It’s (finally?) time for Trump’s tariffs!

After months of negotiations and tariff threats, which are beginning to put the brakes on the US economy, US President Donald Trump has hit dozens of countries with a new wave of tariffs on imported goods. The surcharges took effect at midnight on Thursday.

Products imported into the United States from over 60 countries and the European Union are now subject to surcharges ranging from 10% to 50%, the White House said.

"It's midnight!!! Billions of dollars in tariffs are now flowing into the United States of America," the president enthused on his Truth Social platform.

Further announcements are likely to follow, as Trump has also said he wants to impose tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. The latter, as well as chips, would be taxed at 100%, according to what he said.

Last week, the Trump administration announced a revised list of import tariffs for dozens of trading partners and extended the deadline for countries to reach agreements with the US to August 7.

The US government had assured us that "dozens of agreements" would be signed in recent months. However, just seven have materialized. These include Japan and South Korea, now taxed at 15%, the Philippines and Indonesia, taxed at 19%, and the UK, taxed at 10%.

At the end of July, the European Union and the United States reached a preliminary agreement to maintain tariffs at 15% for the majority of European products.

Canada and the United States failed to reach a new agreement before Trump's August 1 deadline, resulting in a 35% import tax on certain Canadian products. This rate applies to goods not covered by the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUMA).

A rare exception, Mexico escaped further increases. President Trump has extended by 90 days the tariff measures he currently applies, i.e. 25% on products entering the United States outside the North American Free Trade Agreement.

As for China, Trump has given the country more time to strike deals. The US president has yet to reveal whether he is extending the August 12 deadline for reaching a trade deal with Beijing, which would avert earlier threats of tariffs of up to 245%.

However, some economies have been harder hit, especially those in Southeast Asia, which depend on exports, writes the BBC. This is particularly the case in Laos and Myanmar, where tariffs are set at around 40%. Some experts said Trump appeared to be targeting countries with close trade ties with China, reports the Express media.

Products from Brazil are taxed at 50%. This stems from Trump's accusations against President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of unfairly forwarding American technology companies. The American president also denounces the prosecution of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro for an alleged coup attempt, calling it a "witch hunt."

Some countries, such as Switzerland, taxed at 39%, tried until the last moment to make the Americans reconsider their decision.