As promised, President Donald Trump posted screenshots of more form letters on reciprocal tariff rates for countries' products that will begin Aug. 1. The letters were aimed at small trading partners; the largest, the Philippines, was notified it would see a 20% rate, up from 17% in April.
President Donald Trump posted a letter to Brazil's president, telling him: "Due in part to Brazil's insidious attacks on Free Elections and the fundamental Free Speech Rights of Americans," Brazilian exports will face a 50% reciprocal tariff on Aug. 1.
Harris Sliwoski, an international law firm, published a blog post noting that the mention in the Vietnam trade deal framework of 40% tariffs for "transshipped" goods from Vietnam is designed to reduce China's role in supply chains.
President Donald Trump, at a Cabinet meeting conducted in front of the press on July 8, said that an announcement on lumber tariffs or quotas "just came out," adding, "now today, we're doing copper. I believe the tariff on copper we're gonna make that 50%."
A spokesman for the European Commission said the EU is not viewing the new Aug. 1 effective date of higher country-specific reciprocal tariffs as a sign they have more weeks to reach an agreement with the U.S. on tariffs. "Our aim remains to find an agreement before the ninth of July," Olof Gill told reporters in Brussels on July 7.
Two days before the now extended pause on higher country-specific reciprocal tariffs was to end (see 2507070054), President Donald Trump shared screenshots of letters he is sending to trading partners large -- Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia -- and small, informing them what rates their goods will face at the border, starting Aug. 1.
Sidley trade lawyer Ted Murphy sent a note to clients about his thoughts on the U.S.-Vietnam tariff deal announced July 2 "based on what we (think we) know about the deal thus far," though he noted that the deal is likely still being negotiated.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with CNBC on July 3 that the Vietnam deal is "finalized in principle" and that 20% will replace the current 10% reciprocal tariff. As for which goods will be subject to 40% tariffs, Bessent didn't add any clarity. "A huge amount of the trade that comes from Vietnam is what’s called transshipment from China," he said. "We’ll see what happens with the transshipment."
President Donald Trump expressed pessimism about reaching a trade deal with Japan, and suggested that the tariff rate would be higher than the 24% country-specific rate briefly in effect April 9 in comments to reporters traveling on Air Force One July 1.
President Donald Trump posted on social media that Vietnamese goods would face a 20% tariff, rather than an originally proposed 46% reciprocal tariff, in exchange for zero tariffs on U.S. exports.