Latest news with #reciprocal tariffs
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
How Trump's latest tariffs on allies and rivals could fund his ‘One Big Beautiful Bill'
As the ink on US President Donald Trump's signature ' One Big Beautiful Bill ' barely dried, he turned his focus back to tariffs, ending a three-month lull in global trade tensions. With the pause on April's 'reciprocal tariffs' expiring on July 9, Trump has announced new rates on 25 economies over the past week – including both neighbours and long-time allies. In this explainer, the Post wraps up the latest developments and explores what lies ahead. Which countries have received Trump's tariff letters? The European Union and Mexico are the latest . On Saturday, the US president threatened to impose 30 per cent duties on both. That followed earlier announcements of 35 per cent tariffs on Canada, 50 per cent on Brazil, 25 per cent on Japan and South Korea, and 20 per cent on the Philippines. He also unveiled tariffs for several developing economies, particularly Asian countries neighbouring China. The deadline for all negotiations is August 1. Taiwan, which faced a 32 per cent 'reciprocal tariff' in April, has not yet received a letter, while the island's officials have said talks are entering a 'crucial moment'.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Patience on Tariffs Runs Thin as Nations Jostle for Deals
(Bloomberg) -- US trading partners trying to navigate the final weeks of negotiations before President Donald Trump's so-called reciprocal tariffs hit are facing a leader who has made clear he's lost patience with talks. Singer Akon's Failed Futuristic City in Senegal Ends Up a $1 Billion Resort Why Did Cars Get So Hard to See Out Of? Can Americans Just Stop Building New Highways? How German Cities Are Rethinking Women's Safety — With Taxis Philadelphia Trash Piles Up as Garbage Workers' Strike Drags On Even as negotiators from Brussels to New Delhi are racing to find a way out of the punishing levies he's floated, Trump continued to send letters unilaterally setting rates — while still allowing for a little wiggle room. Early Saturday, Trump posted letters sent to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, declaring a 30% rate for Mexico and the European Union beginning Aug. 1. He said Mexico had failed to do enough to stop the flow of fentanyl into the US and complained that the EU's trade deficit with the US was unfair. He suggested both partners could take steps to mitigate the rates — or he could increase them further if he didn't like their responses. Efforts by those countries and others to find an escape from the punishing levies are expected to intensify next week ahead of a new Aug. 1 deadline for many of the import taxes to kick in. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is heading to Japan and EU negotiators are focusing their attention on cars and agricultural tariffs in hopes of securing at least a provisional agreement. The days ahead could also bring a fresh flurry of unilateral missives from the White House setting tariff levels on countries the president has determined no longer worthy of talks. Summer of Drama A dramatic stretch in Trump's trade war has seen some of the biggest developments yet in his tariff campaign, underscoring the risks for trading partners and raising the stakes before what the president insists is his final deadline. His impatience erupted over recent days as he teed up a frenzied wave of tariffs for Aug. 1, hitting longtime allies like Japan and South Korea, which had struggled with negotiations because of internal political pressures, raising some rates on neighboring Canada despite Prime Minister Mark Carney's charm offensive, and slapping an eye-popping 50% rate on goods from Brazil over unrelated political disputes. The message was clear: Trump intends to make good on his threat to abandon painstaking negotiations and just set unilateral rates — and that a fresh barrage of tariffs are coming, not unlike the April announcement that spurred a market selloff. For nations dependent on US trade, the window is quickly closing to determine how best to negotiate the impossible choice presented by Trump's maximalist stance: bend the knee or dig in for a fight. The president himself has repeatedly said he'd prefer unilateral rates and the only thing stopping him was pleas from Bessent and other aides for patience. 'The real question is will Trump accept what they have on the table? Will they put a little more on the table? Where will it come out?' Wilbur Ross, Trump's first-term commerce secretary, told Bloomberg Television Thursday. 'But worse comes to worst, he is fully prepared to go through with the tariffs and have that be the end of the story.' Trump opened the week by extending the July 9 tariff deadline to Aug. 1 and renewing his threat to Japan and South Korea, where talks have dragged. At a cabinet meeting, Bessent boasted about the flood of taxes being collected from importers. The president has bristled at what's been called the 'TACO trade,' with markets betting that 'Trump always chickens out' on tariff threats, and insisted this extension would be the last. He also announced his long-simmering copper tariff, setting it at 50% and saying it would be enacted Aug. 1 — a levy poised to capture a wide range of derivative products. He also threatened a 200% pharmaceutical levy. 'I assume that what we are seeing here is a negotiating tactic,' said Lars Suedekum, a personal economic adviser to German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil. 'We have seen this many times in recent weeks: customs announcements followed by suspensions and customs breaks. It's been quite a back and forth. I see no reason why it should be any different this time.' Still, the extension set off another frenzied struggle with nations hopeful they could sway a president whose tariff agenda has moved in fits-and-starts and reversals. India has been making progress on an interim trade deal that could reduce its proposed tariffs to below 20%, people familiar with the matter said, adding that New Delhi does not expect to receive a tariff demand letter. Even with Bessent headed to Japan, the prospect of a breakthrough is unclear and the US is awaiting a better offer from Tokyo, an American official said. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Friday encouraged another country facing higher tariffs, Canada, to keep talking, underscoring that the door remains open to negotiations. 'I would urge the Canadian citizens to urge their leaders to negotiate fairly with us,' he told Bloomberg Television on Friday. Widening Clashes Trump's letters announcing tariffs to individual countries were initially boilerplate, distributed to partners he'd hit with elevated tariffs in his April 2 'Liberation Day' announcement, all of which run trade surpluses with the US. But his targets have widened: He threatened a 50% rate on Brazil, pressuring that country to stop legal proceedings against his ally, Jair Bolsonaro, a major escalation demonstrating how Trump has weaponized trade powers for unrelated disputes. The move also signaled that Trump would apply elevated rates even to countries, like Brazil, with which the US runs a goods trade surplus. He's also been stepping up his threats against BRICS nations, vowing extra levies even if they reach some kind of accord with him. Where Does President Trump's Tariff Campaign Stand? QuickTake The 35% tariff on Canada hit one of the biggest American trading partners and a country that was not facing an imminent tariff hike, like other recipients of his letters. That increase, though, is not poised to apply to energy products, which will remain at a 10% rate, or goods compliant with the USMCA trade pact. Trump also signaled to NBC in an interview that he might simply raise blanket tariffs to 15% or 20%, up from 10% now for nearly all trading partners, though it's not clear how widely that move would apply. Uncertain Deals Trump's White House once pledged 90 deals in 90 days, but has so far only reached agreements with the UK, Vietnam and a truce lowering tariffs with China — all with caveats. The China deal allowed the two economies to de-escalate but left many issues unresolved, while the agreement with the UK faces uncertainty over metals tariffs. While Trump touted a deal with Vietnam, that announcement surprised the country's leadership with a higher rate than they expected, making it more akin to his unilateral letters than a mutually agreed pact. 'I worry that we could have a situation — and I don't know that it'll be on Aug. 1 or the future — but we'd have a situation where he's not bluffing, but everyone thinks he is bluffing,' said Michael Strain, director of economic policy at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. 'The more times that happens, the more worried I get that the next up will be a real deadline.' --With assistance from Kamil Kowalcze. Trump's Cuts Are Making Federal Data Disappear 'Our Goal Is to Get Their Money': Inside a Firm Charged With Scamming Writers for Millions Will Trade War Make South India the Next Manufacturing Hub? Soccer Players Are Being Seriously Overworked Trade War? No Problem—If You Run a Trade School ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Patience on Tariffs Runs Thin as Nations Jostle for Deals
(Bloomberg) -- US trading partners trying to navigate the final weeks of negotiations before President Donald Trump's so-called reciprocal tariffs hit are facing a leader who has made clear he's lost patience with talks. Singer Akon's Failed Futuristic City in Senegal Ends Up a $1 Billion Resort Why Did Cars Get So Hard to See Out Of? Can Americans Just Stop Building New Highways? How German Cities Are Rethinking Women's Safety — With Taxis Philadelphia Trash Piles Up as Garbage Workers' Strike Drags On Even as negotiators from Brussels to New Delhi are racing to find a way out of the punishing levies he's floated, Trump continued to send letters unilaterally setting rates — while still allowing for a little wiggle room. Early Saturday, Trump posted letters sent to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, declaring a 30% rate for Mexico and the European Union beginning Aug. 1. He said Mexico had failed to do enough to stop the flow of fentanyl into the US and complained that the EU's trade deficit with the US was unfair. He suggested both partners could take steps to mitigate the rates — or he could increase them further if he didn't like their responses. Efforts by those countries and others to find an escape from the punishing levies are expected to intensify next week ahead of a new Aug. 1 deadline for many of the import taxes to kick in. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is heading to Japan and EU negotiators are focusing their attention on cars and agricultural tariffs in hopes of securing at least a provisional agreement. The days ahead could also bring a fresh flurry of unilateral missives from the White House setting tariff levels on countries the president has determined no longer worthy of talks. Summer of Drama A dramatic stretch in Trump's trade war has seen some of the biggest developments yet in his tariff campaign, underscoring the risks for trading partners and raising the stakes before what the president insists is his final deadline. His impatience erupted over recent days as he teed up a frenzied wave of tariffs for Aug. 1, hitting longtime allies like Japan and South Korea, which had struggled with negotiations because of internal political pressures, raising some rates on neighboring Canada despite Prime Minister Mark Carney's charm offensive, and slapping an eye-popping 50% rate on goods from Brazil over unrelated political disputes. The message was clear: Trump intends to make good on his threat to abandon painstaking negotiations and just set unilateral rates — and that a fresh barrage of tariffs are coming, not unlike the April announcement that spurred a market selloff. For nations dependent on US trade, the window is quickly closing to determine how best to negotiate the impossible choice presented by Trump's maximalist stance: bend the knee or dig in for a fight. The president himself has repeatedly said he'd prefer unilateral rates and the only thing stopping him was pleas from Bessent and other aides for patience. 'The real question is will Trump accept what they have on the table? Will they put a little more on the table? Where will it come out?' Wilbur Ross, Trump's first-term commerce secretary, told Bloomberg Television Thursday. 'But worse comes to worst, he is fully prepared to go through with the tariffs and have that be the end of the story.' Trump opened the week by extending the July 9 tariff deadline to Aug. 1 and renewing his threat to Japan and South Korea, where talks have dragged. At a cabinet meeting, Bessent boasted about the flood of taxes being collected from importers. The president has bristled at what's been called the 'TACO trade,' with markets betting that 'Trump always chickens out' on tariff threats, and insisted this extension would be the last. He also announced his long-simmering copper tariff, setting it at 50% and saying it would be enacted Aug. 1 — a levy poised to capture a wide range of derivative products. He also threatened a 200% pharmaceutical levy. 'I assume that what we are seeing here is a negotiating tactic,' said Lars Suedekum, a personal economic adviser to German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil. 'We have seen this many times in recent weeks: customs announcements followed by suspensions and customs breaks. It's been quite a back and forth. I see no reason why it should be any different this time.' Still, the extension set off another frenzied struggle with nations hopeful they could sway a president whose tariff agenda has moved in fits-and-starts and reversals. India has been making progress on an interim trade deal that could reduce its proposed tariffs to below 20%, people familiar with the matter said, adding that New Delhi does not expect to receive a tariff demand letter. Even with Bessent headed to Japan, the prospect of a breakthrough is unclear and the US is awaiting a better offer from Tokyo, an American official said. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Friday encouraged another country facing higher tariffs, Canada, to keep talking, underscoring that the door remains open to negotiations. 'I would urge the Canadian citizens to urge their leaders to negotiate fairly with us,' he told Bloomberg Television on Friday. Widening Clashes Trump's letters announcing tariffs to individual countries were initially boilerplate, distributed to partners he'd hit with elevated tariffs in his April 2 'Liberation Day' announcement, all of which run trade surpluses with the US. But his targets have widened: He threatened a 50% rate on Brazil, pressuring that country to stop legal proceedings against his ally, Jair Bolsonaro, a major escalation demonstrating how Trump has weaponized trade powers for unrelated disputes. The move also signaled that Trump would apply elevated rates even to countries, like Brazil, with which the US runs a goods trade surplus. He's also been stepping up his threats against BRICS nations, vowing extra levies even if they reach some kind of accord with him. Where Does President Trump's Tariff Campaign Stand? QuickTake The 35% tariff on Canada hit one of the biggest American trading partners and a country that was not facing an imminent tariff hike, like other recipients of his letters. That increase, though, is not poised to apply to energy products, which will remain at a 10% rate, or goods compliant with the USMCA trade pact. Trump also signaled to NBC in an interview that he might simply raise blanket tariffs to 15% or 20%, up from 10% now for nearly all trading partners, though it's not clear how widely that move would apply. Uncertain Deals Trump's White House once pledged 90 deals in 90 days, but has so far only reached agreements with the UK, Vietnam and a truce lowering tariffs with China — all with caveats. The China deal allowed the two economies to de-escalate but left many issues unresolved, while the agreement with the UK faces uncertainty over metals tariffs. While Trump touted a deal with Vietnam, that announcement surprised the country's leadership with a higher rate than they expected, making it more akin to his unilateral letters than a mutually agreed pact. 'I worry that we could have a situation — and I don't know that it'll be on Aug. 1 or the future — but we'd have a situation where he's not bluffing, but everyone thinks he is bluffing,' said Michael Strain, director of economic policy at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. 'The more times that happens, the more worried I get that the next up will be a real deadline.' --With assistance from Kamil Kowalcze. Trump's Cuts Are Making Federal Data Disappear 'Our Goal Is to Get Their Money': Inside a Firm Charged With Scamming Writers for Millions Will Trade War Make South India the Next Manufacturing Hub? Soccer Players Are Being Seriously Overworked Trade War? No Problem—If You Run a Trade School ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Trump Patience on Tariffs Runs Thin as Nations Jostle for Deals
US trading partners trying to navigate the final weeks of negotiations before President Donald Trump's so-called reciprocal tariffs hit are facing a leader who has made clear he's lost patience with talks. Even as negotiators from Brussels to New Delhi are racing to find a way out of the punishing levies he's floated, Trump continued to send letters unilaterally setting rates — while still allowing for a little wiggle room.
The Independent
6 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
How tariffs will be a weapon for countries to put the squeeze back on Trump and his red-state allies
Will the return of Donald Trump's 'reciprocal' tariffs mean the resumption of full-scale trade wars with U.S. economic partners? That remains to be seen, but some are already showing signs of flinching. The president said on Tuesday that his administration would not implement any further 'delays' in the resumption of his planned tariffs of as high as 50 percent on some countries. As the supposedly final deadline returns, several countries that have lingering unresolved disputes with the U.S. could return to a tested and familiar practice: putting the squeeze on red states and GOP-held districts. With duties set to resume on Aug. 1, numerous foreign governments are now rushing to finalize deals with the White House. That includes the European Union (EU), of which Trump spoke favorably on Tuesday as he claimed that a framework agreement with the bloc was near. Should foreign governments try and play hardball with the tariff rates, however, U.S. industries based in districts represented by Trump's loyalists on Capitol Hill could be the hardest hit. 'You know when products like Kentucky bourbon are in the headlines, you know something's going on,' said Geralyn Ritter, president and CEO of the DC-based Crowell Global Advisors. Crowell and other similar firms advise clients on trade issues including antidumping measures and countervailing duties — measures aimed at correcting practices deemed unfair that are carried out by foreign nations. 'It is far more common than not that countries will target politically sensitive sectors,' Ritter continued. 'It is really a long standing practice that governments choose … their products for retaliation very specifically and in a very focused way.' That was the case earlier this year, when Trump's first rollout of tariffs was met with attempts at retaliatory measures by Canada, China and some other countries. Originally announced in April on what the White House dubbed 'Liberation Day,' the tariffs were set at individual rates for various countries and trading blocs, including one group of uninhabited islands near Australia. (The Sydney Morning Herald reported this week that the penguins roosting on the Heard and McDonald Islands were 'on standby' as the tariffs snapped back into place.) Agricultural imports were a top target: America's northern neighbor took aim at dairy products, poultry, and a wide range of foodstuffs. China did the same with a particular focus on U.S. soybean exports. The selection of U.S. goods targeted by tariffs is never random. The political implications of some import and export duties are obvious on the face: China's restrictions on semiconductors and various countries' tariffs aimed at hurting U.S. automakers being prime examples. Some are less obvious, but similarly impactful. China's soybean duties will have the greatest impact in Illinois, a blue state — and the only solidly-Democratic state in the top 10 soybean producers in the country. The remaining nine lean Republican with the exception of Minnesota, a battleground state that supported Trump in 2024. But here's the thing: if the White House and U.S. trading partners return to the bluff and bluster dynamic that defined the first round of tariff announcements, these retaliatory measures can (and likely will) become a lot more grassroots. Especially as the congressional midterm elections near, and Republicans shift their attention to defending thin majorities in each chamber. During Trump's first term in Washington he attempted a similar reorientation of the global trade order, though on a much smaller scale. Yet his efforts were met with outright threats of tariffs microtargeted to states from which GOP congressional leaders hailed as well as the reddening swing state of Florida. 'We will put tariffs on Harley-Davidson, on bourbon and on blue jeans — Levis,' then-European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker declared in March of 2018. But the U.S. has one key advantage: the sheer size of its economy. Even impactful measures against sectors of the U.S. economy are not as effective as U.S. retaliatory tariffs often can be. That was a lesson Canada learned earlier this year. While Liberal Party candidate Mark Carney ran for prime minister and won on a platform of standing up to U.S. trade bullying, the actual effectiveness of Canadian import duties was negligible. As Canadian economist Trevor Tombe wrote in April: 'These early signs suggest the impact on the U.S. economy is minimal.' Ritter also questioned the potential effectiveness of such blatantly politicized measures at a time when Trump's team was engaging in reasoned dialogues with trading partners but the risk of angering or provoking the president personally remained a risk. 'I am very skeptical that this administration, especially right now, at this point in time, given recent developments, is going to be bullied, if you will, into making a concession because of a targeted threat against the particular industry,' said Ritter. 'I think especially if those kind of threats are made, and they're made very publicly, it's not going to be constructive right now.' While the administration seems to be making progress behind the scenes in coaxing trading partners towards framework agreements aimed at averting tariff hikes, outliers exist such as Brazil, which was slapped with a 50 percent 'reciprocal' tariff on Wednesday. Brazil's government was already in talks about retaliatory measures before the announcement. So is the government of India, which is proposing retaliatory duties against the U.S. over steel and auto tariffs. Ritter and other experts said they expected to see more tariff hikes in the short term as the president continues his unique form of 'dealmaking'. Over the weekend, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that some of the tariff rates imposed on U.S. trading partners were in fact all that would constitute the 'deals' Trump's top trade adviser said the president would be striking left and right. And there's still no signs yet of the kind of major onshoring of manufacturing or supply chains which top administration officials have presented as the end goal of the new U.S. tariff regime. Hesitance about the overall stability of the economy and the volatility caused by tariffs is scaring some off from making greater investments in the U.S., while others are unable to center production entirely in domestic facilities, making import charges unavoidable. Experts fear that some industries, like pharmaceuticals, may experience players leaving the market entirely rather than attempt to reorient production — leading to possible product shortages. The White House claims it is pushing forward, given that Trump backtracking now would only introduce more of that volatility and lead to more insistences of him 'chickening out', a refrain that was picked up by some Wall Street traders after the delay of his reciprocal tariffs. Those same financial analysts aren't necessarily buying the bluster any more, though. 'The pattern is familiar: dramatic declarations, walk-backs, and renewed threats. It's eroded his credibility and resembles the boy who cried wolf,' Carolyn Kissane, a professor at NYU's School of Professional Studies Center for Global Affairs, told The Independent. 'He believes this tactic gives him a unique leverage to negotiate, but it also weakens the threats.'
