Trump hits dozens more countries with steep tariffs

US President Donald Trump imposed steep tariffs on exports from dozens of trading partners, including Canada, Brazil, India and Taiwan, ahead of a Friday (August 1) trade deal deadline, pressing ahead with plans to reorder the global economy.

Trump set rates including a 35% duty on many goods from Canada, 50% for Brazil, 25% for India, 20% for Taiwan and 39% for Switzerland, according to a presidential executive order.

The order listed higher import duty rates of 10% to 41% starting in seven days for 69 trading partners as the 12:01am EDT (0401 GMT) deadline approached.

Some of them had reached tariff-reducing deals while others had no opportunity to negotiate. Trump included an exception for some goods shipped within the coming week.

Goods from all other countries not listed would face a 10% US import tax. Trump had previously said that rate might be higher. The administration also teased that more trade deals were in the pipeline as it seeks to close trade deficits and boost domestic factories.

The republican president has tapped emergency powers, pressured foreign leaders, and pressed ahead with trade policies that sparked a market sell-off when they were first announced in April.

US federal appeals court judges on Thursday questioned Trump's use of the emergency powers to justify his tariffs of up to 50% on nearly all trading partners.

Trump invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to declare an emergency over the growing US trade deficit and impose his "reciprocal" tariffs and a separate fentanyl emergency.

Asian shares were headed for the worst week since April today after the tariffs were announced.

European stocks hit a three-week low on the day as investors focused on the impact of the new tariffs. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell around 1% in early trading, down for the third straight session and on track to end the week in red

Trump's tariff rollout comes amid more evidence they have begun driving up consumer goods prices.

US Commerce Department data released yesterday showed prices for home furnishings and durable household equipment jumped 1.3% in June, the biggest gain since March 2022.

Recreational goods and vehicles prices shot up 0.9%, the most since February 2024. Prices for clothing and footwear rose 0.4%.

Switzerland, Taiwan, South Africa

Switzerland said it would push for a "negotiated solution" with the US, while Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said the new 20% tariff rate for the island was "temporary " and that he expected to reach a lower figure.

South Africa's Trade Minister Parks Tau said he was seeking "real, practical interventions" to defend jobs and the economy against the 30% US tariff it faces.

Trump's order said some trading partners, "despite having engaged in negotiations, have offered terms that, in my judgment, do not sufficiently address imbalances in our trading relationship or have failed to align sufficiently with the United States on economic and national-security matters."

Other details are still to come, including on the "rules of origin" that will determine what products might face even higher tariffs.

Canada, Mexico, India

Trump issued a separate order, opens new tab for Canada that raises the rate on Canadian goods subject to fentanyl-related tariffs to 35%, from 25% previously, saying Canada had "failed to cooperate" in curbing illicit narcotics flows into the US.

The higher tariffs on Canadian goods contrasted sharply with Trump's decision to grant Mexico a 90-day reprieve from higher tariffs of 30% on many goods to allow time to negotiate a broader trade pact.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was disappointed by Trump's decision and vowed to take action to protect Canadian jobs and diversify exports.

"While we will continue to negotiate with the United States on our trading relationship, the Canadian government is laser-focused on what we can control: building Canada strong," he said in a post on X.

The extension for Mexico avoids a 30% tariff on most Mexican non-automotive and non-metal goods compliant with the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade and came after a Thursday call between Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

"We avoided the tariff increase announced for tomorrow," Sheinbaum wrote on X, saying the Trump call was "very good."

About 85% of US imports from Mexico comply with the rules of origin outlined in the USMCA, shielding them from 25% tariffs related to fentanyl, according to Mexico's economy ministry.

Trump said the US would continue to levy a 50% tariff on Mexican steel, aluminium and copper and a 25% tariff on Mexican autos and on non-USMCA-compliant goods subject to tariffs related to the US fentanyl crisis.

"Additionally, Mexico has agreed to immediately terminate its Non-Tariff Trade Barriers, of which there were many," Trump said in a Truth Social post, without providing details.

Indian goods seemed headed for a 25% tariff after talks bogged down over access to India's agriculture sector, drawing a higher-rate threat from Trump that included an unspecified penalty for India's purchases of Russian oil.

New Delhi vowed to protect the country's farm sector, and the threat of higher rates from Trump triggered outrage from the opposition party and a slump in the rupee.

Brazil, China

Trump hit Brazil's exports on Wednesday with a 50% tariff as he escalated his fight with the country over its prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro, but softened the blow by excluding sectors such as aircraft, energy and orange juice from heavier levies.

Meanwhile, China is facing a 12 August deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with Trump's administration after Beijing and Washington reached preliminary deals in May and June to end tit-for-tat tariffs and a cut-off of rare earth minerals.

A US official told reporters that they are making progress toward a deal.