HIGHEST LEVELS SINCE 1934
Following Trump’s announcement of higher tariffs for imports from the 14 countries, US research group Yale Budget Lab estimated consumers face an effective US tariff rate of 17.6 per cent, up from 15.8 per cent previously and the highest in nine decades.
Trump’s administration has been touting those tariffs as a significant revenue source. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington has taken in about US$100 billion so far and could collect US$300 billion by the end of the year.
The United States has taken in about US$80 billion annually in tariff revenue in recent years.
The S&P 500 finished slightly lower on Tuesday, a day after Wall Street markets sold off sharply following Trump’s new tariffs announcement.
Trump said he will “probably” tell the European Union within two days what rate it can expect for its exports to the US, adding that the 27-member bloc had been treating his administration “very nicely” in trade talks.
The EU, the largest bilateral trade partner of the US, aims to strike a deal before Aug 1 with concessions for key export industries such as aircraft, medical equipment and spirits, according to EU sources.
Brussels is also considering an arrangement that would protect European automakers with large US production facilities.
However, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil warned that the EU was prepared to retaliate if necessary.
“If we don’t reach a fair trade deal with the US, the EU is ready to take countermeasures,” he said in the lower house of parliament.
Japan, which faces a possible 25 per cent tariff, wants concessions for its large automobile industry and will not sacrifice its agriculture sector, a powerful domestic lobby, for the sake of an early deal, top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said on Tuesday.
South Korea, which also faces a possible 25 per cent tariff, said it planned to intensify trade talks over the coming weeks “to reach a mutually beneficial result”.
Washington and Beijing agreed to a trade framework in June, but with many of the details still unclear, traders and investors are watching to see if it unravels before a separate, US-imposed Aug 12 deadline or leads to a lasting detente.
“We have had a really good relationship with China lately, and we’re getting along with them very well. They’ve been very fair on our trade deal, honestly,” Trump said, adding that he has been speaking regularly with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Trump said the United States would impose tariffs of 25 per cent on goods from Tunisia, Malaysia and Kazakhstan; 30 per cent on South Africa and Bosnia and Herzegovina; 32 per cent on Indonesia; 35 per cent on Serbia and Bangladesh; 36 per cent on Cambodia and Thailand; and 40 per cent on Laos and Myanmar.
