The White House said that President Trump would sign an order “at some point this afternoon or later this evening” to impose the sweeping new reciprocal tariff rates, set to go into effect at midnight on August 1st, but the President announced that Mexico will get a 90-day reprieve to continue ongoing trade negotiations. This means the Trump Administration will leave in place the 25% fentanyl tariff rate announced in April rather than increasing general tariffs on Mexico to 35%. The 90-day delay leaves in place the current 25% tariff on cars from Mexico, and the 50% Tariff on steel, aluminum, and copper from Mexico. The announcement on Mexico stands in sharp contrast to the President’s statement on a trade deal with Canada. Trump posted on social media that Canada’s backing statehood for Palestine “will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh Canada!!!” Absent a deal or a reprieve like the one extended to Mexico, U.S. general tariffs on Canada will rise from 25% to 35%. Despite the President’s social media post, Treasury Secretary Bessent says trade negotiations with Canada are ongoing and focused on aluminum tariffs, as some U.S. manufacturers—including U.S. automakers—are facing financial strain due to the 50% tariff on Canadian aluminum.
Relatedly, on Wednesday, President Trump signed a proclamation increasing tariffs on imports of several categories of copper into the United States effective August 1st. The proclamation imposes a universal 50% tariff on imports of semi-finished copper products (such as pipes, sheets, and tubes) and copper-intensive derivative products (pipe fittings, cables, connectors, and electrical components). The proclamation also authorizes the Commerce Department to take steps under the Defense Production Act to support the domestic copper industry, including requiring that 25% of high-quality copper scrap be sold within the U.S. It also mandates copper input materials (such as copper ores, concentrates, mattes, cathodes, and anodes) produced in the United States to be sold in the United States—starting at 25% in 2027, increasing to 30% in 2028 and 40% in 2029. A fact sheet on the proclamation is available here.
The copper tariffs come after President Trump announced that the U.S. reached a trade agreement with the European Union (E.U.) that would impose a 15% tariff rate on E.U. goods entering the U.S. The deal includes a European pledge to purchase $750 billion worth of U.S. oil, natural gas, and nuclear fuel over three years as part of Europe’s strategy to end its dependence on Russian gas. The White House posted a fact sheet on the deal. Industry analysts, however, are skeptical of the energy deal because private companies, not governments, handle most energy procurement in the E.U. based on market forces and the E.U. can’t dictate to private companies where they buy energy or force them to breach existing long-term supply agreements with other countries.