US President Donald Trump is set to enforce sweeping new tariffs from midnight Friday following a week of intense last-minute trade talks that yielded agreements with just a handful of nations. While several countries now face punitive levies as high as 50 percent, Mexico has been granted a 90-day reprieve, fuelling speculation that more such pauses may be announced in the coming hours.
White House officials said Trump, emboldened by recent trade breakthroughs with Japan, the European Union, South Korea, Thailand, Pakistan and Cambodia, is determined to proceed with the tariff implementation he first announced in April. The move, they said, comes despite concerns on Wall Street that such protectionist measures could derail global markets.
Trump’s economic team is said to feel vindicated, having secured limited deals under pressure of the looming deadline. Talks with other major US trading partners – including India, Canada, Australia and Brazil – are ongoing, and further reprieves remain possible if meaningful progress is made, officials added.
Mexico, which was among the nations previously threatened with steep tariffs, received a 90-day extension on Thursday after Trump held what he described as a “very successful” phone call with President Claudia Sheinbaum. Trump praised growing mutual understanding with the Mexican leader and cited the "complexities" of the border relationship as a reason for the pause.
“Mexico will continue to pay a 25 percent fentanyl tariff, 25 percent tariff on cars, and 50 percent on steel, aluminium, and copper,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He added that Mexico had agreed to terminate several non-tariff trade barriers, without offering specifics.
The delay prompted speculation that other countries may also be offered last-minute extensions. But dozens of nations—ranging from some of the world’s poorest, such as Lesotho, Nepal and Bangladesh, to wealthy economies like Taiwan and Canada—remain without agreements and are at risk of being hit with new import duties from Friday.
Trump’s tariff plan, initially unveiled as part of a retaliatory “reciprocal” strategy against what he called years of exploitation by trading partners, threatens to impose tariffs of up to 50 percent on countries that do not secure new deals.
Brazil faces one of the steepest penalties. Unless a deal is struck, it will be subject to a 50 percent tariff for allegedly failing to curtail investigations against former president Jair Bolsonaro—a move Trump derided as a “witch-hunt”.
Canada, too, is in Trump’s firing line. A deal appeared possible earlier this week, but Trump cast doubt on the talks after Ottawa announced its support for Palestinian statehood. “That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh’ Canada!!!” Trump posted online.
While trade talks with China had previously been granted a grace period, a new deadline of August 12 looms. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a deal with Beijing was “close”, and Trump has also suggested that an agreement with Australia is within reach.
Of the 60 countries initially targeted under Trump’s sweeping tariff plan, only eight have successfully reached a deal with Washington so far. Businesses and consumers now await clarity on whether further exemptions or agreements will emerge before the tariffs bite.
Companies that import goods into the US will be directly responsible for paying the new duties. Experts warn that many are likely to pass on the additional costs to consumers, fuelling inflation and market volatility.
As Trump presses ahead with his agenda, global markets and governments are left bracing for potential economic aftershocks and further diplomatic turmoil.
