Trump moves tariff deadline, Brazil singled out for 50% import duty

President Donald Trump: "The tariffs, as you know, are starting to come in at record levels. Tremendous amounts of money are coming in.”

This week, President Donald Trump moved his  deadline for imposing tariffs on countries who have yet to make a deal with the U.S. from last Wednesday to August 1st. Those who fail to make a deal are being threatened with an additional 10% increase in duties. 

Sec. Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury Department: "...we will be taking in about $100 billion in tariff income thus far this year and that's with the major tariff not having started until the second quarter. So, we could expect that that could be well over $300 billion by the end of the year. 

The exact breakdown of which importer is paying the tariffs wasn’t immediately made known. Tariffs are used as a way to correct a trade imbalance and, usually, the fees are passed on to the consumer.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates tariffs will bring in $2.8 trillion over the next decade. Bessent says the estimate is low. The federal deficit for 2025 is $1.36 trillion and the national debt is $36.2 trillion.

Trump sent out letters to 22 nations this week, including major trading partners South Korea and Japan, threatening tariff increases ranging from 25% to 40% if no deal was reached by the deadline. Trump singled out Brazil with a 50% duty because he believes the trial of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is charged with trying to overturn his 2022 election loss, is a “witch hunt.” Current president Lula da Silva says that if the tariff is imposed, the South American economic powerhouse will retaliate by suspending trade, investment and intellectual property agreements. 

At the end of the week, President Trump said he would add a 35% tariff to goods imported from Canada, the nation’s number one trading partner.

For Market to Market, I’m David Miller.

contact: Miller@iowapbs.org