Countries push for last-minute deals as Thursday tariff deadline looms

Yahoo

a day ago

An array of trade crosscurrents continued Tuesday afternoon. There has been a push for last-minute deals, continued fuzziness on previously announced trade commitments, and an indication from President Trump that a deal to delay tariffs on goods from China is "close."
It all comes as global importers brace for the Thursday morning deadline. That's when President Trump promises to implement a central plank of his trade agenda: a tiered approach to "reciprocal" tariffs ranging from 10% to 50%.
Meanwhile, talks continued on varied fronts. For example, the Swiss president announced she would fly to Washington, D.C., to try to win last-minute concessions. She added Tuesday that "the aim is to present a more attractive offer to the United States" to avert a 39% tariff on goods from her nation.
Meanwhile, India faces a divergent situation, with Trump telling CNBC on Tuesday morning, "We settled on 25% [tariffs], but I think I am going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours."
India has slammed Trump's threats as unjustified and has seen its chances of a deal dwindle. Top aides for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are also reportedly traveling this week — not to the US but instead to Moscow.
It's all part of a flurry of last-minute moves and a message from Trump that he's full speed ahead, with no plans to delay a tariff increase starting Thursday.
Read more: The latest news and updates on Trump's tariffs
Trump even teased during the CNBC appearance that he probably won't run for president again but would like to, in part because, in his view, "people love the tariffs." (Trump is, of course, barred by the Constitution from running for a third term, though he's often floated the idea.)
Switzerland and India are two countries currently on the outside looking in, but even nations that recently struck a trade deal continued to try to prepare for the tariff piece to take effect.
Japan's top trade negotiator is also reportedly due in Washington, D.C., this week for talks to ensure that a plan to cut auto tariffs to 15% proceeds. Likewise, talks with the EU continue as negotiators there are reportedly still pushing for exemptions, such as on wine and spirits.
Trump also weighed in Tuesday morning on talks with China. Markets are closely watching for any signs of an agreement to delay a tariff snapback scheduled for Aug. 12, with Trump saying, "We're getting very close to a deal."
Trump suggested that he would likely meet with President Xi Jinping "at some point in the not-too-distant future."
The president added that new sector-specific tariffs on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals are likely and that at least those pharmaceutical tariffs could be announced "within the next week or so."
Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet
New details for some nations — and a focus on India and Switzerland
There is also some new clarity on some technical details around how the new tariff landscape will likely work beginning at 12:01 a.m. ET on Thursday.
US customs officials this week offered additional technical guidance in a new document on how it will handle some tariff exemptions.
The news there may give some select importers a short-term breather. But with a full tally, according to Bloomberg Economics, the average US tariff rate is now expected to rise to 15.2% if duties go forward as planned.
That's a jump from current rates of 13.3% and another jump from the 2.3% duties seen in 2024 before Trump took office.
The overall landscape set to be in effect Thursday will cover nearly every country on the globe. It also comes after Trump and his team set "bespoke" rates largely based on the trade deficit, with many of America's top trading partners seeing a key new standard of 15% tariff, while others will see higher rates.
Read more: 5 ways to tariff-proof your finances
Countries from the European Union to South Korea to Japan struck deals at that 15% rate, but open questions remain.
Other Asian countries have struck deals in the 19%-20% range. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer recently said on CBS that the published rates included many agreements, "some of these deals are announced, some are not," with other nations simply being dictated tariffs based on the level of the trade deficit.
Switzerland is one nation for which the US has dictated tariffs. Its delegation will be in Washington on Tuesday to push for lower rates.
But on Tuesday morning, Trump suggested that it would be an uphill climb and that a recent call with the country didn't go well because "they essentially pay no tariffs," even as talks are clearly set to continue there.
As for India, any immediate offramp appears unlikely because of that nation's connections with Russia and Russian oil.
A note Tuesday from Capital Economics suggested that India could, in theory, offer concessions to diversify its energy sources, "but we doubt that India would make a wholehearted effort to wean itself off Russian oil [as it could upset relations and] it would not play well to be seen caving to Trump's demands."
At the same time, reports from Bloomberg and the Times of India revealed that two top aides to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are traveling not to the US but to Russia in the coming days and weeks — even amid Trump's ever-escalating threats.
Trump on Tuesday morning suggested talks are on ice for now and will be complicated when they resume, adding that "the sticking point with India is that tariffs are too high."
This story has been updated with additional developments.
Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
Click here for political news related to business and money policies that will shape tomorrow's stock prices