The Latest: US inflation ticked higher last month, as Trump's latest tariff deadline nears
Prices rose 2.6% in June compared with a year ago, the Commerce Department said on 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.
Meanwhile, Trump has announced a flurry of trade activity ahead of his latest deadline Friday to impose even steeper import taxes on goods coming from countries around the world. A handful of trade deals have trickled in — most recently with South Korea and Pakistan — but many details remain hazy. Thorny negotiations for most trading partners remain up in the air.
And, while Trump may have gotten his way with tariffs on some countries, his overhaul of American trade policy still faces a challenge in federal court.
Here's the Latest:
Trump lashes out at India for its relationship with Russia
The U.S. president on Truth Social suggested that he plans to do as little trade as possible with India and Russia.
'I don't care what India does with Russia,' Trump posted. 'They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let's keep it that way.'
Trump announced on Wednesday 25% tariffs on goods from India and additional penalties for India's reliance on Russia for oil and military equipment. Trump also issued a warning to Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president, saying that he should 'watch his words' and that he's 'entering very dangerous territory!'
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.
'We have just concluded a deal with the country of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive oil reserves,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. '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.
Trump and his tariffs still face a challenge in federal court
Trump may have gotten his way with tariffs on some countries, but his overhaul of American trade policy has not gone unchallenged. In May, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade agreed that Trump exceeded his powers when he declared a national emergency to plaster tariffs on imports from almost every country in the world.
Now, on Thursday, the 11 judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, which typically specializes in patent law, are scheduled to hear oral arguments from the Trump administration and from the states and businesses that want his sweeping import taxes struck down.
That court earlier allowed the federal government to continue collecting Trump's tariffs as the case works its way through the judicial system.
The issues are so weighty — involving the president's power to bypass Congress and impose taxes with huge economic consequences in the United States and abroad — that the case is widely expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court, regardless of what the appeals court decides.
▶ Read more about the challenge in federal court.
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.
Goyal's comments were seen in contrast to Trump's social media post early Thursday wherein he slammed India and Russia, saying 'they 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.
Top Indian business association expresses disappointment with 25% tariff rate
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.
The 'move is unfortunate and will have a clear bearing on our exports,' said Harsha Vardhan Agarwal, president of the industry body. Agarwal hoped the higher tariffs will be short-lived and the two countries finalize a bilateral trade agreement soon.
'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. There is a lot our two countries can achieve together,' Agarwal said in a statement late Wednesday.
US-South Korea trade deal includes $150 billion shipbuilding investment
A top South Korean official says the $350 billion investment fund announced earlier by Trump includes $150 billion for cooperation on the shipbuilding industry.
Kim Yong-beom, the presidential chief of staff for policy, told reporters in Seoul on Thursday that the $150 billion fund is 'the most noteworthy' part of the deal, saying it covers cooperation on all major parts of the shipbuilding industry such as constructions, maintenances, repairs and overhauls of vessels.
He says South Korean companies have world-class shipbuilding capabilities and U.S. companies hold strengths in software sectors.
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.'
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Los Angeles Times
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Trump injects a new dose of uncertainty in tariffs as he pushes start date back to Aug. 7
WASHINGTON — For weeks, President Donald Trump was promising the world economy would change on Friday with his new tariffs in place. It was an ironclad deadline, administration officials assured the public. But when Trump signed the order Thursday night imposing new tariffs, the start date of the punishing import taxes was pushed back seven days so the tariff schedule could be updated. The change in tariffs on 66 countries, the European Union, Taiwan and the Falkland Islands was potentially welcome news to countries that had not yet reached a deal with the U.S. It also injected a new dose of uncertainty for consumers and businesses still wondering what's going to happen and when. Trump told NBC News in a Thursday night interview the tariffs process was going 'very well, very smooth.' But even as the Republican president insisted these new rates would stay in place, he added: 'It doesn't mean that somebody doesn't come along in four weeks and say we can make some kind of a deal.' Trump has promised that his tax increases on the nearly $3 trillion in goods imported to the United States will usher in newfound wealth, launch a cavalcade of new factory jobs, reduce the budget deficits and, simply, get other countries to treat America with more respect. The vast tariffs risk jeopardizing America's global standing as allies feel forced into unfriendly deals. As taxes on the raw materials used by U.S. factories and basic goods, the tariffs also threaten to create new inflationary pressures and hamper economic growth — concerns the Trump White House has dismissed. As the clock ticked toward Trump's self-imposed deadline, few things seemed to be settled other than the president's determination to levy the taxes he has talked about for decades. The very legality of the tariffs remains an open question as a U.S. appeals court on Thursday heard arguments on whether Trump had exceeded his authority by declaring an 'emergency' under a 1977 law to charge the tariffs, allowing him to avoid congressional approval. Trump was ebullient as much of the world awaited what he would do. 'Tariffs are making America GREAT & RICH Again,' he said Thursday morning on Truth Social. Others saw a policy carelessly constructed by the U.S. president, one that could impose harms gradually over time that would erode America's power and prosperity. 'The only things we'll know for sure on Friday morning are that growth-sapping U.S. import taxes will be historically high and complex, and that, because these deals are so vague and unfinished, policy uncertainty will remain very elevated,' said Scott Lincicome, a vice president of economics at the Cato Institute. 'The rest is very much TBD.' Trump initially imposed the Friday deadline after his previous 'Liberation Day' tariffs in April resulted in a stock market panic. His unusually high tariff rates announced then led to recession fears, prompting Trump to impose a 90-day negotiating period. When he was unable to create enough trade deals with other countries, he extended the timeline and sent out letters to world leaders that simply listed rates, prompting a slew of hasty agreements. Swiss imports will now be taxed at a higher rate, 39%, than the 31% Trump threatened in April, while Liechtenstein saw its rate slashed from 37% to 15%. Countries not listed in the Thursday night order would be charged a baseline 10% tariff. Trump negotiated trade frameworks over the past few weeks with the EU, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines — allowing the president to claim victories as other nations sought to limit his threat of charging even higher tariff rates. He said Thursday there were agreements with other countries, but he declined to name them. Asked on Friday if countries were happy with the rates set by Trump, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said: 'A lot of them are.' The EU was awaiting a written agreement on its 15% tariff deal. Switzerland and Norway were among the dozens of countries that did not know what their tariff rate would be, while Trump agreed after a Thursday morning phone call to keep Mexico's tariffs at 25% for a 90-day negotiating period. The president separately on Thursday amended an order to raise certain tariffs on Canada to 35%. European leaders face blowback for seeming to cave to Trump, even as they insist that this is merely the start of talks and stress the importance of maintaining America's support of Ukraine's fight against Russia. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has already indicated that his country can no longer rely on the U.S. as an ally, and Trump declined to talk to him on Thursday. India, with its 25% tariff announced Wednesday by Trump, may no longer benefit as much from efforts to pivot manufacturing out of China. While the Trump administration has sought to challenge China's manufacturing dominance, it is separately in extended trade talks with that country, which faces a 30% tariff and is charging a 10% retaliatory rate on the U.S. Major companies came into the week warning that tariffs would begin to squeeze them financially. Ford Motor Co. said it anticipated a net $2 billion hit to earnings this year from tariffs. French skincare company Yon-Ka is warning of job freezes, scaled-back investment and rising prices. Federal judges sounded skeptical Thursday about Trump's use of a 1977 law to declare the long-standing U.S. trade deficit a national emergency that justifies tariffs on almost every country. 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Obama's Russiagate meddling: Letters to the Editor — Aug. 2, 2025
The Issue: Reports that ex-President Barack Obama advanced the Russian collusion narrative in 2016. Kudos for Martin Gurri's piece on 'Obamagate' ('From Russia with nothing to speak of,' July 29) It's ironic that the framing of President Trump as a 'threat to democracy' was a red herring for the actual harm being done to us by President Barack Obama and his acolytes. His abuse of his high office was even more egregious than President Richard Nixon's, and similarly has greatly discredited our nation. It's irrelevant that this treachery didn't rise to the crime of treason. The defamation is every bit as damaging and wrongful. And to top it off, the legacy media remained complicit throughout. 'Democracy dies in darkness,' indeed! James Evans Worcester, Mass. We, the 'democracy-threatening,' 'stupid,' 'racist' MAGA citizens, are finally breathing the rarefied air of truth. Thank you, Martin Gurri, for your detailed and revealing piece on the Russiagate hoax. From ancient times to the present, the lust for power has destroyed many cultures. Now, may free speech, strong advocates and honor protect us as we unravel a historic example of hubris run amok. The waxed wings of Icarus melted, and he died, but our democracy will survive. Abby Rudnick Farmingdale, NJ In 2020, the Senate Intelligence Committee, headed by Marco Rubio, stated that the committee unequivocally found absolutely no evidence that Donald Trump and/or his campaign colluded with the Russian government in the 2016 election. However, it did conclude that there was irrefutable evidence of Russian attempts at meddling. And that is exactly what President Obama went on television and told the American public. This new obfuscation is just another sophomoric Trump administration attempt at deflection from what he is doing to this country, and what he is hiding. Lou Maione Manhattan Mainstream media were enamored with Obama through all eight years of his presidency, without ever questioning his performance. This was a love affair, pure and simple. And it remains so to this day, even as we now know that Obama directed a false operation to discredit his successor's victory. History is written by the victors, except when a paper trail exposes their betrayals, as Trump is now revealing about Obama. Paul Bloustein Cincinnati, Ohio Now that we know more about what happened, it's not really surprising to learn of Obama's involvement in Russiagate. After all, he rose out of the corrupt Chicago machine, and then callously lied to millions of people about their health insurance and access to doctors, and now we learn about this. Michelle Obama told us that her mother didn't trust anyone who took more than they needed. Look at the harm Barack has done, and now he has a huge net worth, owning mansions in Martha's Vineyard and Hawaii. Michelle's mom was right after all, wasn't she? Gary Mottola Brooklyn So the legacy media now want the public to move on from the Russia collusion hoax perpetrated by them. They were even given awards for this scam. I say: No! Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel should now investigate what the Obama administration did in that meeting on Dec. 9, 2016 at the White House. Republicans can never forget what was done to their elected president. Andrew Franza Dallas, Pa. No one should be shocked about the recent revelations that Obama was the mastermind behind the Russia collusion hoax. In February 2017, Paul Sperry wrote a column for The Post ('Bam-lined lie,' Feb. 19, 2017) in which he revealed the existence of Obama's 'Organizing For Action' (OFA), which included the recruitment of thousands of footsoldiers to sabotage the Trump presidency. It is doubtful whether any American today has learned anything new. J. J. Crovatto Ramsey, NJ Want to weigh in on today's stories? Send your thoughts (along with your full name and city of residence) to letters@ Letters are subject to editing for clarity, length, accuracy, and style.
