negotiating strategy that President Trump implemented a week ago today. It has brought more than 75 countries forward to negotiate," Bessent said. Trump’s announcement gives the Indian government a 90-day relief period. The US had imposed a 26% import tax on goods from India, but spared pharmaceuticals and semiconductors from this tax.

Due to the high tariffs on Chinese products, many China-based businesses might now consider moving their operations to countries like India or other Asian nations where import duties are lower. India, which was often criticised by Trump for misusing trade relations, has taken a careful approach to the matter. Instead of reacting, India is focusing on finalising the trade deal that was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US. Both countries have already agreed on the basic framework for the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), and the deal is expected to be finalised by this autumn.