
Donald Trump imposes new tariffs on 69 countries including India, Canada; Mexico spared; effective on August 7. Photo/X.
President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a wide-ranging set of new tariffs, including a 10 percent global minimum rate and elevated duties of 15 percent or more for countries with trade surpluses with the United States.
The move, made just ahead of a Friday trade deal deadline, imposes steep new tariffs on dozens of America’s trading partners. These include 35 percent on many Canadian goods, 50 percent on Brazilian exports, 25 percent on Indian products, 20 percent on Taiwanese goods, and 39 percent on items from Switzerland.
The tariffs, detailed in an executive order, range from 10 to 41 percent and will take effect in seven days. A total of 69 trading partners , 68 countries plus the European Union, are covered under the new structure. While some have negotiated reduced tariff rates, others were not given the opportunity to engage with the administration prior to the order.
Also Read: Donald Trump Signs Executive Order to Impose New Tariffs on Several US Trading Partners
According to the executive order, countries not explicitly listed in an annexe will automatically face a default US import tariff of 10 percent.
Trump wrote in the order that certain countries, “despite having engaged in negotiations, have offered terms that, in my judgment, do not sufficiently address imbalances in our trading relationship or have failed to align sufficiently with the United States on economic and national-security matters.”
In addition to the general tariff increase, Trump issued a separate directive raising the tariff on certain Canadian goods from 25 percent to 35 percent. This increase, the order states, is tied to fentanyl-related concerns. The administration accused Canada of having “failed to cooperate” in efforts to reduce the flow of fentanyl into the United States.
A US official told reporters that more trade agreements may be announced soon, even as the new set of “reciprocal” tariffs prepares to take effect.
“We have some deals,” the official said. “And I don’t want to get ahead of the President of the United States in announcing those deals.”
Among the 69 entities affected, the following ten countries will see the steepest tariff increases:
Syria , 41%
Laos, 40%
Myanmar (Burma) , 40%
Switzerland, 39%
Iraq, 35%
Serbia, 35%
Algeria, 30%
Bosnia and Herzegovina, 30%
Libya, 30%
South Africa ,30%
While Canada has been hit with higher tariffs, Mexico, the United States’ largest trading partner, was spared from the latest round of increases. Speaking on the contrast between the two, a US official said that Canadian representatives “haven’t shown the same level of constructiveness that we’ve seen from the Mexican side.”
Mexico was granted an extension that shields it from a proposed 30 percent tariff on most non-automotive and non-metal exports, provided those exports meet United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) rules. The decision came following a phone call between Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday morning.
“We avoided the tariff increase announced for tomorrow,” Sheinbaum wrote on X, describing the call with Trump as “very good.”
Mexico’s economy ministry stated that approximately 85 percent of the country’s exports to the US comply with USMCA rules of origin. This shields them from the 25 percent fentanyl-related tariffs.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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