April 9 (UPI) — Amid a reeling stock and bond market, President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for all nations except China, saying nations were strongly interested in negotiating new trade terms.

Remaining are baseline tariffs of 10% that went into effect Saturday for most trading partners, as well as sector duties and older ones against nations. Last month Trump imposed a 25% tariff against Canadian and Mexican except for items compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada, and 10% for energy and potash from the U.S. northern neighbor.

On week ago, he announced the reciprocal tariffs on 60 trading partners plus European Union members as the worst offenders in the trade imbalance. They took effect Wednesday, including ones against America’s greatest allies: 26% against India, 25% against South Korea, 24% against Japan and 20% against the 27 members of the European Union.

Trump also said he instituted the pause as “people were jumping a little bit out of line. They were getting yippy.”

Investors reacted positively after four days of declines with Standard and Poor’s 500 posting its best day, a 9.52% increase, since October 2008 and third-largest since World War II.

Trump noted volatility in the bond market as the benchmark 10-year yield Wednesday morning was 4.4%, which is up from 3.9% before the tariffs. The bond market is typically a safe haven for investors, and high fields mean bond prices are falling.

Trump has said he wouldn’t change his mind on tariffs.

“What was happening to us on trade, not only with, you know, if you look at it, not only with China, but China was by far the biggest abuser in history, and others also — but somebody had to do it,” Trump said on the White House South Lawn. “They had to stop because it was not sustainable.”

And he said on Wednesday morning he watched JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Fox Business Network, who said a recession was now “a likely outcome” but defended the idea of tariffs to improve trade. Dimon urged more time to make deals.

“The CEO made the statement to the effect that something had to be done with the tariffs and trade. … He understood it,” Trump said. “It wasn’t sustainable what was happening. Somebody had to pull the trigger. I was willing to pull the trigger.”

Despite the pause, JPMorgan Chase economists say there is a 60% chance of a recession worldwide.

“Combined with the ongoing policy chaos on trade and domestic fiscal matters, along with the still-large losses in equity markets and hit to confidence, it remains difficult to see the US avoiding recession,” JPMorgan economists wrote in a report Wednesday night obtained by CNN.

Affecting the economy is a tariff more than the cost of products coming in the United States from China. The company that brings the goods into the country pay the money to the government and the cost is usually passed on to consumers.

Trump earlier Wednesday announced a 125% tariff on Chinese-made goods imported for sale in the United States after initially declaring a 104% tariff on Chinese goods.

“Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the world’s markets, I am hereby raising the tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

“At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the USA and other countries is no longer sustainable or acceptable.”

Trump told reporters Wednesday he would meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, describing him as “a friend of mine.”

Trump said representatives of more than 75 nations have contacted U.S. representatives to discuss and negotiate matters related to trade, trade barriers, tariffs, currency manipulation and non-monetary tariffs.

“These countries have not … retaliated in any way, shape or form against the United States,” Trump said. “I have authorized a 90-day pause and a substantially lowered reciprocal tariff during this period of 10%, also effective immediately.”

He told reporters outside the White House he wants “fair deals for everybody. but hey weren’t fair to the United States.”

Trump included China as the Asian nation has “ripped us off” for decades.

Most of the tariffs Trump paused were to take effect on Wednesday, but the pause delayed their implementation by nearly three months.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the pause indicates Trump’s ability to negotiate deals is producing the desired results.

“President Trump created maximum leverage for himself,” Bessent told media Wednesday. “We have just been overwhelmed by the response from mostly your allies who want to come and negotiate in good faith.”

Bessent said the Trump administration is expecting other nations to “come with their best deal.”

He said it will take time to negotiate sustainable trade deals and Trump personally will be involved in the negotiations.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the initial tariffs announcement last week an example of the “art of the deal” that Trump explained in a similarly titled book regarding his business dealings.

“Many of you in the media clearly missed the art of the deal,” Leavitt told media on Wednesday. “You clearly failed to see what President Trump is doing here.”

The tariffs pause by Trump caught U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer by surprise and was announced while Greer testified before the House Ways and Means Committee regarding the president’s trade agenda.

Greer referred to the trade situation as an “emergency” that requires the tariffs Trump announced a week ago but mostly paused on Wednesday, CNN reported.

Greer said he knew Trump might pause the tariffs but was unaware he would do so Wednesday.