The Latest: White House says Trump will soon sign order to impose new tariffs at midnight Friday

Globe and Mail

4 days ago

The clock is ticking closer to President Donald Trump's latest tariff deadline — with countries around the world poised to see even steeper import taxes on goods sent into the U.S. starting Friday.
At a Thursday news briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump would soon sign an order "at some point this afternoon or later this evening' to impose the sweeping new rates, set to go into effect at midnight.
Leavitt added that countries that have not received a prior letter on tariffs from Trump, or negotiated framework for a trade deal, will be notified of their likely tariff rates either in that order or in the form of a letter. She did not say what the baseline tariff rate would be under the coming order.
Also on Thursday, Trump announced that he would be extending trade negotiations with Mexico for 90 days. But the vast majority of nations are continuing to face uncertainty ahead of the coming deadline. And while handful of trade deals with other countries have also trickled in, many details remain hazy — with businesses and manufacturers around the world bracing for more price hikes regardless. Meanwhile, Trump's overhaul of American trade policy has not gone unchallenged. Appellate court judges expressed broad skepticism around Trump's legal rationale for his most expansive round of tariffs.
Here's the Latest:
Appellate judges question Trump's authority to impose tariffs without Congress
Members of the 11-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington appeared unconvinced by the Trump administration's insistence that the president could impose tariffs without congressional approval, and it hammered its invocation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to do so.
'IEEPA doesn't even mention the word 'tariffs' anywhere,' Circuit Judge Jimmie Reyna said, in a sign of the panel's incredulity to a government attorney's arguments.
Brett Schumate, the attorney representing the Trump administration, acknowledged that 'no president has ever read IEEPA this way' but contended it was nonetheless lawful.
▶ Read more about the challenge in federal court.
Mexico kicks US tariff can back another 90 days
On Thursday, Trump said that he would extend trade talks with Mexico by 90 days, as his 25% tariff rates on many goods from the country remain in place. Mexico had previously faced the prospect of a 30% tariff from Trump set to start Friday, something the country now gets to stave off for the next three months.
The announcement arrived after a call with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum — with Trump noting in a post on Truth Social that the conversation with Sheinbaum was 'very successful in that, more and more, we are getting to know and understand each other.' He also said that autos would face 25% tariffs — but copper, aluminum and steel would still be taxed at 50%.
Sheinbaum later applauded the latest delay in Trump's threatened tariffs. She said that it was a 'good agreement' and that the two leaders had continued to 'negotiate and work as equals.' Any good covered under the USMCA trade pact would also remain tariff free, she added.
Gabriela Siller, economic analysis director for Banco Base in Mexico, said the delay in the new tariffs was 'positive,' but means that sectors already dealing with import taxes will continue to suffer.
Moody's Analytics Director Alfredo Coutiño said Mexico doesn't need postponements, but rather 'resolution of the problem.' The decision 'wins time, but it prolongs the agony and uncertainty,' he said.
▶ Read more about the U.S. and Mexico's new 90-day negotiation period.
Chile officials express relief over Trump's decision to exclude refined copper from 50% tariffs
Authorities in Chile, the world's largest copper producer, breathed a collective sigh of relief Thursday at Trump's decision to exclude refined copper from his coming 50% tariffs on copper imports.
Chile has a trade agreement with the U.S. and last year accounted for 65% of American imports of refined copper, according to the U.S, Geological Survey. Its copper exports totaled over $50.1 million, government data shows.
In a joint statement, three Chilean Cabinet members said it was 'good news' that Trump's tariff would not apply to copper cathodes, Chile's main export. 'This result reflects the hard work that Chile has done in this area,' said Foreign Minister Alberto van Klaveren, 'both in our country and through our embassy in Washington.'
Switzerland and Norway are among countries uncertain about what Aug. 1 will bring
Earlier this week, Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg said it was 'completely uncertain' whether a U.S.-Norway deal would happen by Friday's deadline.
'We must be prepared for the tariffs into the U.S. to increase on Aug. 1,' Stoltenberg told public broadcaster NRK. 'But we are working and in close dialogue with the Americans to see if it is still possible to prevent it.'
Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs announced in April initially set a relatively low — by comparison to some other countries — rate of 15% on Norwegian goods. That's the same rate that the European Union agreed to in a hard-wrought deal announced Sunday.
Meanwhile, Switzerland is facing a much higher rate — 31% — which has suspended until Friday. It's uncertain whether that rate will return afterward. Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter recalled how she met with Trump at the White House just a week after the tariffs were announced, and made her case for Switzerland against them.
'Now it's in the hands of the United States, in the hands of the American president – and it's up to him to decide,' she told public broadcaster RTS this week.
Brazil says 35% of its exports to the US will be affected by Trump's 50% tariff rate
Brazil's Vice President Geraldo Alckmin said Thursday that 35% of the country's exports to the United States will be affected by Trump's new 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods.
Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to impose the tariffs, citing Brazil's policies and the criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro as an 'economic emergency' under a 1977 law.
The order exempts certain items, including civil aircraft and parts, aluminum, tin, wood pulp, energy products and fertilizers. Alckmin said those items make up 45% of Brazilian exports to the U.S., while another 20% — such as steel — were already subject to higher tariffs.
Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said Trump's order marks the start of talks, not the end of the process. He added that U.S. officials appeared receptive to Brazil's concerns. 'There is a lot of injustice in the measures announced yesterday,' Haddad told reporters, noting his office is scheduling a second meeting with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
▶ Read more about Trump's coming 50% tariffs on Brazil.
Ferrari awaits clarification on EU tariffs before changing prices
Luxury sportscar maker Ferrari said Thursday that it was awaiting confirmation of tariffs on European imports to the U.S. before scaling back a price surcharge imposed in April.
Ferrari, which last year sold some 4,000 cars in the Americas, raised prices by 10% on imports to the United States after April 2, except for the Ferrari 296, SF90 and Roma model families. CEO Benedetto Vigna said that until there is an executive order lowering tariffs on imported cars, Ferrari will maintain the higher prices.
'It's very difficult to judge, because the order intake depends very much on the cars that we have available for order, and since we are close to the end of the life cycles of several of our models and others are sold out, we can't really measure the overall sentiment,'' CFO Antonio Picca Piccon added.
Cars shipments from Europe prepare for latest price increases
A light drizzle off the North Sea washed tens of thousands of cars ready to load on a giant cargo ship — all with a brand new increase in price thanks to American tariffs rolling out worldwide.
Belgium's coastline is one of the chokepoints of the global trade in automobiles — brought by trains and trucks from the factories of Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and BMW and others to ship to customers overseas in the United Kingdom, Asia, the Middle East, South America and North America.
The port of Zeebrugge exports about 1.8 million cars every year from Europe around the world. And at just one terminal run by Internation Car Operators, about 70,000 cars sat waiting on teams of drivers in white gloves to drive them into a massive container ship shaped like a shoe box. When Trump initially announced global tariffs on cars, manufacturers scrambled to get their vehicles to customers before the tariff deadline. But following an agreement between Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the uncertainty is giving way to business-as-usual — just with a heftier price tag for consumers.
A key text still isn't ready for the coming tariffs on EU goods
The European Union is working on the assumption that the U.S. will impose a 15% tariff on most EU exports on Friday, even though the two sides have yet to complete a key document clarifying how the agreement will operate.
Under a political agreement reached last weekend, Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the 15% duties would be imposed on around two-thirds of EU goods. But as of Thursday the two sides were still working on a joint statement that would lay out the terms of their understanding, EU commission spokesman Olof Gill said.
Carve outs were agreed for a range of 'strategic' goods like aircraft and aircraft parts, certain chemicals, some drug generics or natural resources. Gill said that 'it is also our clear understanding that the U.S. will implement the exemptions to the 15% ceiling.'
'The U.S. has made these commitments. Now it's up to the US to implement them. The ball is in their court,' Gill said. He added that negotiations on additional exemptions to the new tariff regime continue.
▶ Read more about the EU's preparations for coming U.S. tariffs.
French skincare company says tariffs will lead to rising prices and job freezes
French skincare company Yon-Ka is warning of job freezes, scaled-back investment, and rising prices after the U.S. and EU struck a trade deal that will see 15% tariffs imposed on most European goods entering the American market.
'The U.S. market is our first client', said Alexis Wolkowinski, President of Yon-Ka, in an interview at the company's headquarters outside Paris. 'We are strong in the U.S., but because we are strong, it's impacted us more than anything else. So yes, it's very, very difficult for us to have to support this tax.'
Roughly 25% of Yon-Ka's global turnover comes from the United States, Wolkowinski said. With the added burden of a weaker dollar against the euro, the tariff adds further pressure on margins.
A modest price increase of 3–4% is likely in the coming months — far from enough to offset the added costs. 'We'll have to bear a lot of these costs on our shoulders," he added.
Key US inflation gauge rose last month as Trump's tariffs lifted goods prices
The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge ticked higher last month in a sign that Trump's broad-based tariffs are starting to lift prices for many goods.
Prices rose 2.6% in June compared with a year ago, the Commerce Department said Thursday, up from an annual pace of 2.4% in May. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, prices rose 2.8% in the past year, the same as the previous month, which was revised higher.
Trump is using Canada's recognition of the Palestinian state in trade talks
Trump said Canada's announcement it will recognize a Palestinian state 'will make it very hard' for the U.S. to reach a trade agreement with its northern neighbor.
The threat posted in the early hours Thursday on Trump's social media network is the latest way he has sought to use his trade war to coerce countries on unrelated issues and is a swing from the ambivalence he has expressed about other countries making such a move.
'Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine,' Trump said in his post on Truth Social just past midnight. 'That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh' Canada!!!"
The Republican president said this week that he didn't mind British Prime Minister Keir Starmer taking a position on the issue of formally recognizing Palestinian statehood. And last week, he said that French President Emmanuel Macron's similar move was 'not going to change anything.'
▶ Read more about Trump's trade talks with Canada.
US and Pakistan announce trade agreement
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, officials from both nations said Thursday.
Officials did not specify where the exploration would take place — and in a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said 'we are in the process of choosing the oil company that will lead this partnership.'
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the 'long-awaited' deal and thanked Trump for playing a key role in finalizing it. Pakistan's Finance Ministry said in a statement early Thursday the agreement aims to boost bilateral trade, expand market access, attract investment and foster cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
The deal includes a reduction in reciprocal tariffs, particularly on Pakistani exports to the U.S., the statement from the ministry said. A new figure wasn't immediately provided.
▶ Read more about the Pakistan's trade agreement with the U.S.
Indian government assesses the impact of the US's coming tariffs
India's Trade Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said the Indian government is in talks with exporters, industries and other stakeholders to assess the impact of 25% import tariff imposed by the U.S. on Indian goods.
In a statement to the parliament, Goyal said the government will take all necessary steps to secure and advance the national interest. The minister said India has in the past decade transformed from being one of the fragile fives to the fastest growing major economy in the world.
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry said it was disappointed with the imposition of 25% import tariffs and an additional penalty on Indian goods by the U.S. — with Harsha Vardhan Agarwal, president of the industry body, noting that the move 'will have a clear bearing on our exports.'
'India and U.S. have a long-standing partnership, which is strengthened by our deepening engagement across an array of areas from technology to defense to energy and advance manufacturing," Agarwal said in a statement late Wednesday. 'There is a lot our two countries can achieve together.'
Meanwhile, in social media post early Thursday, Trump claimed that the U.S. had "done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high.' He also took particular aim at Russia — and stated that both India and Russia 'can take their dead economies down together.'
India relies heavily on imported crude oil, particularly from Russia
India is currently the third biggest importer of oil after China and the United States, depending heavily on imported crude oil. Over 80% of India's crude oil is imported.
Russia is the biggest supplier to India — followed by Iraq, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and the United States.
Earlier this month, the country's crude processors were hit by the EU's sanctions on Indian diesel imports made from Russian oil, with Nayara Energy, an Indo-Russian oil refining and marketing company specifically targeted with penalties.
'Whether India will stop importing from Russia, depends on what the penalty is. The country will weigh its options before deciding,' said Sangeeta Godbole, a former trade negotiator with three decades of experience in the Indian government. Godbole said the vagueness of the penalty threat issued by the U.S. might be deliberate. 'It's all so fluid right now. According to me, the only people we can turn to are the Middle-East countries but they are part of the OPEC+ just like Russia,' she added.
South Korean president hails trade deal with the US
South Korea's president hailed the trade deal announced by Trump Thursday, saying it would serve as a chance to further strengthen economic cooperation and military alliance with the United States.
In a Facebook post, Lee Jae Myung said the $350 billion investment fund is meant to solidify a foundation for bilateral cooperation on strategic industries. The fund will play a role of supporting the entrance to the U.S. market by South Korean companies in areas where they excel such as shipbuilding, semiconductors, secondary batteries, biotechnology and energy.
Lee also said the deal would remove uncertainty surrounding South Korea's export environment as the U.S. 15% tariff for goods from South Korea is a lower or similar figure facing other major trade competitors.
'The government was only engaged in negotiations by placing a top priority on national interests,' Lee said. 'It's important to pull out a mutually beneficial agreement, rather than seeking unilateral benefits.'