Trump Tariff Deadline Looms Large: Trade Deals US Has Announced So Far

NDTV

2 days ago

New York:
The clock is ticking closer to US President Donald Trump's latest tariff deadline of August 1. And while several more deals — or at least frameworks for deals — have been reached since his last tariff deadline of July 9 came and went, trade talks with many countries are still in flux.
Trump unveiled sweeping import taxes on goods coming into the US from nearly every country back in April. That included heightened so-called reciprocal rates for certain countries, the bulk of which have since been postponed twice.
The first 90-day pause arrived in an apparent effort to quell global market panic and facilitate country-by-country negotiations, with the Trump administration at one point setting a lofty goal of reaching 90 trade deals in 90 days.
But three months later, only two deals emerged: with the UK and Vietnam. A separate 'framework' for a deal was hashed out with China. And by early July, Trump began sending warning letters that higher tariffs would be imposed against dozens of countries on August 1.
Since then, the US has announced more trade frameworks. But key details remain sparse — or not immediately captured in writing.
Here's what we know about the agreements so far, in the order of those most recently announced.
The US president said he reached an agreement with Seoul on July 30 that would impose a 15% tariff on goods from South Korea.
The countries have also agreed for South Korea to buy $100 billion in energy resources from the US and for South Korea to give to the US $350 billion for 'investments owned and controlled by the United States, and selected by myself, as president,' Trump said.
The US and the EU announced a trade framework that imposes 15% tariffs on most European goods, warding off Trump's most recent threat of 30% if no deal had been reached by August 1.
But some key details require more work. The headline of the agreement, unveiled July 27, is that the 15% tariff rate will apply to 70% of European goods brought into the US, with the EU later confirming that that rate applies to pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and car and car parts. But the remaining 30% of those imports is still open for negotiations.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that both sides had agreed to zero tariffs for a range of 'strategic' goods. Meanwhile, Trump pointed to heightened investments from European companies in the US — including what Trump said was $750 billion (638 billion euros) worth of natural gas, oil and nuclear fuel over three years, as well as an additional $600 billion (511 billion euros) under a political commitment that isn't legally binding, officials said.
On July 22, Trump announced a trade framework to impose 15% tariffs on Japan — down from his previously-threatened rate of 25%. The US president also said Japan would invest $550 billion into the US and would 'open' its economy to American autos and rice.
The newly-agreed on 15% tariff rate also applies to Japanese cars — marking a welcome relief for automakers like Toyota Motor Corp and Honda, which, like other automakers, have faced a 25% levy on key parts and finished vehicles going into the US since earlier this year. But car companies in other countries, including US competitors, worry that this could put them at a disadvantage.
Shortly after a July 22 meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Trump announced that he would lower his upcoming tariffs on imports from the country to 19% — down just 1% from his previous threat of 20%.
In return, Trump said on Truth Social, the US would not pay tariffs on American goods it shipped to the Philippines. But additional details remained unclear. Marcos said his country was considering options such as having an open market without tariffs for US automobiles, but emphasized details were still left to be worked out.
On July 15, Trump again took to social media to announce that he's agreed to lower his planned tariffs on Indonesian goods to 19% — down from a previously-threatened levy of 32% — while American goods sent to the Southeast Asian country will face no tariffs. A fact sheet from the White House later confirmed that 'over 99% of US products' exported to Indonesia would be sent duty-free.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said he will continue to negotiate with Trump, in hopes of further lowering the coming US tariffs.
On July 2, Trump announced a trade deal with Vietnam that he said would allow US goods to enter the country duty-free. Vietnamese exports to the US, by contrast, would face a 20% levy.
That's less than half the 46% 'reciprocal' rate Trump proposed for Vietnamese goods back in April. But in addition to the new 20% tariff rate, Trump said the US would impose a 40% tax on 'transshipping'' — targeting goods from another country that stop in Vietnam on their way to the United States. Washington complains that Chinese goods have been dodging higher US tariffs by transiting through Vietnam.
On May 8, Trump agreed to cut tariffs on British autos, steel, and aluminum, among other trade pledges — while the UK promised to reduce levies on US products like olive oil, wine, and sports equipment. The deal was announced in grandiose terms by both countries, but some key details remained unknown for weeks.
When the deal was announced, for example, the British government notably said that the US agreed to exempt the UK from its then-universal 25% duties on foreign steel and aluminum, which would have effectively allowed both metals from the country to come into the US duty-free.
But the timing for when those cuts would actually take effect stayed up in the air for almost a month. It wasn't until early June, when Trump hiked his steel and aluminum tariffs to a punishing 50% worldwide, that the US acknowledged it was time to implement the agreement. And even then, US tariffs on British steel and aluminum did not go to zero. The UK was the only country spared from Trump's new 50% levies, but it still faces 25% import taxes on the metals.
At its peak, Trump's new tariffs on Chinese goods totaled 145%, and China's countertariffs on American products reached 125%. But on May 12, the countries agreed to their own 90-day truce to roll back those levies to 30% and 10%, respectively. And in June, details began trickling in about a tentative trade agreement.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that China had agreed to make it easier for American firms to acquire Chinese magnets and rare earth minerals critical for manufacturing and microchip production. Meanwhile, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said that the US would 'lift a series of restrictive measures it had imposed on China."
Other key details of the deal remain murky — including the timing of implementation for these terms. On July 29, China's top trade official said the two sides had agreed to work on extending an August 12 deadline for new tariffs on each other, following a two-day trade meeting in Stockholm. The US side said extension plans were discussed, but not decided.