By Christine Chen, Kay Johnson, Farouq Suleiman and Christina Anagnostopoulos
Summay
- U.S. President Donald Trump’s August 1 tariff deadline has arrived
- Trump sets 35% tariff rate on Canada, 25% on India
- Order lists higher rates of up to 41% starting in seven days for 69 trading partners
- Asia shares fall, led by South Korea
- Mexico gets 90-day extension
Trum sets a 39% rate for Swiss imports
- Copper, de minimis imports face changes
Swiss franc weakens against the dollar
Trump’s tariff announcements included a 39% rate for Swiss imports to the U.S.
The Swiss franc is now down 0.5% at 0.81655 to the dollar.
The dollar is set for a 2.7% weekly rise against the Swiss franc, the largest since June 2021.
Trump announced steep tariffs on exports from dozens of trading partners as the 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) deadline for agreeing deals approached.
The rates include a 35% duty on many goods from Canada, 50% for Brazil, 25% for India, 20% for Taiwan and 39% for Switzerland, according to a presidential executive order.
The order listed higher import duty rates of 10% to 41% starting in seven days for 69 trading partners.
Some of them had reached tariff-reducing deals whilst others had no opportunity to negotiate with his administration.
Goods from all other countries not listed would be subject to a 10% U.S. import tax. Trump had previously said that rate might be higher.
The administration also teased that more trade deals were in the pipeline as it seeks to close trade deficits and boost domestic factories.
Trump’s order said that some trading partners, “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.”
Other details are still to come, including on the “rules of origin” that will determine what products might face even higher tariffs.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was disappointed by Trump’s decision, and vowed to take action to protect Canadian jobs and diversify the country’s export markets.
“While we will continue to negotiate with the United States on our trading relationship, the Canadian government is laser focused on what we can control: building Canada strong,” he said in a post on X.
Mexico agreed an extension to its existing deal while negotiations continue, avoiding a 30% tariff on most Mexican non-automotive and non-metal goods compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade.
Goods from India appeared to be headed for a 25% tariff after talks bogged down over access to India’s agriculture sector – drawing a higher-rate threat from Trump that also included an unspecified penalty for India’s purchases of Russian oil.
Although negotiations with India were continuing, New Delhi vowed to protect the country’s labor-intensive farm sector.
Stay with us for the latest developments and reaction throughout Friday.
Malaysian pharma and semiconductors exempt from tariffs, minister says
Malaysian pharmaceutical products and semiconductors will be exempt from the U.S. tariffs, the country’s trade minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said on Friday at a press briefing.
The minister also said that there was no agreement or request to supply rare earths exclusively to the U.S. in tariff talks.
Tengku Zafrul added that the tariffs are set to take effect on August 8, and the two countries would release a joint statement on tariffs in due course.
Relief in Southeast Asia as Trump’s tariffs level playing field
Southeast Asian countries breathed a sigh of relief on Friday after the U.S. announced tariffs on their exports that were far lower than threatened. It leveled the playing field with a rate of about 19% across the region’s biggest economies.
Trump’s global tariffs offensive has shaken Southeast Asia, a region heavily reliant on exports and manufacturing and in many areas boosted by supply chain shifts from China.
Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia joined Indonesia and the Philippines with a 19% U.S. tariff, a month after Washington
Reuters