Trump says steep copper tariffs in store as he broadens his trade war
Trump's administration has been touting the tariffs as a significant revenue source. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said Washington has taken in about $100bn (R1.7-trillion) so far and could collect $300bn (R5.3-trillion) by the end of the year. The US has taken in about $80bn (R1.4-trillion) annually in tariff revenue in recent years.
The S&P 500 finished slightly lower on Tuesday, a day after Wall Street markets sold off sharply after Trump's new tariffs announcement.
Trump said he will 'probably' tell the EU within two days what rate it can expect for its exports to the US, adding the 27-member bloc had been treating his administration 'very nicely' in trade talks.
The EU, the largest bilateral trade partner of the US, aims to strike a deal before August 1 with concessions for key export industries such as aircraft, medical equipment and spirits, according to EU sources. Brussels is also considering an arrangement that would protect European automakers with large US production facilities.
However, German finance minister Lars Klingbeil warned the EU was prepared to retaliate if necessary.
'If we don't reach a fair trade deal with the US, the EU is ready to take counter measures,' he said in the lower house of parliament.
Japan, which faces a possible 25% tariff, up from 24% threatened in April, wants concessions for its large automobile industry and will not sacrifice its agriculture sector, a powerful domestic lobby, for the sake of an early deal, top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said on Tuesday.
South Korea, which also faces a possible 25% tariff, said it planned to intensify trade talks over the coming weeks 'to reach a mutually beneficial result'.
Washington and Beijing agreed to a trade framework in June, but with many of the details unclear, traders and investors are watching to see if it unravels before a separate, US-imposed August 12 deadline or leads to a lasting detente.
'We have had a good relationship with China lately, and we're getting along with them very well. They've been very fair on our trade deal,' Trump said, adding he has been speaking regularly to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Trump said the US would impose tariffs of 25% on goods from Tunisia, Malaysia and Kazakhstan, 30% on South Africa and Bosnia and Herzegovina, 32% on Indonesia, 35% on Serbia and Bangladesh, 36% on Cambodia and Thailand and 40% on Laos and Myanmar.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
eNCA
4 minutes ago
- eNCA
Trump's tariffs on SA goods kick in
JOHANNESBURG - The 30 percent US tariffs on South African goods kick in this Thursday. President Donald Trump imposed duties on countries worldwide to balance what he calls 'trade deficits'. The duties will affect some of the 7.5 percent of products exported to the US. Copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and critical minerals are excluded. Stainless steel scrap and energy and energy products are also exempted. But, there are concerns that the automobile and agriculture sectors will be hit hard. Government has outlined urgent interventions, setting up a support desk t to help exporters. It also says it will continue engaging the Trump administration to strike a deal.
TimesLIVE
32 minutes ago
- TimesLIVE
Trump says progress made in US envoy Witkoff's meeting with Putin
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said his special envoy Steve Witkoff had made 'great progress' in his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Washington continued its preparations to impose secondary sanctions on Friday. The meeting came two days before a deadline set by Trump for Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine or face new sanctions. Trump has been increasingly frustrated with Putin over the lack of progress towards peace and has threatened to impose heavy tariffs on countries that buy Russian exports. A White House official said that while the meeting had gone well and Moscow was eager to continue engaging with the US, secondary sanctions that Trump has threatened against countries doing business with Russia were still expected to be implemented on Friday. No details were provided. 'My special envoy, Steve Witkoff, just had a highly productive meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Great progress was made!' Trump said in a post on Truth Social. 'Everyone agrees this war must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come,' he added. A Kremlin aide earlier on Wednesday said Witkoff held 'useful and constructive' talks with Putin on Wednesday. The two met for about three hours on a last-minute mission to seek a breakthrough in the 3-1/2-year war that began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said the two sides had exchanged 'signals' on the Ukraine issue and discussed the possibility of developing strategic co-operation between Moscow and Washington, but declined to give more details until Witkoff had reported back to Trump. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he believed pressure had worked on Russia and Moscow was now more amenable to a ceasefire. 'It seems that Russia is now more inclined to a ceasefire. The pressure on them works. But the main thing is that they do not deceive us in the details — neither us nor the US,' Zelensky said in his nightly address. Writing separately on the X social media platform, Zelensky said he had discussed Witkoff's visit to Russia with Trump, adding that he had reiterated Ukraine's support for a just peace and its continued determination to defend itself. 'Ukraine will definitely defend its independence. We all need a lasting and reliable peace. Russia must end the war that it itself started,' Zelensky said, adding that European leaders had joined the call with Trump. Trump on Truth Social said he had updated some of Washington's European allies after Witkoff's meeting. PRESSURE ON INDIA Trump took a key step towards punitive measures on Wednesday when he imposed an additional 25% tariff on imports from India, citing New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil. No similar order was signed for China, which also imports Russian oil. The new measure raises tariffs on some Indian goods to as high as 50% — among the steepest faced by any US trading partner. The Kremlin says threats to penalise countries that trade with Russia are illegal. It was not clear what Russia might have offered to Witkoff to stave off Trump's threat. Ushakov, who was present, told Russian news outlet Zvezda: 'We had a very useful and constructive conversation.' He added: 'On our part, in particular on the Ukrainian issue, some signals were transmitted. Corresponding signals were also received from President Trump.' Bloomberg and independent Russian news outlet The Bell reported that the Kremlin might propose a moratorium on air strikes by Russia and Ukraine — an idea mentioned last week by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko during a meeting with Putin. Such a move, if agreed, would fall well short of the full and immediate ceasefire that Ukraine and the US have been seeking for months. But it would offer some relief to both sides. AIR ATTACKS Since the two sides resumed direct peace talks in May, Russia has carried out its heaviest air attacks of the war, killing at least 72 people in the capital Kyiv alone. Trump last week called the Russian attacks 'disgusting'. Ukraine continues to strike Russian refineries and oil depots, which it has hit many times. Zelensky said on Wednesday that Russia had attacked a gas pumping station in southern Ukraine in what he called a deliberate and cynical blow to preparations for the winter heating season. Russia said it had hit gas infrastructure supplying the Ukrainian military. Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Zelensky, said on Wednesday that a full ceasefire and a leaders' summit were required. 'The war must stop and for now this is on Russia,' he posted on Telegram. Putin is unlikely to bow to Trump's sanctions ultimatum because he believes he is winning the war and his military goals take precedence over his desire to improve relations with the US, three sources close to the Kremlin told Reuters. The Russian sources told Reuters that Putin was sceptical that yet more US sanctions would have much of an impact after successive waves of economic penalties during 3-1/2 years of war. The Russian leader does not want to anger Trump, and he realises that he may be spurning a chance to improve relations with Washington and the West, but his war goals are more important to him, two of the sources said. Putin's conditions for peace include a legally binding pledge that Nato will not expand eastward, Ukrainian neutrality, protection for Russian speakers, and acceptance of Russia's territorial gains in the war, Russian sources have said. Zelensky has said Ukraine would never recognise Russia's sovereignty over its conquered regions and that Kyiv retains the sovereign right to decide whether it wants to join Nato. Witkoff, a real estate billionaire, had no diplomatic experience before joining Trump's team in January, but has been simultaneously tasked with seeking ceasefires in the Ukraine and Gaza wars, as well as negotiating in the crisis over Iran's nuclear programme.
TimesLIVE
an hour ago
- TimesLIVE
White House plans increase in law enforcement as Trump eyes DC takeover
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he may use the National Guard to police the streets of Washington, D.C., and a White House official said federal law enforcement would increase its presence in the city this week. The threat — and the move to follow through on it — is the latest step by Trump and his administration towards taking over running the city that serves as the seat of the US government. 'We have a capital that's very unsafe,' Trump told reporters at the White House. 'We have to run D.C. This has to be the best-run place in the country.' A White House official told Reuters that operational details about the increased federal presence were still being finalised. CNN reported that officers from the FBI, National Guard and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as agents from the department of homeland security would be involved starting on Thursday. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the city had been 'plagued by petty and violent crime for far too long' and Trump was committed to making it safe. Trump, who has threatened a federal takeover of the city multiple times, escalated those threats after a young staffer who was part of Elon Musk's department of government efficiency was assaulted over the weekend. Musk, the billionaire former adviser to Trump who once spearheaded the DOGE effort, said the man was beaten and received a concussion. 'It is time to federalise DC,' he wrote. Asked if he was considering taking over the D.C. police, Trump responded affirmatively. 'We just almost lost a young man, beautiful handsome guy that got the hell knocked out of him,' Trump said. The president posted a picture of the victim, Edward Coristine, known by the nickname 'Big Balls', on social media, with blood on his face, arms, torso and legs. 'We're going to beautify the city. We're going to make it beautiful. And what a shame, the rate of crime, the rate of muggings, killings and everything else. We're not going to let it. And that includes bringing in the National Guard, maybe very quickly, too,' Trump said. A spokesperson for D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser declined to comment. Violent crime in the first seven months of 2025 was down by 26% in D.C. compared to last year while overall crime was down about 7%, according to records on the police department's website. Overall crime was down 15% in 2024, compared to 2023. Trump has long complained about crime in the city. He signed an executive order in March aimed at increasing law enforcement in Washington. The District of Columbia was established in 1790 with land from neighbouring Virginia and Maryland. Congress has control of its budget, but resident voters elect a mayor and city council, under a law known as the Home Rule Act. For Trump to take over the city, Congress likely would have to pass a law revoking that act, which Trump would have to sign. The president said on Wednesday that lawyers were already looking at overturning the Home Rule Act.
