Trump gives Mexico a tariff delay on eve of major trade deadline. Live updates here.

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4 days ago

From left, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Donald Trump arrive for the family photograph during the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, June 16, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a flurry of trade activity ahead of Friday's official start of his new tariffs regime — executive actions including 50% tariffs on Brazil, a 15% tax on American imports from South Korea and an end to exemptions for imported goods worth less than $800.
The implementation is being portrayed by the White House as a testament to Trump's negotiating skills, even as concerns persist that the taxes will stunt the U.S. economy and increase inflation in ways that disproportionately harm working-class Americans. And while Trump has been getting his way on trade, strong-arming the European Union, Japan and other partners, he's facing at least seven lawsuits charging that he's overstepped his authority.
Here's the Latest:
Mexico president applauds delay
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum applauded yet another delay in threatened tariffs from the Trump administration after speaking with Trump Thursday morning.
'We had a very good call with United States President Donald Trump. We avoided the tariff increase announced for tomorrow and we got 90 days to build a long-term agreement through dialogue,' Sheinbaum wrote on X.
Mexico had faced the prospect of 30% tariff from Trump set to start Friday.
Brazil says 35% of exports to the U.S. affected
Brazil's Vice President Geraldo Alckmin said Thursday that 35% of the country's exports to the United States will be affected by Trump's new 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods.
Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to impose the tariffs, citing Brazil's policies and the criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro as an 'economic emergency' under a 1977 law.
The order exempts certain items, including civil aircraft and parts, aluminum, tin, wood pulp, energy products and fertilizers. Alckmin said those items make up 45% of Brazilian exports to the U.S., while another 20% — such as steel — were already subject to higher tariffs.
Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said Trump's order marks the start of talks, not the end of the process. He added that U.S. officials appeared receptive to Brazil's concerns. 'There is a lot of injustice in the measures announced yesterday,' Haddad told reporters, noting his office is scheduling a second meeting with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Ferrari awaits clarification on EU tariffs
Luxury sportscar maker Ferrari said Thursday that it was awaiting confirmation of tariffs on European imports to the U.S. before scaling back a price surcharge imposed in April.
Ferrari, which last year sold some 4,000 cars in the Americas, raised prices by 10% on imports to the United States after April 2, except for the Ferrari 296, SF90 and Roma model families. CEO Benedetto Vigna said that until there is an executive order lowering tariffs on imported cars, Ferrari will maintain the higher prices.
'It's very difficult to judge, because the order intake depends very much on the cars that we have available for order, and since we are close to the end of the life cycles of several of our models and others are sold out, we can't really measure the overall sentiment,'' CFO Antonio Picca Piccon added.
Cars shipments from Europe prepare for latest price increases
A light drizzle off the North Sea washed tens of thousands of cars ready to load on a giant cargo ship — all with a brand new increase in price thanks to American tariffs rolling out worldwide.
Belgium's coastline is one of the chokepoints of the global trade in automobiles — brought by trains and trucks from the factories of Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and BMW and others to ship to customers overseas in the United Kingdom, Asia, the Middle East, South America and North America.
The port of Zeebrugge exports about 1.8 million cars every year from Europe around the world. And at just one terminal run by Internation Car Operators, about 70,000 cars sat waiting on teams of drivers in white gloves to drive them into a massive container ship shaped like a shoe box. When Trump initially announced global tariffs on cars, manufacturers scrambled to get their vehicles to customers before the tariff deadline. But following an agreement between Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the uncertainty is giving way to business-as-usual — just with a heftier price tag for consumers.
The auto industry in Europe celebrated the deal, but cautioned that more negotiations are needed — noting that higher tariffs from the US on European cars will continue to negatively impact the industry.
Further clarification on EU-US trade deal remains in flux
The European Union is working on the assumption that the U.S. will impose a 15% tariff on most EU exports on Friday, even though the two sides have yet to complete a key document clarifying how the agreement will operate.
Under a political agreement reached last weekend, Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the 15% duties would be imposed on around two-thirds of EU goods. But as of Thursday the two sides were still working on a joint statement that would lay out the terms of their understanding, EU commission spokesman Olof Gill said.
Carve outs were agreed for a range of 'strategic' goods like aircraft and aircraft parts, certain chemicals, some drug generics or natural resources. Gill said that 'it is also our clear understanding that the U.S. will implement the exemptions to the 15% ceiling.'
'The U.S. has made these commitments. Now it's up to the US to implement them. The ball is in their court,' Gill said. He added that negotiations on additional exemptions to the new tariff regime continue.
French skincare: Tariffs will lead to rising prices
French skincare company Yon-Ka is warning of job freezes, scaled-back investment, and rising prices after the U.S. and EU struck a trade deal that will see 15% tariffs imposed on most European goods entering the American market.
'The U.S. market is our first client', said Alexis Wolkowinski, President of Yon-Ka, in an interview at the company's headquarters outside Paris. 'We are strong in the U.S., but because we are strong, it's impacted us more than anything else. So yes, it's very, very difficult for us to have to support this tax.'
Roughly 25% of Yon-Ka's global turnover comes from the United States, Wolkowinski said. With the added burden of a weaker dollar against the euro, the tariff adds further pressure on margins.
A modest price increase of 3–4% is likely in the coming months — far from enough to offset the added costs. 'We'll have to bear a lot of these costs on our shoulders,' he added.
Trump lashes out at India
The president suggested on Truth Social that he plans to do as little trade as possible with India and Russia.
'I don't care what India does with Russia,' Trump posted. 'They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let's keep it that way.'
Trump announced on Wednesday 25% tariffs on goods from India and additional penalties for India's reliance on Russia for oil and military equipment.
Tariffs spelled disaster for clothing factory
In the tiny African nation of Lesotho, clothing manufacturer Tzicc's business has dried up in the face of tariffs imposed by Trump's administration. A few months ago, work was steady. The factory's 1,300 employees have made and exported sportswear to American stores, including JCPenney, Walmart and Costco.
A sewing machine is covered by a sheet inside the empty Tzicc clothing factory following the threat of U.S.-imposed tariffs in Maseru, Lesotho, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)
But when Trump announced sweeping new tariffs in April, Lesotho found itself topping the list, with a rate of 50%.
Since then, Trump backed off — temporarily. During a monthslong pause for trade talks, the U.S. has charged a baseline 10% tariff and announced new rates for dozens of countries starting Friday. Lesotho's rate will be set at Trump's whim, with aides suggesting that tariffs charged on goods from smaller African countries could top 10%.
Many nations have received letters laying out a new tariff. With the pause set to expire Friday, Lesotho officials say they've not received one and they find themselves among the countries where Trump says officials simply don't have time for one-on-one negotiations.(backslash)
Canada's Palestinian state plan
Trump said Canada's announcement it will recognize a Palestinian state 'will make it very hard' for the U.S. to reach a trade agreement with its northern neighbor.
The threat posted in the early hours Thursday on Trump's social media network is the latest way he has sought to use his trade war to coerce countries on unrelated issues, and is a swing from the ambivalence he has expressed about other countries making such a move.
'Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine,' Trump posted on Truth Social just past midnight. 'That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh' Canada!!!
The Republican president said this week that he didn't mind British Prime Minister Keir Starmer taking a position on the issue of formally recognizing Palestinian statehood. And last week, he said French President Emmanuel Macron's similar move was 'not going to change anything.'
Trump's flurry of trade activity
The United States will impose a 25% tariff on goods from India, plus an additional import tax because of India's purchasing of Russian oil, Trump said Wednesday.
The new tariffs were part of a flurry of trade activity that included a series of executive actions regarding Brazil, copper and shipments of goods worth less than $800, as well as a reduced 15% tax on imports from South Korea, including its autos.
It was all a prelude to Friday when Trump's new tariff regime is scheduled to start, an event the White House has portrayed as a testament to Trump's negotiating skills even as concerns persist about the taxes hurting growth and increasing inflationary pressures.
The South Korea agreement will impose a 15% tariff, instead of the 25% Trump had threatened. South Korea would also buy $100 billion in energy resources from the U.S. and provide $350 billion for 'investments owned and controlled by the United States, and selected by myself, as president,' Trump said.
Trump and his tariffs face court challenge
Trump has been getting his way on trade, strong-arming the European Union, Japan and other partners to accept once unthinkably high taxes on their exports to the United States.
But his radical overhaul of American trade policy has not gone unchallenged. He's facing at least seven lawsuits charging that he's overstepped his authority. The plaintiffs want his biggest, boldest tariffs thrown out.
And they won Round One. Now it goes on to Round Two.
On Thursday, the 11 judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, which typically specializes in patent law, are scheduled to hear oral arguments from the Trump administration and from the states and businesses that want his sweeping import taxes struck down.
That court earlier allowed the federal government to continue collecting Trump's tariffs as the case works its way through the judicial system.
The Associated Press