Donald Trump threatens extra 10% tariff for ‘anti-American' Brics policies, as trade war deadline approaches
Date: 2025-07-07T06:23:41.000Z
Title: Donald Trump threatens extra 10% tariff for "anti-American" Brics policies
Content: Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets, and the world economy.
Donald Trump has targeted the BRICS group of developing nations in the latest salvo of his ongoing trade war, as the deadline to agree deals before the president's 90-day tariff pause looms.
Trump has warned overnight that he will impose a new 10% tariff on any country that aligns itself with the BRICS group, claiming they are 'anti-American'.
Writing on his Truth Social site, Trump declared:
Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Trump's attack comes after the Brics group — which was originally made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa but now includes other nations — met in Brazil at the weekend.
Brazil's president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, told the meeting in Rio de Janeiro that BRICS was the heir to the 'Non-Aligned Movement' – the bloc of countries who declined to ally with either side in the Cold War.
Lula criticised the move (driven by Trump) towards increased spending on the military rather than on international development, pointing out: 'It is always easier to invest in war than in peace'.
He told leaders they were witnessing 'the unparalleled collapse of multilateralism', before warning:
'If international governance does not reflect the new multipolar reality of the 21st century, it is up to BRICS to help bring it up to date.'
The BRICS group also condemned US and Israeli attacks on Iran and urged 'just and lasting' solutions to conflicts across the Middle East.
All of which appears to have stirred Trump into another tariff threat.
There's also confusion this morning about the status of the original 'liberation day' tariffs which Trump announced at the start of April, and then paused for 90 days after the markets slumped.
The president told reporters on Sunday that his administration plans to start sending letters later today to US trade partners dictating new tariffs.
But there's confusion about when these levies would kick in. Trump implied they would start on Wednesday, saying 'I think we'll have most countries done by July 9, yeah. Either a letter or a deal.'
But commerce secretary Howard Lutnick then weighed in to explain:
'But they go into effect on August 1. Tariffs go into effect August 1, but the president is setting the rates and the deals right now.'
Trump has subsequently posted that 'TARIFF Letters, and/or Deals' will be delivered from 12:00 PM (Eastern)' today, (that's 5pm BST)
7am BST: Halifax house price index for June
2pm BST: Eurogroup ministers meeting in Brussels
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Western Telegraph
9 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Trump threatens 25% tax on goods imported from Japan and South Korea
Mr Trump provided notice of the tariffs to begin on August 1 by posting letters on Truth Social that were addressed to the leaders of both countries. The letters warned both countries not to retaliate by increasing their own import taxes, or else the Trump administration would further increase tariffs. 'If for any reason you decide to raise your tariffs, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added onto the 25% that we charge,' Mr Trump wrote in the letters to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung. The letters were not the final word from Mr Trump on tariffs, so much as another episode in a global economic drama in which the US president has placed himself at the centre. He has declared an economic emergency to unilaterally impose the taxes, suggesting they are remedies for past trade deficits even though many US consumers have come to value car, electronics and other goods from Japan and South Korea. But it is unclear what he gains strategically against China — another stated reason for the tariffs — by challenging two crucial partners in Asia who could counter China's economic heft. 'These tariffs may be modified, upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your country,' Mr Trump wrote in both letters. Because the new tariff rates go into effect in roughly three weeks, Mr Trump is setting up a period of possibly tempestuous talks among the US and its trade partners to reach new frameworks. Mr Trump initially sparked hysteria in the financial markets by announcing tariff rates on dozens of countries, including 24% on Japan and 25% on South Korea. In order to calm the markets, Mr Trump unveiled a 90-day negotiating period during which goods from most countries were taxed at a baseline 10%. The 90-day negotiating period technically ends before Wednesday, even as multiple administration officials and Mr Trump himself suggested the three-week period before implementation is akin to overtime for additional talks. He is relying on tariff revenues to help offset the tax cuts he signed into law on July 4, a move that could shift a greater share of the federal tax burden on to the middle class and poor as importers would pass along much of the cost of the tariffs. His trade framework with Vietnam is clearly designed to box out China from routing its America-bound goods through that country, while the quotas in the United Kingdom framework would spare that nation from the higher tariff rates being charged on steel, aluminium and autos. The United States ran a 69.4 billion dollar trade imbalance in goods with Japan in 2024 and a 66 billion imbalance with South Korea, according to the Census Bureau.
BBC News
17 minutes ago
- BBC News
Former Arsenal sporting director Edu joins Forest
Former Arsenal sporting director Edu has joined Nottingham Forest in a newly established global head of football role. Forest said the Brazilian will "oversee all football-related functions, including recruitment, performance, squad strategy and player development". Edu, 47, played for Arsenal between 2001 and 2005, winning two Premier League titles, and rejoined them in 2019 as technical director. He was promoted to sporting director in November 2022 but resigned in November 2024. "I'm truly excited about this new chapter and honoured by the trust placed in me," said Edu. "This project connects deeply with my values around innovation and long-term planning. I look forward to building a global football model that is competitive, sustainable, and aligned with our president's [Evangelos Marinakis] ambition."Forest owner Marinakis also controls Greek team Olympiakos as well as Portuguese club Rio Ave, and confirmed last December that he had been in talks to purchase Brazilian side Vasco da who also played for Valencia and had two spells at Corinthians, joined the latter as director of football in 2011 and served as Brazil national team's general coordinator from 2016 to 2019. At Arsenal, the former Brazil midfielder played a key role in recruiting manager Mikel Arteta, with the Gunners going on to win the FA Cup during the Spaniard's first major silverware has eluded them since, Edu was widely credited with helping transform the club into genuine title challengers once again.
The Guardian
20 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Trump steps up trade wars with 25% tariffs on Japan and South Korea
Donald Trump unveiled plans to step up his trade wars on Monday, announcing Japan and South Korea will soon face US tariffs of 25% in a significant escalation of his controversial economic strategy. The US president, who indicated that he would notify as many as as 15 countries of new, higher rates on Monday, posted copies of letters addressed to the leaders of Japan and South Korea on social media. Trump said the rates are set to go into effect August 1. The letters were largely identical and informed the leaders that there will be no tariffs if their countries 'decide to build or manufacture product within the United States'. Trump also threatened higher tariffs if the countries place additional tariffs on US exports. 'If for any reason you decide to raise your tariffs, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added onto that 25% we charge,' he wrote. Trump initially announced a slate of so-called reciprocal tariffs in April, on what the White House dubbed 'liberation day', with some countries facing rates as high as 50% While he paused those tariffs for 90 days amid market turmoil, this reprieve is do to expire on Wednesday, 9 July. Trump officials initially suggested they would strike dozens of deals with key economies during the pause, but have since indicated that they would use an extension to continue talks. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said last month the administration was aiming to wrap up negotiations by Labor Day on 1 September. The US has so far settled deals with three countries: the UK, China and Vietnam, and Bessent said there are over a dozen countries the US is still trying to negotiate with. The new August deadline for countries without a deal amounts to a further three-week reprieve, but also triggers fresh uncertainty for importers because of the lack of clarity around the tariffs. As the July deadline has approached, Trump's officials have been racing to broker deals. Over the weekend, one European diplomat said the US may have to 'show muscle if the deal is not good enough'. The White House also reached an impasse in negotiations with Japan, despite initial optimism. Trump on Friday said it is 'much easier to send a letter' and that the offers are 'take it or leave it'. On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 sank by almost 0.9% after Trump posted his first letters. Though the US stock market has largely recovered from the uncertainty around Trump's trade war, the US dollar still remains weakened after months of trade fights. At the beginning of this year, the dollar had its worst six months in over 50 years, falling 10.8% since the start of 2025.
