Confused about where things stand with Trump's tariffs? Here's a primer

This week was supposed to mark the deadline for other countries to strike trade deals with the U.S. — or face tariffs of up to 49% on the goods they sell in the United States.

President Donald Trump is still threatening sky-high import taxes, but he has pushed back the effective date to Aug. 1, sowing even more uncertainty.

Here's an update on where Trump's tariff policy stands, including which tariffs he has in place and which countries are currently affected.

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A 10% tariff applies to just about everything the U.S. imports

Starting in April, Trump imposed a minimum 10% tariff on nearly everything the U.S. imports (with a few exceptions, such as cellphones and computers), although goods from China face a higher tariff rate of 30%.

The average tariff rate is now at the highest it has been since the 1930s. The government collected nearly $30 billion in tariff revenue during June, according to a daily tracker at the Bipartisan Policy Center. That's roughly three times what it collected in March, before the worldwide tariffs were announced.

While foreign companies may absorb some of the cost of those tariffs, the bulk of the expense is borne by U.S. businesses and consumers.

Higher tariffs on tap for other countries — maybe

Imports from many countries initially faced higher tariffs, including 24% on goods from Japan and 49% on goods from Cambodia.

The news prompted a sharp sell-off in the stock market, and Trump quickly backtracked — announcing a 90-day pause on those higher tariffs to allow time for trade negotiations.

As that 90-day window expires this week, Trump is once again calling for significantly higher tariffs on imports from more than a dozen countries — in most cases similar to the rates announced in April.

On Tuesday, for example, Trump said he would impose a 25% tariff on goods from Japan and South Korea. Wednesday he announced tariffs of up to 30% on goods from Libya and Iraq. In each case, though, he has postponed the effective date until Aug. 1, suggesting the tariffs could be adjusted again.

"Putting off the increased levy will no doubt bring some short-term relief for impacted business owners and purchasing managers, though it does little to alleviate the pervasive sense of uncertainty," wrote Wells Fargo economists Shannon Grein and Tim Quinlan in a research note.

That uncertainty has been a drag on the U.S. economy, especially the manufacturing sector.

A recent report from the Institute for Supply Management said tariffs are weighing on factory orders.

"The erratic trade policy with on-again/off-again tariffs has led to price uncertainty for customers, who appear to be prepared to hold off large capital purchases until stability returns," said one unnamed factory manager quoted in the report.

China already has a higher tariff after tit-for-tat retaliations

Goods from China are currently taxed at a minimum of 30%, which is higher than imports from other countries — but that's still a relative bargain after Chinese products were briefly hit with tariffs as high as 145%. Some Chinese products face additional tariffs, left over from Trump's first term in the White House.

Trump is frustrated that China sells much more to the U.S. — everything from cheap toys to fireworks — than it buys from American companies. The president has also accused China of not doing enough to crack down on the fentanyl trade.

Tariffs have led to uncertainty in sectors reliant on imports, including at the Port of Los Angeles.

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The European Union could also face stiffer tariffs

In April, Trump announced taxes of 20% on goods from the European Union, before rolling that back to 10%. He has yet to announce a new tariff rate for European products, but he has suggested it could be as high as 50%.

Europe has so far not imposed retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports, but that's likely to change if the trade war escalates.

Mexico and Canada face special scrutiny

Mexico and Canada were among the first countries, along with China, that Trump targeted with tariffs this year.

Trump initially taxed imports from Mexico and Canada at a rate of 25% (or 10% for Canadian energy), but he later exempted that tariff for goods covered under a 2020 trade deal — the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) — which Trump himself had signed during his first term as president.

The tariff relief for goods under that USMCA trade agreement was ostensibly in response to Mexico and Canada taking action to curb illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking, although the angry reaction to tariffs from investors and businesspeople also may have played a role.

Mexican and Canadian goods that aren't covered by the USMCA still face a 25% import tax.

The U.K. and Vietnam are the only two countries with deals in place.

They were the first to strike trade deals with the Trump administration, agreeing to increase U.S. access to their markets in exchange for limited tariffs on exports to the United States.

Trump agreed to keep tariffs on imports from the U.K. at the 10% baseline level, while imports from Vietnam will be taxed at 20%.

In April, Trump had threatened to impose tariffs as high as 46% on goods from Vietnam. Some exporters that used to produce goods in China have shifted operations to Vietnam to take advantage of lower tariffs on that country's exports.

Separate tariffs apply to steel, aluminum and autos

Trump has imposed additional tariffs on certain goods as he tries to protect some U.S. industries.

Imported steel and aluminum are currently being taxed at a rate of 50% (except for steel and aluminum from the U.K., which is taxed at 25%), while imported cars and car parts are being taxed at 25% (except for those covered under the USMCA agreement, which are tariff-free).
In addition to taxing raw steel and aluminum imports, the administration has added tariffs on some products made from those metals. That's designed to avoid what happened during Trump's first term as president, when U.S. metal manufacturers had to pay higher prices for raw materials, only to be outsold by imported finished goods.

Rolls of steel sit in a yard at Canadian steel company Stelco's Hamilton Works plant in Hamilton, Ontario, on June 4.

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Other tariffs on some categories may be coming

The administration is also weighing additional tariffs on specific categories of imports, including copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and lumber.

But tariffs also face a legal challenge

In ordering many of the tariffs listed above, Trump relied on a 1977 statute called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Several states and businesses have challenged those tariffs, saying the law doesn't give the president power to impose sweeping import taxes in response to a long-running U.S. trade deficit.

A specialty federal trade court agreed in May and struck down the tariffs. However, they've been allowed to remain in effect as the administration pursues an appeal.

If the courts ultimately rule against Trump's worldwide tariffs under that 1977 law, he would still have the power under other statutes to impose tariffs on particular goods like steel and aluminum.

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