The US has postponed for 90 days the imposition of large-scale duties against trading partners, including Moldova, and will only levy duties of 10%
Only China will be an exception. This was announced by US President Donald Trump. He noted that he authorized a 90-day pause and a significantly reduced duty of 10% for this period, which comes into effect immediately. Donald Trump explained that this is because more than 75 countries asked the US to discuss a decision on trade barriers and duties and they did not take any retaliatory action, and Beijing did the opposite and imposed retaliatory duties, therefore for China the duty rises to 125%. “Dozens of countries have asked to discuss duties and have not retaliated, and that's why the US is lowering the rate to 10% for 3 months for everyone - except China,” Donald Trump announced. He admitted that he ordered the pause in response to the fall in stock markets and described how he had been monitoring the situation, calling it “very complicated” and “nauseating.” Donald Trump said his sudden decision to change course on tariff policy was made “wholeheartedly” and without consulting lawyers. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent disputed the suggestion that Trump's abandonment of the trade war, which has devalued global markets by trillions of dollars in less than a week, was an admission of the chaos he created. “No, President Trump has created maximum leverage for himself,” Bessent said. He said, “We saw the successful negotiating strategy that President Trump implemented a week ago, and it brought more than 75 countries into the negotiations.” Bessent said it “took a lot of courage for Trump to stay the course up to this point.” “So, all the countries in the world that want to come and negotiate, we are ready to hear from you”, he added. The day before, Modova's Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization said it would assess the impact of the new US duties on each specific product and propose adaptations to the new tariffs. According to the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization, Moldova's exports to the US in 2024 amounted to 2.5% of the total ($90 million), while imports accounted for 1.5% ($135 million) of total imports. Our country mainly exports the following product categories to the US: dessert wines, which accounted for 48% of total exports to the US in 2024; fruit juices, especially apple juice, where Moldova had a significant share (14%); plastic devices and vehicles (9%), alcohol (5%), bakery products (2%) and textile products (3%). The new tariffs applied by the US officially came into force on April 9. For Moldova, they amounted to 31%. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Moldova's exports to the US in 2024, compared to 2023, increased by 46.4% to $90.2 million, while imports to Moldova from the US increased by 10% to $135.3 million. // 10.04.2025 - InfoMarket.
