US President Donald Trump on Wednesday abruptly paused import tariffs for 90 days on dozens of countries — except China — a week after announcing unprecedented penalties on most of the world over what he says are unfair trade practices.

Trump, however, doubled down on China, raising tariffs on the world's second-largest economy to 125%, citing a "lack of respect" by Beijing.

On Thursday, the White House clarified that Chinese producers would pay a total of 145% in tariffs on imports to the US due to a 20% duty that was levied earlier in the year.

"At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable," the president wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Trump later told reporters that he "can't imagine" increasing Chinese tariffs any further, however.

The tariff pause was announced just 13 hours after the duties had taken effect, but Trump denied he had backtracked, telling reporters that "you have to be flexible."

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Following the pause, the S&P 500 surged 9.5% on Wednesday, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ closed up 12.2% — both indices marking one of their best days in........

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