U.S. President Donald Trump gestures before boarding Air Force One as he returns to Washington, D.C., in Lossiemouth, Scotland, Britain, July 29, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
President Donald Trump said that he will not extend Friday’s deadline for his “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of countries to restart.
“THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE IS THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE — IT STANDS STRONG, AND WILL NOT BE EXTENDED. A BIG DAY FOR AMERICA!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday morning.
Trump has previously claimed that he would not extend a deadline on those tariffs, before going on to do just that.
In early April, Trump announced that the U.S. would impose a 10% blanket tariff rate nearly worldwide, along with higher individualized duties of up to 50% for dozens of countries.
After days of panic and confusion from investors and world leaders, Trump paused the higher tariff rates for 90 days, which would have seen them restart on July 9.
Trump said he had no plans to extend that deadline — but two days before it arrived, he signed an executive order delaying the date to Aug. 1.
In the weeks before the new tariff start date, Trump issued letters to more than two dozen world leaders setting new import tax rates that their countries’ exports to the U.S. would face beginning in August.
Most of those new tariff rates were close to the April 2 levels that Trump had initially arrived at by using a formula that economists had criticized.
But some were much higher. Brazil, for instance, went from facing a 10% tariff to bracing for a 50% duty, according to Trump’s letter, which complained about the country’s treatment of its former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Trump said in separate letters that he will set a new 35% tariff rate on goods from Canada and a 30% levy on Mexican imports.
On Monday, Trump suggested that he will raise his global baseline tariff rate to around 15% or 20%.
The Trump administration has simultaneously suggested that the new tariffs will help the U.S. by providing leverage in trade negotiations and bringing in revenue from foreign countries — even though tariffs are paid by the importers.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that the new tariffs are contingent upon the status of trade talks with the U.S.
“I would think that it’s not the end of the world if these snapback tariffs are on for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, as long as the countries are moving forward and trying to negotiate in good faith,” Bessent said.
Some, including Japan and the European Union, have negotiated lower U.S. tariff rates ahead of Friday’s deadline as part of preliminary trade agreements with Trump.
This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.