Trump punted on his deadline but is sending out a flurry of tariff letters. Here's where trade talks stand.

Yahoo

7 days ago

The White House is delaying tariffs ahead of the end of the 90-day pause deadline.
President Donald Trump is also notifying countries of new tariff rates in the absence of a deal.
The April tariff levels were scheduled to kick back in on August 9.
President Donald Trump was nowhere near the pace of 90 deals in 90 days that his top trade advisor set as a goal, so he added more time to the clock.
He also sent out a series of letters notifying the leaders of countries ranging from Japan to Kazakhstan of their new tariff rates.
Trump's notices come as the White House confirmed that the July 9 deadline for the 90-day pause will be extended to August 1.
As of Monday afternoon, Trump has published on Truth Social the tariff rates for seven countries. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that roughly 12 would be published on Monday.
Stocks on Wall Street dropped in response. The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a session low of over 630 points.
The White House was once optimistic about talks when the 90-day pause was announced in April. So far, Trump has only reached frameworks with the United Kingdom and Vietnam. There is also a separate deal with China.
Here's where things stand with major US partners
Japan: 25% tariff
Trump recently said that Japan was too used to being "spoiled" to reach a deal. On July 7, he signaled he was ready to move on.
The president published a letter to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stating the US would impose a 25% tariff on Japanese goods starting August 1.
"We've had years to discuss our trading relationship with Japan," Trump wrote in the July 7 letter."
According to the Japanese government, talks were ongoing as recently as Saturday before Trump made his announcement.
In April, the White House proposed a 24% tariff on Japanese goods. It's not clear why Trump went higher with Monday's announcement, but he had recently threatened a 30 or 35% tariff when he called the US ally "spoiled."
Ishiba previously said he wanted Trump to nix a 25% tariff on Japanese cars.
"Automobiles are a major national interest," Ishiba told reporters in June, on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada. "We will continue to do everything we can to protect such interests."
South Korea: 25% tariff
South Korea had been hoping for an extension before the August 1 news.
On Monday, Trump posted a letter saying South Korean goods would be subject to a 25% tariff starting on August 1. The announcement matches the level Trump announced on April 1.
Before Trump posted the letter, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said talks have been "very difficult."
"The two sides are not really clear on what they want," Lee told reporters on July 3, per the Financial Times.
Malaysia: 24% tariff
This rate matches the one Trump proposed in April.
In 2024, the US did $80.2 billion in total goods trade with Malaysia, per the USTR office.
South Africa: 30% tariff
The 30 % rate is the same as the one Trump proposed for South Africa in April.
According to the Office of the US Trade Representative, in 2024, the US traded $20.4 billion worth of goods with South Africa.
Kazakhstan: 25% tariff
This rate is lower than the 27% tariff Trump proposed in April.
In 2024, the US did $3.4 billion in total goods trade with Kazakhstan, per the USTR office.
Laos: 40% tariff
This rate is decreased from the 48% tariff Trump proposed in April.
In 2024, the US did $844 million in total goods trade with Laos, per the USTR office.
Myanmar: 40% tariff
This rate is a slight decrease from the 44% tariff Trump proposed in April.
In 2024, the US did $734 million in total goods trade with Myanmar, per the USTR office.
The White House said it has resumed talks with Ottawa after a disagreement over Canada's digital services tax.
Trump blew up talks with the US's neighbor and second-largest trading partner days before a tax on US tech companies was set to go into effect. Due to the tax's retroactive application, companies would have needed to pay Canada roughly $3 billion upfront.
The Canadian government later announced it had scrapped the tax.
White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett told Fox News on June 30 that discussions were back on.
Kirsten Hillman, Canada's chief negotiator in the talks, said it was still their goal to get Trump to lift all tariffs on Canadian goods.
"That's our goal, that's what we're fighting for," she told The Globe and Mail on July 1.
The European Union was pushing hard for a deal before the White House announced the August 1 "boomerang," as Bessent called it.
EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič traveled to Washington on July 3rd for talks with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters on June 26th that it was better for the bloc "to act quickly and simply than slowly and in a highly complicated way." He said that leaders were in agreement.
In contrast, Politico reported that Paris and Madrid don't want to see the EU rushing to accept a deal. Publicly, French President Emmanuel Macron said he could accept a 10% tariff.
The White House's initial April announcement called for a 20% tariff on EU goods. In May, Trump threatened a 50% tariff due to his frustration with the pace of negotiations. (He later delayed the much higher tariff until July 9 as well.)
According to USTR, the US imported $605.8 billion worth of EU goods last year. The US trade deficit with the EU rose 12.9% compared to 2023.
The world's two largest economies are on a different timetable.
In May, the US and China reached an interim deal that called for a separate 90-day pause that lasts until August. As part of the deal, the US lowered its tariffs on Chinese goods from 45% to 30%, and China agreed to lower its tariffs on US imports from 125% to 10%.
There have been some bumps since then, but after high-level talks in London in June, China confirmed the outlines of a deal that would allow for more rare earth exports. In return, the US would lift some of its own restrictions.
Many details still remain to be worked out.
In May, the UK became the first country to broker a trade deal with Trump after his "Liberation Day" announcement — even though the longtime US ally was never subject to the president's sweeping tariffs.
The US-UK deal went into effect on June 30, which applies a 10% tariff on British goods. London isn't done.
The deal does not apply to steel tariffs, which could rise to 50% due to a separate, July 9th deadline — potentially, double the current rate.
India once looked poised to sign one of the first trade deals, but such a deal has proved elusive thus far.
An Indian delegation remained in Washington for extended talks, Reuters reported on July 2nd. While criticizing Japan, Trump told reporters that he thought a deal was close with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Reuters reported that disagreements over US agriculture have held up a final deal.
Trump announced a deal with Vietnam on July 2.
He said that the US will impose a 20% tariff on all Vietnamese goods and a 40% tariff "on any Transshipping." Trump's "Liberation Day" announcement called for a 46% tariff.
Analysts, Business Insider previously reported,
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