President Trump has requested that the EU impose 100% tariffs on India and China to pressure Russia over its war in Ukraine, the Financial Times reported.
Trump made the demand in a call with senior US and EU officials in Washington on Tuesday. A US official said they would «mirror» any tariffs imposed by the EU on China and India.
At the same time, Trump said the US and India have agreed to resume trade negotiations after weeks of back and forth over India’s purchase of Russian oil.
“I am pleased to announce that India, and the United States of America, are continuing negotiations to address the Trade Barriers between our two Nations,” Trump wrote on social media Tuesday.
India Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded on X by saying he is confident trade negotiations will «unlock the limitless potential of the India-US partnership.»
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court said Tuesday it would quickly review a high-stakes legal challenge to President Trump’s tariffs, setting up a resolution as early as this fall.
In an order released Tuesday, the high court put the case on track for oral arguments in early November. That puts the case on an unusually quick track to resolution, especially given its significant political and economic reverberations.
Trump has suggested that the US may have to «unwind» existing trade deals, including with the European Union, Japan, and South Korea, if the Supreme Court doesn’t uphold his tariffs. In social media posts, he has made clear he is banking on the high court’s conservative majority to uphold his signature trade policy.
The tariffs at stake are the sweeping «reciprocal,» country-specific duties Trump has outlined in various steps this year (which you can see in the graphic below). Those duties range from 10% to 50%. Trump has used a 1977 law known as «IEEPA» — the International Emergency Economic Powers Act — to justify imposing the tariffs.
The appeals court allowed the tariffs to stay in place while the case moves through the legal process.
Here are the latest updates as the policy reverberates around the world.
LIVE1839 updates
Carney says major projects coming to combat trade war ‘crisis’
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is planning to announce a series of projects that will aim to improve Canada’s infrastructure amid an ongoing trade war.
Synopsys falls most in 3 decades as trade war hampers sales
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) shares fell 34% on Wednesday after the chip-design software maker warned that US export restrictions are contributing to a slowdown in China, one of the largest markets for semiconductors.
Trump pushes EU to join in tariff discussions against Russia
President Trump has urged the EU to impose 100% tariffs on India and China to raise pressure on Russia over the war in Ukraine, the Financial Times reported.
Trump made the appeal in a call with US and EU officials in Washington on Tuesday. A US official said Washington would match any tariffs the EU imposed, adding:
“We’re ready to go, ready to go right now, but we’re only going to do this if our European partners step up with us,” one US official said.
This comes at the same time Trump posted on Truth Social that negotiations with India were «continuing» and will reach a «successful conclusion.»
Supreme Court agrees to fast-track Trump tariff case
The Supreme Court said Tuesday it would quickly review a high-stakes legal challenge to President Trump’s tariffs, setting up a resolution as early as November.
In an order released Tuesday, the high court put the case on track for oral arguments in early November. It sets the stage for a quick, likely final ruling on a key pillar of the president’s second-term agenda.
Trump’s «reciprocal» tariffs — the duties at issue in the case — are set to remain in place until the high court makes its decision.
‘The party is over’ as European carmakers face tariffs and a price war in China
This week is the Munich car show, Europe’s largest car event, when automakers come together and debut new releases. But with tariffs hanging over the sector the buzz and hype of years before may be gone.
Vietnam exports to US, imports from China fall in August after tariffs take effect
Vietnam’s exports to the United States fell 2% from July to August to $13.94 billion, according to Vietnamese customs data on Tuesday, as a tariff of 20% on shipments to the US took effect.
US, South Korea in deadlock over $350 billion investment fund
South Korea’s negotiations with the US to finalize a trade deal have stalled due to concerns around details relating to a $350 billion investment fund that both sides agreed to as part of a broader trade deal.
A Seoul official has warned that even the shipbuilding partnership is at risk of they fail to reach an agreement.
Leaders of countries that make up the BRICS alliance have continued to decry President Trump’s tariffs and promised to fight against «unjustified and illegal trade practices.»
Trump’s latest tariff shakeup exempts gold, other goods
Early Monday morning, a series of tweaks to Donald Trump’s tariff regime went into effect following an executive order released late Friday. Those adjustments mandated changes to how an array of goods are impacted by the current «reciprocal» tariff setup.
Most notably, the order excluded «bullion-related articles» from tariffs after Trump promised action last month, as fears that gold bars would be subject to duties briefly unleashed turmoil in gold markets. […]
Overall, it was a notable move on Trump’s tariff plans. That’s because this precise «reciprocal» tariff authority the president exercised over the weekend has been ruled illegal by two courts — with the Supreme Court likely to make a final decision in the weeks or months ahead.
«This EO is significant,» wrote Ted Murphy, an international trade lawyer at Sidley Austin. He said the overall message of the order is one of a move away from international rules and that «basically, the President will set (and modify) tariffs on his own initiative.»
«If tariffs can change with 3 days’ notice (over a weekend), can a company really plan ahead?» he added. «Probably not.»
China reviews trade law update as tariff barriers rise
China’s top legislative body said on Monday it has has started reviewing the first update in over 20 years to its foreign trade law, aiming to provide legal support for trade conflict countermeasures.
The revision would let China impose trade bans or restrictions on people or groups seen as a threat to China’s security or sovereignty, according to a report from the Xinhua news agency.
US weighs annual China chip supply approvals for Samsung, Hynix
The US is proposing annual approvals for chipmaking exports to Samsung (005930.KS) and SK Hynix’s (000660.KS) China factories, aiming to avoid global supply disruptions after President Trump ended Biden-era waivers.
US plant raid jolts South Korea and stirs investor, trade anxiety
An immigration raid at a Georgia EV battery plant run by two South Korean firms has unsettled Seoul, coming two weeks after President Trump met President Lee. Its impact on the trade deal remains unclear.
Trump’s tariffs leave US business tied up in costly red tape
One thing President Trump promised to do was to slash red tape for US businesses, butit seems that pledge may already have been broken due to the US president’s sweeping tariffs, which have created more paperwork for American firms.
Lutnick says big trade deals to stay despite ongoing legal battle
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in an interview Friday that President Trump’s trade deals will stay in place despite the ongoing legal battles around tariffs currently taking place.
Reuters reports:
Trump says India and Russia appear ‘lost’ to ‘deepest, darkest China’
President Trump unleashed another scathing attack on China Friday and posted that India and Russia appear to be lost to «deepest, darkest, China.»
This latest comment from Trump follows the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Beijing this week where their leaders stood alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Trump posted: «Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together! President Donald J. Trump.»
President Trump said new tariffs on semiconductor imports are coming soon but noted companies like Apple (AAPL) will be spared due to their US investment pledges.
Analysis: US tariffs still spell big pain for Japan’s small automakers
President Trump has given some relief to Japanese automakers by cutting high US levies on their vehicle sector, but the reduced tariffs still mean pain for Japan’s smaller car companies.
Japan stocks rise as 15% Trump tariff deal sealed brings relief
Japanese stocks rose after President Trump signed an executive order putting his trade deal with Japan into effect, setting tariffs of upto 15% on most products, including cars.
Trump signs executive order implementing trade pact with Japan
President Trump has signed an executive order implementing the US’s trade deal with Japan, the White House said Thursday.
The move cements tariffs of 15% on most imports from Japan.
«Under the Agreement, the United States will apply a baseline 15% tariff on nearly all Japanese imports entering the United States, alongside separate sector-specific treatment for automobiles and automobile parts; aerospace products; generic pharmaceuticals; and natural resources that are not naturally available or produced in the United States,» the order says.
The US trade deficit widened to its largest amount in four months in July as companies raced to import products in order to front-run President Trump’s latest round of broad-based tariffs.
Bloomberg reports that the goods and services trade gap grew nearly 33% from the prior month to $78.3 billion, Commerce Department data showed Thursday. The value of imported goods increased 5.9% in July, driven by industrial supplies, consumer goods, gold, and capital equipment. Exports also ticked higher during the month.
The swings in trade this year have created volatility in gross domestic product (GDP) readings as well, as frequent policy changes have led some importers to pull forward or pause shipments. Following the release of trade deficit data, Goldman Sachs lowered its third quarter GDP growth forecast to 1.6% from 1.7%.
If Trump’s biggest tariffs get thrown out, companies could get a refund — but not consumers
While companies absorb tariff costs and pass some of them along to consumers, President Trump has been touting the amount of money US tariffs are bringing the government.
But if the Supreme Court upholds a lower court’s ruling that the tariffs are illegal, thereby striking them down, the government could have to refund the taxes it has collected on imported goods. That would mark a huge reversal in Trump’s trade policy — but not one that is likely to land consumers any cash back.
India looking beyond US for pharma exports amid tariff tensions
India is seeking to boost drug exports to Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, in an effort to reduce dependence on the US market amid tariff concerns, Reuters reports.
China just made its latest deliberated move in its trade dance with the Trump administration.
Bloomberg reports:
China started imposing levies on additional US optical fiber imports, after a six-month investigation found that American companies had circumvented its anti-dumping measures.
The duties, ranging from 33.3% to 78.2%, took effect Thursday Beijing time on “certain cut-off shifted single-mode optical fiber” from the US, according to a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
Among the companies subject to the new duties, Corning Inc. (GLW) now faces a 37.9% levy, OFS Fitel LLC is at 33.3% and Draka Communications Americas Inc. has a 78.2% duty.
The probe was the first anti-circumvention investigation China has ever initiated, the Mofcom said in a separate statement published Thursday.
Carney sends envoy to DC after ‘constructive’ Trump call
Bloomberg reports on some progress around talks between the US and Canada:
As a reminder, some goods from Canada face 35% US tariffs. But many goods are exempted under the US-Canada-Mexico trade agreement, leading Carney to boast that the effective 5.5% rate is the «lowest average tariff of any country in the world.»
But sectoral duties — and overall certainty — remain a concern:
Bolsonaro’s coup trial speeds ahead as his son tries to keep Trump engaged
Bloomberg has an interesting nugget in a story today about former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s coup trial.
Eduardo Bolsonaro, the former president’s son, took a leave from Brazil’s Congress and moved to the US to lobby President Trump on his father’s cause. He wasn’t pushing for — and didn’t expect — the US leader to respond by levying 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports. Politically, it has backfired.
Analysis: Trump’s tariffs threaten to choke European chemicals recovery
Europe’s chemical makers face new strain as US tariffs disrupt trade. Customers are delaying orders, which is hitting demand in a sector struggling to recover from the region’s 2022 energy crisis.
India minister says country hopes to clinch US trade deal by November
India said it aims to finalize a trade pact with the US by November, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said at an investor conference in Mumbai on Tuesday.
He added that talks with the EU are moving forward and ties with China are improving as broader tensions ease.
Merz offers to help Swiss reduce ‘exorbitant’Trump trade tariff
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has offered Switzerland his support after President Trump hit the export-dependent nation with high tariffs last month.
