NEW YORK (AP) – Just over three months ago, President Donald Trump unveiled his most sweeping volley of tariffs yet – holding up large charts from the White House Rose Garden to outline new import taxes that the U.S. would soon slap on goods from nearly every country in the world.
Deals made by Trump since pausing his ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs remain sparse
NEW YORK (AP) – Just over three months ago, President Donald Trump unveiled his most sweeping volley of tariffs yet – holding up large charts from the White House Rose Garden to outline new import taxes that the U.S. would soon slap on goods from nearly every country in the world.
But in line with much of Trump’s on-again, off-again trade policy playbook, the bulk of those “Liberation Day” levies in April were postponed just hours after they took effect – in a 90-day suspension that arrived in an apparent effort to quell global market panic and facilitate country-by-country negotiations. At that time, the administration set a lofty goal of reaching 90 trade deals in 90 days.
Now, with the July 9 deadline looming, the U.S. has only announced pacts with the United Kingdom and Vietnam – as well as a “framework″ agreement with China in a separate trade dispute. News of these deals often trickled through social media posts from the president and, even when countries on both sides of a negotiation table made more official announcements, many key details – including timing – were sparse.
The Trump administration has since hinted that some trading partners might get more time for talks. Over the July 4th holiday weekend, Trump said that the U.S. would start sending letters to certain countries warning that higher tariffs could kick in Aug. 1. Trump took to Truth Social on Monday to share letters he sent to the leaders of Japan and South Korea, declaring that both countries would see 25% tariffs on goods entering the U.S. starting Aug. 1.