Trump tariffs live updates: Trump pursues mini trade deals as tariff deadline nears
President Trump's team is no longer aiming for big trade deals with many countries, according to a report in the FT on Tuesday. Instead, they are trying to make smaller, quick agreements before July 9, when Trump plans to bring back his toughest tariffs.
These mini deals would help to avoid those harsh levies, but countries would still face existing tariffs while talks continue. Talks continue to take place and Trump is still threatening new tariffs on key sectors like cars, steel and aluminium.
Trump's self-imposed July 9 deadline on tariffs is fast approaching, with the president and top administration officials providing mixed signals on its malleability while countries race to finalize talks.
Trump said Sunday that he didn't think he'd "need to" extend that deadline, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday warned "recalcitrant" countries that a return to steep "Liberation Day" tariffs looms.
In another sign on Monday that the president was moving forward on his threat to send letters to countries rather than waiting to finalize interim deals, Trump posted on Truth Social that he would be sending Japan a letter with a new tariff rate, citing an unwillingness by the country to accept US rice exports.
The comments were the latest signs of ambiguity around the firmness of the self-imposed deadline, when Trump's "pause" on his April 2 duties expires.
Meanwhile, the European Union signaled it was willing to accept a 10% universal tariff on many of its exports but is seeking exemptions for pharmaceuticals, alcohol, semiconductors, and commercial aircraft as part of a trade deal, Bloomberg reported. The EU is also seeking quotas and exemptions to lower duties on autos, steel, and aluminum, the report said.
On the North American front, Canada scrapped its digital services tax on US technology companies, such as Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), and Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) late on Sunday, just hours before it was set to start. The White House said trade talks between the two countries had resumed after Trump threatened to cut off trade talks.
Countries are struggling to get over the finish line on deals, with just over one week until the deadline. So far, Trump has only firmed up one signed trade deal with the United Kingdom.
Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet
Here are the latest updates as the policy reverberates around the world.
LIVE 1290 updates- Featured
36 mins ago Jenny McCall US narrows trade focus to secure deals before Donald Trump’s tariff deadline
President Trump's team has decided to focus on smaller trade deals instead of big, wide-ranging agreements, according to a report in the FT, who cited people familiar with the matter.
The Trump administration is hoping these quick deals will stop the US from bringing back tough tariffs. Officials want to reach phased deals with countries that are most ready to talk before July 9. That is when Trump plans to reimpose harsh tariffs if no agreements are made.
These smaller deals mean countries could avoid the worst tariffs for now. But they would still face some existing tariffs while talks on harder issues continue.
Talks remain complicated and Trump is also thinking about new tariffs on key industries. This approach shows how he uses the threat of tariffs to push countries to agree to US demands.
Mon, June 30, 2025 at 7:14 PM UTC Brett LoGiurato EU prepared to accept Trump's universal tariff but seeks key exemptions
The European Union, looking to clinch a trade deal with the US before a July 9 deadline, is prepared to accept a "universal" tariff of 10% on goods exported to the US, according to a Bloomberg report Monday.
But the bloc is seeking exemptions on key sectors, including pharmaceuticals, alcohol, semiconductors and commercial aircraft.
From Bloomberg:
Read more here.
- Mon, June 30, 2025 at 6:37 PM UTC Grace O'Donnell
Trump says he will be sending Japan a letter, threatening new tariff levels
President Trump said on Monday afternoon he was willing to impose a higher tariff rate on Japan, saying the country refused to accept US rice exports.
"To show people how spoiled Countries have become with respect to the United States of America, and I have great respect for Japan, they won’t take our RICE, and yet they have a massive rice shortage," Trump posted on Truth Social. "In other words, we’ll just be sending them a letter, and we love having them as a Trading Partner for many years to come."
Trump's statement that he would send a letter to Japan outlining the new tariff rate comes a little more than a week before a July 9 deadline and after months of being locked in trade talks with Japanese leaders. Trump has threatened to send letters to trading partners should negotiations break down.
During trade talks, Japan has sought an exemption from the Trump administration's 25% auto duties. Broad tariffs on Japanese goods were set to jump back up to 24% on July 9 if no deal is reached and the tariff pause is not extended.
Read more here.
- Mon, June 30, 2025 at 3:33 PM UTC Brett LoGiurato
Hassett: Canada trade talks to restart 'immediately' after country scraps tax
- Mon, June 30, 2025 at 3:30 PM UTC Brett LoGiurato
Bessent warns countries on July 9 deadline
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned "recalcitrant" countries that their tariff levels could soon snap back to "Liberation Day" levels, the latest sign of ambiguity in President Trump's firmness around a July 9 deadline.
Via Reuters:
Administration officials — and Trump himself — have sent mixed signals on whether he may look to extend that deadline. Trump on Sunday suggested he didn't think he'd "need to" extend it.
- Mon, June 30, 2025 at 1:24 PM UTC Jenny McCall
Tariffs start to bite as US prices of China-made goods jump on Amazon
Tariffs pressures have started to hit goods, with prices on products made in China sold on Amazon (AMZN) rising faster than overall inflation, according to 1,400 different items which were analysed by DataWeave and provided exclusively to Reuters.
Reuters reports:
Read more here.
- Mon, June 30, 2025 at 12:48 PM UTC Jenny McCall
This could be the summer of economic hell
CNN reports:
Read more here.
- Mon, June 30, 2025 at 11:45 AM UTC Jenny McCall
EU Commission: EU tech rules not included in US trade talks
The European Union is pushing back against the US and its criticism of the bloc's tech rules, which many feared may have been included as part of trade negotiations.
Reuters reports:
Read more here.
- Mon, June 30, 2025 at 11:30 AM UTC Jenny McCall
Fed versus Trump on tariffs impact will soon be put to the test
There is a belief among economists that President Trump's tariffs will help boost inflation over the next few months. But so far, muted price increases have called that belief into question. This has helped to embolden Trump, causing divisions with the Fed.
Bloomberg News reports:
Read more here.
- Mon, June 30, 2025 at 10:50 AM UTC Jenny McCall
Trading partners brace for US tariff deadlines
South Korea is looking for an extension to the July 9 tariff deadline as talks continue. The US has raised concerns over non-tariff barriers and broader defence. South Korea is not the only country looking to reach a deal with the US before the tariff deadline on July 9.
"It seems some countries will reach a deal by July 8, some might be granted an extension to continue negotiations, while others will decide if they want to continue negotiating under tariffs or not," the South Korean official told a briefing.
Here's how some of the other trading partners are managing the deadline.
China
The US and China reached a deal to resume rare earth exports in London this month, resolving delays in implementing the Geneva agreement, which was established in May. Both sides are keen to ease tensions before tariffs rise further on August 9, when broader duties could rise 50%.
Canada
Canada scrapped its planned digital services tax targeting US tech firms on Sunday in an attempt to revive stalled talks. President Trump threatened new tariffs within a week if no deal is reached. According to Reuters, talks aim for an agreement by July 21.
EU
EU negotiators are pushing to keep reciprocal tariffs below 10% but Washington is pursuing a 10% baseline rate on most goods. Talks continue as the EU faces a looming deadline of July 9.
UK
The US-UK trade deal was cemented at the G-7 Summit this month. The deal came into force this week, reducing levies on cars and aircraft parts but keeping 10% tariffs on exports. Steel and aluminium tariffs remain unresloved ahead of the July 9 deadline.
Japan
Japan is seeking exemption from US auto tariffs, which currently stand at 25%, while also facing a new 24% reciprocal tariff from July 9. Trump wants Japan to import more US energy to reduce its trade surplus.
Mexico
The US and Mexico are negotiating a quota deal to reduce Trump's 50% steel tariffs. An agreement may allow for lower import rates.
- Mon, June 30, 2025 at 9:08 AM UTC Jenny McCall
Goldman: US profit margins face key risk from tariffs
As earning season approaches, Goldman Sachs (GS) said on Monday that US profit margins will be tested as investors await to see how President Trump's war has hurt companies.
Goldman's David Kostin said Q2 earnings will show the immediate impact of tariffs, which have risen about 10% this year. Most costs will be passed on to consumers, but margins will suffer if firms absorb more than expected.
Early results are mixed: General Mills (GIS) stock fell 5% last week due to a weak forecast and tariff warning, while Nike (NKE) rose 15% after announcing it will offset higher duties.
Bloomberg News reports:
Read more here.
- Mon, June 30, 2025 at 8:37 AM UTC Jenny McCall
Canada rescinds digital services tax to advance stalled US trade talks
Canada scrapped its planned digital services tax on US tech firms late Sunday, just hours before it was due to start.
The move aims to revive stalled trade talks with the US, which halted on Friday over the tax, with President Trump calling it a "blatant attack."
Canada's finance ministry said Prime Minister Mark Carney and Trump plan to reach a deal by July 21.
Trump warned on Friday he would set new tariffs on Canadian goods within a week, risking fresh tension between the two countries.
The 3% tech tax would have hit firms like Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG), and Amazon (AMZN), but Canada will now bring forward legislation to cancel it.
"The DST was announced in 2020 to address the fact that many large technology companies operating in Canada may not otherwise pay tax on revenues generated from Canadians," a statement from the Canadian finance ministry said. "Canada’s preference has always been a multilateral agreement related to digital services taxation."
- Sun, June 29, 2025 at 8:44 PM UTC Bloomberg
With 10 days to go, Trump admin coming up short of predicted tariff deals
Despite predictions from members of President Trump's administration that it could complete "90 deals in 90 days," the White House doesn't appear to be anywhere close to the sweeping global trade reform it was seeking, Bloomberg reports:
Read more here
- Sun, June 29, 2025 at 4:18 PM UTC Bloomberg
'I don't think I'll need to': Trump not planning to extend July 9 tariff deadline
In a wide-ranging interview during which he also said he had a buyer for TikTok (whom he did not name), President Donald Trump he did not think he would need to extend a July 9 tariffs deadline, Bloomberg reports:
Read more here
- Sat, June 28, 2025 at 9:05 PM UTC Associated Press
Fourth of July fireworks displays won't be impacted by tariffs this year. Next year might be a different story.
As the Independence Day holiday approaches, the fireworks used in displays across the US likely won't be affected by President Trump's tariffs, at least, not yet. A 90-day pause on the levies slated for imports from China is in effect, but such tariffs would hit the fireworks industry hard. Nearly all the fireworks used in the US are imported from China, the Associated Press reports.
The price tag on future fireworks displays, however, are up in the air:
Read more here
Sat, June 28, 2025 at 6:14 PM UTC Ben Werschkul 'We can do whatever we want': Trump sows confusion on his summer tariff timeline
The market's task of planning for how tariff developments will play out this summer got more complicated Friday as President Trump and his team offered a host of options for what to expect in the months ahead.
First, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent raised eyebrows when he suggested that his focus could be on an end-of-summer deadline, saying, "I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day."
But any hopes for a summer lull between now and then were short-lived when, just a few hours later, Trump offered multiple other scenarios during a wide-ranging press conference.
At one point, the president reiterated his plan to send letters to dictate tariff rates for at least some countries, perhaps as soon as next week, saying, "It's going to go very quickly."
Minutes later, he said that a July 9 deadline to raise "reciprocal" tariffs is not set and perhaps could move, but in an unpredictable direction.
"We can do whatever we want," he told reporters of that deadline. "We could extend it, we could make it shorter," adding that his preference was to make it shorter.
Read more here
- Fri, June 27, 2025 at 6:21 PM UTC Brett LoGiurato
Trump says he's cutting off trade talks with Canada
President Trump on Friday said he is cutting off all trade talks with Canada, threatening to set a new tariff rate on goods imported from the country within the next week.
The reason, according to Trump: Canada's plan to implement a digital services tax, which could affect US tech companies.
Trump's about-face throws a potential wrench in weeks of trade progress. Just hours earlier, the US and China cemented the trade truce first agreed to last month in Geneva.
Here's Trump's Truth Social post on Canada, in full:
- Fri, June 27, 2025 at 5:04 PM UTC Grace O'Donnell
President Trump leaves question over July 9 tariff deadline open
On Friday afternoon, President Trump touted tariff revenue and an influx of domestic manufacturing but offered few details on the state of tariff negotiations ahead of the July 9 deadline, when the tariff pause expires.
The president acknowledged that the administration won't be able to reach deals with 200-plus countries over the next week and a half. But he did not definitively say whether tariff rates would jump back up to "Liberation Day" levels.
"We can do whatever we want," Trump told reporters in a press briefing, referring to the tariff pause. "We could extend it. We could make it shorter — I'd like to make it shorter. I'd like to just send letters out to everybody: 'Congratulations, you're paying 25%'"
So far, the Trump administration has confirmed preliminary trade agreements with China (as of today) and the UK. Trump noted that officials are in the process of negotiating other deals, which he said are "going to go very quickly."
In particular, Trump again teased a potential deal with India, which has faced roadblocks in recent weeks over some of the country's protectionist policies for certain sectors.
"Some of the bigger countries, India, I think we're going to reach a deal where we have the right to go in and trade," Trump said. "Right now, it's restricted. ... We're looking to get a full trade barrier dropping, which is unthinkable, and I'm not sure that that's going to happen, but as of this moment, we've agreed to go into Indian trade."
- Fri, June 27, 2025 at 4:07 PM UTC Brett LoGiurato
US, EU confident of reaching a deal by July 9 deadline
US and EU officials are confident of clinching a trade deal before a July 9 deadline, Bloomberg reported Friday.
Amid continued progress on China, the US-EU talks have come in high focus ahead of that deadline, with US tariffs of up to 50% looming on EU imports.
From the report:
Read more here.
- Fri, June 27, 2025 at 12:41 PM UTC Grace O'Donnell
Bessent: 'We could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day'
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday that the US could wrap up its most important trade deals by Labor Day.
"Secretary Lutnick said yesterday that he expects 10 more deals," Bessent told Fox Business Network in an interview. "So if we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18, there are another important 20 relationships, then I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day."
Bessent's comments come after the US and China signed an interim trade agreement on Friday that would reduce tariffs while the two sides work toward a formal deal.
Trump administration officials have softened their stance toward the July 9 deadline they set for themselves to hammer out trade pacts. On Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the early July deadline "is not critical" while Trump's top economic adviser said he expected the US to extend the pause for countries negotiating "in good faith."
