Trump Imposes New Tariffs on Trading Partners, Effective in 7 Days

President Donald Trump signed an executive order that set new tariffs on a wide swath of U.S. trading partners to go into effect on Aug. 7. The order came after a flurry of tariff-related activity in the last several days, as the White House announced agreements with various nations and blocs ahead of the president's self-imposed Friday deadline.

The tariffs are being implemented at a later date in order for the rates schedule to be harmonized, according to a senior administration official who spoke to reporters on a call on the condition of anonymity. After initially threatening the African nation of Lesotho with a 50% tariff, the country's goods will now be taxed at 15%. Taiwan will have tariffs set at 20%, Pakistan at 19% and Israel, Iceland, Norway, Fiji, Ghana, Guyana and Ecuador among the countries with imported goods taxed at 15%. Switzerland would be tariffed at 39%.

Trump had announced a 50% tariff on goods from Brazil, but the order was only 10% as the other 40% were part of a separate measure approved by Trump on Wednesday. The order capped off a hectic Thursday as nations sought to continue negotiating with Trump. It set the rates for 68 countries and the 27-member European Union, with a baseline 10% rate to be charged on countries not listed in the order.

On Thursday morning, Trump engaged in a phone conversation with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on trade. As a result of the conversation, the U.S. president said he would enter into a 90-day negotiating period with Mexico, one of the nation's largest trading partners. The current 25% tariff rates are staying in place, down from the 30% he had threatened earlier.

“We avoided the tariff increase announced for tomorrow and we got 90 days to build a long-term agreement through dialogue,” Sheinbaum wrote on X after a call with Trump that he referred to as “very successful” in terms of the leaders getting to know each other better.

Trump said that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had called ahead of 35% tariffs being imposed on many of his nation's goods, but “we haven’t spoken to Canada today.”

“We have made a few deals today that are excellent deals for the country,” Trump told reporters on Thursday afternoon, without detailing the terms of those agreements or the nations involved. The senior administration official declined to reveal the nations that have new deals during the call with reporters.

Trump imposed the Friday deadline after his previous “Liberation Day” tariffs in April resulted in a stock market panic. His unusually high tariff rates, unveiled in April, led to recession fears — prompting Trump to impose a 90-day negotiating period. When he was unable to create enough trade deals with other countries, he extended the timeline and sent out letters to world leaders that simply listed rates, prompting a slew of hasty deals.

Trump reached a deal with South Korea on Wednesday, and earlier with the European Union, Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines. His commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, said on Fox News Channel's “Hannity” that there were agreements with Cambodia and Thailand after they had agreed to a ceasefire to their border conflict.

Trump said as part of the agreement with Mexico that goods imported into the U.S. would continue to face a 25% tariff that he has ostensibly linked to fentanyl trafficking. He said autos would face a 25% tariff, while copper, aluminum and steel would be taxed at 50% during the negotiating period.

He said Mexico would end its “Non Tariff Trade Barriers,” but he didn’t provide specifics.

Some goods continue to be protected from the tariffs by the 2020 U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, which Trump negotiated during his first term. But Trump appeared to have soured on that deal, which is up for renegotiation next year.

The imbalance with Mexico has grown in the aftermath of the USMCA, as it was only $63.3 billion in 2016, the year before Trump started his first term in office.