Dozens of countries with no deals face higher tariffs as trade deadline looms

Boston Globe

2 days ago

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Trump intends the duties to bring back manufacturing to the United States, while also forcing other countries to reduce their trade barriers to U.S. exports. Trump argues that foreign exporters will pay the cost of the tariffs, but so far economists have found that most are being paid by U.S. companies. And measures of U.S. inflation have started to tick higher as prices of imported goods, such as furniture, appliances, and toys rise.
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Countries without an agreement face duties ranging between 10% and 40%, according to Trump's executive order signed on Thursday. That includes large economies such as Canada, Taiwan, and India, as well as many smaller countries like South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and even tiny Lesotho.
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Will the deadline hold this time?
Trump's original April 2 'Liberation Day' announcement threatened to impose import taxes of up to 50% on nearly 60 countries and economies, including the 27-nation European Union. Those duties, originally scheduled for April 9, were then postponed twice, first to July 9 and then Aug. 1.
On Wednesday, Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social, 'THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE IS THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE — IT STANDS STRONG, AND WILL NOT BE EXTENDED.'
As of Thursday afternoon, White House representatives — and Trump himself — had insisted that no more delays were possible.
But when Trump signed the order Thursday night imposing new tariffs on 68 countries and the European Union, the start date of the punishing import taxes was pushed back seven days so that the tariff schedule could be updated. The change — while potentially welcome news to countries that had not yet reached a deal with the U.S. — injected a new dose of uncertainty for consumers and businesses still wondering what's going to happen and when.
Which countries have a trade agreement?
In a flurry of last minute deal-making, the Trump has been announcing agreements as late as Thursday, but they are largely short on details.
On Thursday, the U.S. and Pakistan reached a trade agreement expected to allow Washington to help develop Pakistan's largely untapped oil reserves and lower tariffs for the South Asian country.
And on Wednesday, Trump announced a deal with South Korea that would impose 15% tariffs on goods from that country. That is below the 25% duties that Trump threatened in April.
Agreements have also been reached with the European Union, Pakistan, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom. The agreement with the Philippines barely reduced the tariff it will pay, from 20% to 19%.
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And which countries don't?
Of the 68 countries, along with the EU, that appear in Trump's executive order, the majority do not have deals. That includes Cambodia, now facing a tariff of of 19%; Algeria at 30%, Iraq at 35%; Syria at 41%, Switzerland at 39% and Taiwan at 20%.
Trump had already slapped large duties on Brazil and India even before the August deadline was reached. In the case of Brazil, Trump signed an executive order late Wednesday imposing a 50% duty on imports, though he exempted several large categories, including aircraft, aluminum, and energy products. Trump is angry at Brazil's government because it is prosecuting its former president, Jair Bolsonaro, for attempting to overturn his election loss in 2022. Trump was indicted on a similar charge in 2023.
While Trump has sought to justify the widespread tariffs as an effort to combat the United States' chronic trade deficits, the U.S. actually has a trade surplus with Brazil — meaning it sells more goods and services to Brazil than it buys from that country.
Late Wednesday, Trump said that India would pay a 25% duty on all its exports, in part because it has continued to purchase oil from Russia.
On Thursday, the White House said it had extended the deadline to reach a deal with Mexico for another 90 days, citing the complexity of the trade relationship, which is governed by the trade agreement Trump reached when he updated NAFTA in his first term.
For smaller countries caught in Trump's cross hairs, the Aug. 1 deadline is particularly difficult because the White House has acknowledged they aren't able to negotiate with every country facing tariff threats. Lesotho, for example, a small country in southern Africa, was hit with a 50% duty on April 2, and even though it was postponed, the threat has already devastated its apparel industry, costing thousands of jobs. On Thursday, the country faced a 15% tariff.
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'There's 200 countries,'' the president acknowledged earlier this month. 'You can't talk to all of them.''
AP Writers Josh Boak and Wyatte Grantham-Philipps contributed to this report.