According to a report from Reuters, U.S. President Donald Trump issued final tariff notices to seven minor trading partners on Wednesday as his administration inched closer to a deal with its biggest trading partner, the European Union.
Trump said in posts on his Truth Social media platform that starting August 1 he would impose a 20% tariff on goods from the Philippines, 30% on goods from Sri Lanka, Algeria, Iraq, and Libya, and 25% on Brunei and Moldova.
No letter was issued to the EU, but Trump had said late on Tuesday that he would issue “a minimum of seven” tariff notices on Wednesday morning and more in the afternoon.
The latest letters add to 14 others issued earlier in the week including 25% tariffs for powerhouse U.S. suppliers South Korea and Japan, which are also to take effect August 1 barring any trade deals reached before then.
They were issued a day after Trump said he was broadening his trade war by imposing a 50% tariff on imported copper and would soon introduce long-threatened levies on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. Trump’s rapid-fire tariff moves have cast a shadow over the global economic outlook, paralyzing business decision-making.
Negotiations With the EU
Trump said trade talks have been going well with China and the European Union, which is the biggest bilateral trading partner of the U.S.
Trump said he would “probably” tell the EU within two days what rate it could expect for its exports to the U.S., adding that the 27-nation bloc had become much more cooperative.
“They treated us very badly until recently, and now they’re treating us very nicely. It’s like a different world, actually,” he said.
EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said good progress had been made on a framework trade agreement and a deal may even be possible within days.
Click here to read the full report from Reuters.
