Markets got a tariff pause. But damage to global confidence in US could last.

President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause during which all countries except China would pay only a 10% tariff, to allow for talks.

But uncertainty over direction of U.S. trade policy is likely to persist.

Uncertainty could prove corrosive for trust in the US as a steward of global cooperation.

U.S. is “not a stable and reliable partner” says professor of European politics and foreign affairs at King’s College , University of London .

“We’re all wrestling with the unpredictability of unpredictability," says professor Anand Menon .

The EU said Wednesday it had approved tariffs on US . goods in retaliation for a 25% U.K. duty on steel, which has now been cut to 10% .

The world has already begun to recalibrate for an era in which the U.S. is no longer setting the global trade agenda.

The digital economy has exploded, forcing a rethink in how trade is regulated.

Mr. Trump ’s formula for imposing tariffs is based only on trade in goods, not services.

“This is likely to break the WTO and the international trading system in place since World War II , says a political scientist.