Here is a summary of the tariffs Trump has introduced in his second presidency as he pushes to reshape global trading ties.
- Global tariffs -
US "reciprocal" tariffs are due to jump from 10 percent to various higher levels for a list of dozens of economies come August 1, including the European Union and Japan.
The hike would have taken effect on July 9 but Trump postponed it, marking a second delay since their shock unveiling in April.
Trump in April also slapped a 10 percent "baseline" levy on most trading partners, which remains in place.
He has since begun issuing letters dictating tariff rates above 10 percent for individual countries, including Brazil, which has a trade deficit with the United States and was not on the initial list of higher "reciprocal" rates.
Only the UK and Vietnam have struck initial trade deals with Washington -- both include tariffs remaining in effect -- while China has managed to temporarily lower tit-for-tat duties.
Certain products such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and lumber are excluded from these tariffs, but may face separate action, as has already been the case for steel, aluminum, and soon copper. Gold and silver, alongside energy commodities, are also excluded.
Some nations have also been excluded, including US neighbors Canada and Mexico -- who have been separately targeted over illegal immigration and fentanyl -- and Russia.
- Canada, Mexico -
Canadian and Mexican products were hit by 25 percent US tariffs shortly after Trump returned to office this year, with a lower rate for Canadian energy.
But trade negotiations have been bumpy. Trump announced Thursday that Canadian goods will face a higher 35 percent duty from August 1.
Products entering the United States under the USMCA North American free trade pact, covering large swaths of products, are expected to remain exempt -- with Canadian energy resources and potash, used as fertilizer, to still face lower rates.
- China focus -
Trump has also taken special aim at China. The world's two biggest economies engaged in an escalating tariffs war this year before their temporary pullback.
Both sides imposed triple-digit duties on each other at one point, a level effectively described as a trade embargo.
After high level talks, Washington lowered its levies on Chinese goods to 30 percent and Beijing slashed its own to 10 percent, with the pause due to expire in mid-August.
The US level is higher as it includes a 20 percent tariff over China's alleged role in the global fentanyl trade.
Beyond expansive tariffs on Chinese products, Trump ordered the closure of a duty-free exemption for low-value parcels from the country. This adds to the cost of importing items like clothing and small electronics.
- Autos, metals -
Trump has targeted individual business sectors, imposing a 25 percent levy on steel and aluminum imports which he has since doubled to 50 percent.
On Wednesday, Trump unveiled plans for a 50 percent tariff on copper imports starting August 1.
He has also rolled out a 25 percent tariff on imported autos, although those entering under the USMCA can qualify for a lower rate.
Trump's auto tariffs impact vehicle parts too, although the president has issued rules to ensure automakers paying vehicle tariffs will not also be charged for certain other duties.
And he has ongoing investigations into imports of lumber, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and critical minerals that could result in further duties.
- Legal challenges -
Trump's sweeping tariffs have faced legal challenges. The US Court of International Trade ruled in May that Trump had overstepped his authority with across-the-board global levies.
It blocked many of the duties from going into effect, prompting the Trump administration's challenge. A US federal appeals court has allowed these duties to remain while it considers the case.
Trump hits Brazil with 50% tariff, sets date for copper levy
Washington (AFP) July 10, 2025 -
President Donald Trump announced a 50-percent tariff Wednesday targeting Brazil as he blasted the trial of the country's ex-leader, and said a US "national security" levy on copper would begin in August.
In a letter addressed to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Trump criticized the treatment of his right-wing ally Jair Bolsonaro as an "international disgrace."
Bolsonaro is facing trial over accusations he plotted a coup after his narrow 2022 election loss to Lula.
In response to Trump's tariff letter, Lula warned of possible reciprocation, writing on social media that "any unilateral tariff increases will be addressed in light of the Brazilian Law of Economic Reciprocity."
Brazil said earlier on Wednesday it had summoned the US charge d'affaires over Trump's previous criticism of the Bolsonaro trial.
The 50-percent US tariff on Brazilian goods will take effect August 1, Trump said in his letter, mirroring a deadline that dozens of other economies face.
On that same date, a 50-percent tariff on US imports of copper -- a key metal used in green energy and other technologies -- will take effect, Trump announced Wednesday evening on social media.
He said the move followed a "robust NATIONAL SECURITY ASSESSMENT," likely alluding to a Department of Commerce investigation into copper launched this year.
"Copper is the second most used material by the Department of Defense!" Trump said.
- Escalation threats -
Trump's message to Lula was the latest in more than 20 such letters the US president has released since Monday, after repeatedly threatening to simply decide a rate for countries as negotiations continue over his elevated "reciprocal" tariffs.
Brazil had not been among those threatened previously with duties above a 10-percent baseline, and the United States runs a goods trade surplus with Brazil.
China said in response that "arbitrary" tariffs such as the 50-percent levy on copper "serve no party's interests".
"We have always opposed the overstretching of the concept of national security," foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular news conference.
On Wednesday, Trump also addressed letters to leaders of the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Algeria, Libya, Iraq and Moldova, spelling out duties ranging from 20 percent to 30 percent that would also take effect on August 1.
Similar to a first batch of documents published Monday, the levels were not too far from those originally threatened in April, although some partners received notably lower rates this time.
While Trump in April imposed a 10-percent levy on almost all trading partners, he unveiled -- and then withheld -- higher rates for dozens of economies.
The deadline for those steeper levels to take effect was meant to be Wednesday, before Trump postponed it further to August 1.
Countries that faced the threats of elevated duties began receiving letters spelling out US tariff rates on their products.
In the messages, Trump justified his tariffs as a response to trade ties that he says are "far from Reciprocal."
The letters urged countries to manufacture products in the United States to avoid duties, while threatening further escalation if leaders retaliated.
Other countries that have received Trump's letters include key US allies Japan and South Korea, as well as Indonesia, Bangladesh and Thailand.
- EU deal in 'coming days'? -
Analysts have noted that Asian countries have been a key target so far.
But all eyes are on the state of negotiations with major partners who have yet to receive such letters, including the European Union.
European stock markets rose at the start of trading on Thursday, with London hitting a fresh record high on optimism that governments will strike deals to avoid the worst of US tariffs.
The Trump administration is under pressure to unveil more trade pacts. So far, Washington has only reached agreements with Britain and Vietnam, alongside a deal to temporarily lower tit-for-tat levies with China.
Trump said on Tuesday his government was "probably two days off" from sending the EU a letter with an updated tariff rate.
An EU spokesperson said Wednesday the bloc wants to strike a deal with the United States "in the coming days," and has shown readiness to reach an agreement in principle.
Apart from tariffs targeting goods from different countries, Trump has rolled out sector-specific duties on steel, aluminum and autos since returning to the White House in January.
US and China have 'positive' meeting at ASEAN foreign minister talks
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) July 11, 2025 -
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi had a "positive" meeting in Malaysia on Friday, both sides said, in an apparent bid to ease tensions between the rival powers.
Rubio and Wang's first face-to-face meeting since US President Donald Trump returned to office came as Washington and Beijing are locked in disputes ranging from trade to Taiwan -- and both countries vie for greater influence in the region.
"I thought it was a very constructive and positive meeting," Rubio told reporters after the hour-long talks in capital Kuala Lumpur, but he stressed: "It was not a negotiation."
"I think we left it feeling as there's some areas we're gonna be able to work together on."
Rubio was also optimistic that a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping would happen.
"There's a strong desire on both sides to do it," Rubio said, adding no date was set.
Beijing said in a statement "both sides agreed that the meeting was positive, pragmatic and constructive".
Both countries agreed to "enhance communication and dialogue through diplomatic channels... and explore expanding cooperation areas while managing differences," China's foreign ministry said.
The sit-down between Wang and Rubio, a longtime China hawk, came as Asian foreign ministers wrapped up three days of talks at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations gathering in Kuala Lumpur.
Top diplomats from Russia, the European Union, Australia, Britain and Canada also attended.
- 'Not sustainable ' -
US officials said ahead of Rubio's first trip to the region as secretary of state that Washington was "prioritising" its commitment to East and Southeast Asia.
While US tariffs overshadowed the gathering, Rubio said he was "warmly received" by Asian partners as he sought to placate concerns over the duties.
"If you look at some of these trade deficits, they're massive. That has to be addressed," Rubio said at the end of his whirlwind trip.
"Everybody here is a mature leader who understands that that's not sustainable."
Trump has threatened punitive tariffs ranging from 20 to 50 percent against more than 20 countries, many in Asia, if they do not strike deals with Washington by August 1.
ASEAN described the tariffs as "counterproductive" and a threat to regional growth, according to a joint statement released Friday.
Long-time US ally Japan faces a 25 percent across-the-board levy, separate from similar charges already imposed on cars, steel and aluminium. South Korea faces a similar tariff.
Rubio met his Japanese and South Korean counterparts on Friday, with his spokeswoman Tammy Bruce calling it an "indispensable relationship".
Wang told Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim earlier Friday that Washington's "unilateral imposition of high tariffs is irresponsible and unpopular," according to a foreign ministry statement.
Malaysia's Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan told a closing news conference the ASEAN meeting mentioned "each country's concerns respectively" regarding tariffs.
Tensions between the United States and China have ratcheted up since Trump took office in January, with both countries engaging in a tariff war that briefly sent duties on each other's exports sky-high.
- Deep mistrust -
Washington hit China with additional levies of 145 percent on its goods as both sides engaged in tit-for-tat escalation, while China's countermeasures on US goods reached 125 percent.
Beijing and Washington agreed in May to temporarily slash the staggering tariffs -- an outcome Trump dubbed a "total reset".
However, deep mistrust remains between the two countries, with each suspecting the other of trying to weaken its influence.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accused China in late May of "credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power" in the Asia-Pacific region.
He also claimed that Beijing "trains every day" to invade self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory.
In response, Chinese diplomats accused the United States of using the Taiwan issue to "contain China" and called on Washington to stop "playing with fire".
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