US President Donald Trump has announced a 90-day pause on the higher rate of tariffs on imports to the US from the EU and other countries, except China.

Last week Trump announced a range of tariffs on countries across the world, with higher rates of tariff on countries that Trump claimed had the most significant trade imbalances with the US, or had trade barriers preventing US exporters fairly trading with those countries.

Agri-food produce from Ireland would have been impacted by a 20% tariff on exports from the EU.

This was accompanied by a blanket 10% tariff on every other country. These tariffs would have been in addition to all standard tariffs that were already in place for exporters to the US.

Amid a burgeoning trade war between the US and China, Trump took to his Truth Social platform late yesterday (Wednesday, April 9) to say he had authorised a 90-day pause on the higher rate of tariffs.

Trump's social media post appeared to indicate that the lower 10% rate will now apply across the board, while tariffs on China will continue to escalate.

He claimed that he was rowing back on the higher rate of tariffs because "more than 75 countries have called representatives of the United States, including the Departments of Commerce, [and the] Treasury, and the USTR [United State Trade Representative], to negotiate a solution to the subjects being discussed relative to trade, trade barriers, tariffs, currency manipulation, and non-monetary tariffs".

In the same social media post, the US president announced an increase in the tariff on goods imported into the US from China to 125%.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, welcomed Trump's decision.

She said: "I welcome President Trump's announcement to pause reciprocal tariffs. It's an important step towards stabilising the global economy. Clear, predictable conditions are essential for trade and supply chains to function.

"Tariffs are taxes that only hurt businesses and consumers. That's why I've consistently advocated for a zero-for-zero tariff agreement between the European Union and the United States," she added.

President von der Leyen said the EU remains committed to constructive negotiations with the US, and wants to achieve "frictionless and mutually beneficial trade".

"Finally, we are stepping up our work to lift barriers in our own single market. This crisis has made one thing clear: In times of uncertainty, the single market is our anchor of stability and resilience," she said.