Trump signs order imposing new tariffs on a number of trading partners
that go into effect in 7 days
[August 01, 2025] By
JOSH BOAK
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday 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 next step in his trade agenda that will
test the global economy and sturdiness of American alliances built up
over decades.
The order was issued shortly after 7 p.m. on Thursday. It 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. The senior administration official
said the rates were based on trade imbalance with the U.S. and regional
economic profiles.
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.
The unknowns created a sense of drama that has defined Trump's rollout
of tariffs over several months. However, the one consistency is his
desire to levy the import taxes that most economists say will ultimately
be borne to some degree by U.S. consumers and businesses.
“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 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.” Trump separately on Thursday amended a previous
order to raise the fentanyl-related tariff on Canada from 25% to 35%.
[to top of second column] |
President Donald Trump arrives to sign the VA Home Loan Program
Reform Act into law in the Roosevelt Room at the White House,
Wednesday, July 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
 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.
Going into Thursday, wealthy Switzerland and Norway were still
uncertain about their tariff rates. EU officials were waiting to
complete a crucial document outlining how the framework to tax
imported autos and other goods from the 27-member state bloc would
operate. Trump had announced a deal on Sunday while he was in
Scotland.
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. One of his first significant moves as
president was to impose tariffs on goods from both Mexico and Canada
earlier this year.
U.S. Census Bureau figures show that the U.S. ran a $171.5 billion
trade deficit with Mexico last year. That means the U.S. bought more
goods from Mexico than it sold to the country.
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.
___
Associated Press writers Lorne Cook in Brussels and Jamey Keaten in
Geneva contributed to this report.
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