President Donald Trump on July 11 appeared to leave open the possibility that USMCA goods will remain exempt from a higher 35% tariff on Canada that he announced the previous day.

The trade negotiation letters that have been coming out of the White House could chill potential dealmaking as countries see the lack of benefit in negotiating with President Donald Trump, according to former senior U.S. trade negotiators speaking during a panel discussion. Unimpressed by the pace and scope of current dealmaking, they argued that the breadth of areas that Trump wants to address with tariff solutions may weaken his ability to get what he wants.

In a social media posting the evening of July 9, President Donald Trump wrote, "I am announcing a 50% TARIFF on Copper effective August 1, 2025, after receiving a robust NATIONAL SECURITY ASSESSMENT."

The Brazilian president hit back at President Donald Trump via X late July 9, after Trump said Brazilian goods should face 50% tariffs over the country's censorship of X and other American platforms, and partly because of the trial of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro for an attempt to stay in power when the current president won election.

The FDA’s decision to begin requiring partner government agency filings for some previously exempt products could have an impact on some companies, though generally its effects on the trade will be limited by widespread use of Type 86 filing and the recent end of de minimis for China, Lenny Feldman of Sandler Travis said in an interview.

At a luncheon July 9 with the leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Gabon, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau, President Donald Trump was asked by a reporter if he supported a renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, so that it doesn't end in September.

Georgetown Law professor Jennifer Hillman, a former International Trade Commissioner and a former general counsel in the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, predicted that the Supreme Court may make a decision on the legality of reciprocal tariffs and other tariffs imposed via the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. Hillman, who was speaking on a July 8 webinar about tariffs hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations, has been helping challengers to those tariffs, and she said there's "a very good chance that the legal challenges will at least temporarily derail the tariffs imposed under the [law]."

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.

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