Wyatte Grantham-Philips, AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) – Just three months ago, President Donald Trump still unveiled his most drastic tariff volleys – lifting up a big chart from the White House Rose Garden and outlined a new import tax that would soon slap goods from almost every country in the world.
But along with many of Trump’s repeated trade policy playbooks, the majority of April’s “liberation date” was postponed soon after they came into effect – arrived in clear efforts to quell the panic in the global market and to encourage national and national negotiations. At the time, the administration set a noble goal of reaching 90 trade deals in 90 days.
With the deadline of July 9th now approaching, the US has announced an agreement between the UK and Vietnam. It also announced a “framework” agreement with China in an independent trade dispute. News of these deals were often negotiated through social media posts from the president, with both sides of the negotiation table making more official announcements and many key details included.
Since then, the Trump administration has suggested that some trading partners may increase the time for talks. On the July 4 holiday weekend, Trump said the US would begin warning certain countries that higher tariffs could kick on August 1. Trump challenged the true society on Monday to share a letter he sent to Japanese and South Korean leaders, declaring that both countries would see 25% tariffs on goods entering the US from August 1st.
Even as negotiations are underway, most countries face a minimum of 10% collection of goods that have entered the US over the past three months, in addition to penalizing new taxes targeting foreign steel and aluminum. With a 90-day suspension, Trump has pushed back an additional steep rate calling “mutual” tariffs for dozens of countries.
Here’s what we know about trade transactions announced since April:
Vietnam
On July 2nd, Trump announced a trade agreement with Vietnam. In contrast, Vietnam’s exports to the US will face a 20% collection.
That’s less than half of the 46% “mutual” rate Trump proposed for Vietnamese products in April. But in addition to the new 20% tariff rate, Trump said the US will impose a 40% tax on “transshipping.” It targets products from other countries that have stopped in Vietnam on their way to the US. Washington said it is complaining that Chinese goods are dodging higher US tariffs by passing through Vietnam.
It was not immediately clear when these new rates would come into effect or if they would come above other previously imposed taxes. Like most other countries, Vietnam has faced Trump’s 10% baseline tariffs for the past three months.
England
On May 8, Trump agreed to cut tariffs on UK automobiles, steel and aluminum, but the UK promised to reduce taxation on US products such as olive oil, wine and sports goods. The deal was announced by both countries on grand terms, but some important details remained unknown for weeks.
For example, when the contract was announced, the UK government said the US had agreed to exempt the UK from its unusual 25% of its duties to foreign steel and aluminum.
However, the timing of these cuts actually taking effect remained in the air for almost a month. It was until early June that Trump hiked his steel and aluminum tariffs to be punished 50% worldwide, when the US admitted it was time to implement the agreement. Still, US tariffs on British steel and aluminum did not reach zero. The UK was the only country exempt from Trump’s new 50% tax, but still faces a 25% import tax on metals.
The UK did not receive a higher “mutual” tax rate on April 2, but continues to face a 10% baseline tax.
China
At that peak, Trump’s new tariffs on Chinese goods totaled 145%. And China’s anti-government over American products reached 125%. However, on May 12, countries agreed to their own 90-day ceasefire to roll back their taxes to 30% and 10% respectively. And last month, details began to be fooled about the interim trade agreement.
After consultations in London, on June 11th, Trump announced a “framework” for transactions. And later last month, the US and China both admitted that they had reached some kind of agreement. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent said China has agreed to make it easier for American companies to acquire Chinese magnets and rare earth minerals, which are important for manufacturing and microchip production. Meanwhile, without expressly mentioning access to the US to rare earths, the Chinese Commerce Department said it would “review and approve eligible export applications for controlled items,” and the US would “elevate a series of restrictive measures it has imposed on China.”
Details (and when they actually took effect) regarding these measures were not immediately clear. However, on Friday, the Commerce Department confirmed that the US is resuming exports of plane parts, ethane and other items to China. And when Trump first announced the framework on June 11, he said the US agreed to stop attempting to cancel visas for Chinese students on US university campuses.
Aniruddha Ghosal of Hanoi, Paul Wiseman, and Aniruddha Ghosal of Fu Ting, Fu Ting of Washington DC, Bangkok, and Huizhong Wu contributed to this report.
Original issue: July 7, 2025, 1:41pm EDT
