The White House announced that the implementation of the measures will begin in a week, not on Friday as previously expected, which was considered a short grace period as a form of temporary relief. Trump stated that these tariffs represent an economic show of force aimed at enhancing the position of American exports and encouraging local manufacturing by reducing the flow of foreign imports.
The new measures, stipulated by the executive order, include raising tariffs on dozens of economies up to 41 percent. Previously, in April, Trump announced a minimum tariff of 10 percent on goods coming from most countries worldwide, citing unfair trade practices and the U.S. trade deficit.
The White House released a statement containing a detailed list of over 80 countries, including European countries and Arab states such as Syria, Tunisia, and Iraq, as well as regional countries like Turkey and Israel. Tariffs were imposed on Syria at 41 percent, Iraq at 35 percent, Tunisia at 25 percent, Israel at 15 percent, and Turkey at 15 percent.
In addition to announcing these tariffs, Washington signed agreements with several partners, including Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, and the European Union, while the UK also reached an agreement despite not being targeted by the higher “reciprocal” tariffs.
Trump also announced on Thursday a 90-day delay in raising tariffs on products coming from Mexico after talks with his counterpart Claudia Sheinbaum. Meanwhile, Canada imposed a 35 percent tariff, with exemptions for goods entering under the North American Free Trade Agreement, though goods re-shipped to circumvent the tariffs will face higher levels.
Regarding China, it was temporarily exempted from the new tariffs, but it has a deadline until August 12, after which tariffs could return to higher levels. Previously, Washington and Beijing had exchanged double tariffs before reaching a temporary agreement in May to partially reduce them.
