President Donald Trump started his second term with many new economic policies, one of the most being tariffs. Since the beginning of this year, tariffs have been imposed on most of the world’s countries in one form or another.
After markets roiled in March and April of this year, after the so-called “Liberation Day”, Trump suspended the implementation of most blanket tariffs until July 9th – two days ago. Then, he announced that further tariff increases were suspended into August – nearly a month later.
So, what’s actually to come next in the Trump tariff saga?
Although many tariffs were pushed to August, on July 9th, President Trump sent a series of letters to different countries outlining new tariff rates. The countries who received letters were the Philippines, Moldova, Brunei, Sri Lanka, Libya, Iraq, and Algeria. On Monday, July 7th, Trump sent letters to Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, South Africa, Kazakhstan, Laos, Myanmar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tunisia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Serbia, Cambodia and Thailand.
Trump’s goal is to pressure the countries to strike new tariff deals or face steep tariffs on August 1st, 2025. The letters all contained different tariff rates depending on the country, with rates ranging from 20% up to 40%.
For close U.S. allies, the situation is no different: uncertainty reigns supreme.
Meanwhile, other countries that are close allies to the U.S. face a similar fate: the U.S. has threatened further tariff increases and new tariff categories if deals are not struck.
Canada and the U.S. suspended talks before reinstating them after Canada dropped a digital tax we previously reported on. Mexico is continuing talks with Trump, hoping to avoid further tariffs.
Brazil saw its tariff rate projected to rise to 50%.
On July 9th, President Trump released a letter sent to the government of Brazil, threatening tariffs of 50%. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva threatened reciprocity in return. Tariffs on Brazil are currently 10%, so a 50% level would mark a huge increase. In the letter, Trump mentions the treatment of former Brazilian President and Trump friend Jair Bolsonaro as a reason for the large increase, hoping to exert leverage on the Brazilian government.
Although Trump says the trade relationship with Brazil has resulted in a U.S. trade deficit, the U.S. actually has a trade surplus with Brazil, according to U.S. government data.
The only certainty is uncertainty when it comes to Trump’s tariffs.
No one knows what exactly will happen with Trump’s tariffs. The August 1st deadline may be pushed back, as has been the case previously. Or, it may come and many countries will have negotiated trade deals with the U.S. in hopes of avoiding the worst. We will continue to keep you posted on the specifics of Trump’s tariffs as they are negotiated away, or implemented.
