The trade war continues: Trump attacks with new tariffs
1 August 2025 10:02
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order imposing new tariffs on dozens of US trading partners, while finalizing agreements with some countries, including the UK and the EU. This decision plunges the global economy into a new era of trade confrontation, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports citing the Financial Times.
Among the most affected is Taiwan, the world’s leading semiconductor exporter, which received a 20% duty. Canada, despite its status as an ally, faced a 35% duty, India – 25%, and Switzerland – the highest rate of 39%.
The Trump administration justifies the new duties by the need to reduce the US trade deficit and increase budget revenues. The executive order calls the trade imbalance
“an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States”.
The new system of duties provides for a differentiated approach depending on the trade balance with the United States:
- countries that buy more from the US than they export – 10% duty;
- countries with a small surplus – 15% duty;
- countries with a larger imbalance (not in favor of the US) – even higher rates.
Despite the initial harsh threats, the announced rates turned out to be somewhat softer than those announced by Trump in April on his “liberation day.” However, this still brings the effective US tariff rate to its highest level in a decade.
Some countries managed to avoid the worst consequences thanks to agreements with Washington. The EU, Japan, and South Korea received reduced 15% duties instead of the originally planned higher rates, while the UK retained 10%.
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Canada was a special case – despite Prime Minister Mark Carney ‘s attempts to negotiate with Trump, the country was unable to avoid high duties. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Luthnick, for example, criticized Carney for his “deafness” to recognize Palestine. The day before, Trump himself wrote a post on social media:
“Wow! Canada just announced that it endorses Palestinian statehood. This makes it very difficult for us to sign a trade agreement. Oh, Canada!!!”
– trump wrote.
China has been left out of the new tariffs for now, as it has a separate deadline of August 12 to conclude a trade agreement with the US. This leaves open the question of the largest trade conflict in the world.
Financial markets reacted with restraint to the announcement of the new duties, which contrasts with the sharp drop in April. The dollar strengthened, while futures on major indices showed only a slight decline, suggesting that investors had already priced in the measures.
The new duties will take effect in a week, giving the US Customs Service time to prepare for their implementation. A representative of the administration hinted at the possibility of new agreements, which leaves hope for countries to quickly lift restrictions on their exports.
Ukraine remains subject to the basic 10% tariff announced by Trump in April.
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