Last week, President Trump signed an Executive Order modifying reciprocal tariff rates on most U.S. trade partners. For countries or trade blocs that have already reached or announced agreements, the tariff rate remains unchanged. For countries that have not yet agreed to trade frameworks with the U.S., this EO informs their new tariff rate for goods entering the U.S. These new tariff rates went into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 7.
• For all countries that did not receive specific tariff rates in the new EO, the baseline duty is 10%.
• The EO also established a 40% tariff on any goods that Customs and Border Protection determines to be “transshipped,” or goods that are shipped from one country to another, modified in some way, and then shipped to the U.S. to avoid higher tariff rates.
• Find the full list of new tariff rates here.
Take note: While these tariff rates are greatly reduced from the higher levels announced on April 2, the new rates represent the highest U.S. tariff levels since the mid-1930s, according to The Budget Lab at Yale University.
Country-Specific Orders: Trump also signed or updated several country-specific EOs regarding tariffs:
• Canada: Modified the previous EO regarding tariffs on Canadian imports, raising the tariff on goods from Canada to 35%, up 10% from the 25% tariff previously in place. This is in response to continued disagreement between the U.S. and Canada on addressing the fentanyl crisis. Importantly for U.S. soy, goods qualifying for preferential tariff treatment under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) continue to remain exempt from these tariffs.
• Mexico: The elevated tariff rate expected to go into effect Aug. 1 is delayed 90 days to give both countries more time for negotiations. President Trump previously sent a letter to Mexico informing them that short of a deal, their tariff rate would rise to 30%. At this time, the EO codifying this pause has not been signed.
• Brazil: Trump signed an EO regarding tariffs on imports from Brazil. Citing the persecution of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and utilizing the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), Brazil’s tariff rate of 40% began at 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 6. This tariff is stacked on top of the 10% reciprocal tariff, bringing Brazil’s total tariff on goods into the U.S. to 50%.
o Some goods like orange juice were exempted from the order, while others such as coffee and beef tallow, were not.
o In addition to the increased tariff rates, the U.S. has initiated a Section 301 investigation into imports from Brazil.
• India: Trump signed an EO on Aug. 6 raising tariffs on Indian imports by 25%, for a total of 50%, due to the country’s continued imports of Russian oil. The tariffs will take effect in 21 days.
• China: Last week, the U.S. and China met again in Stockholm, Sweden, to continue negotiating towards a trade deal between the two countries. While it was widely reported that the upcoming Aug. 12 tariff deadline would be extended, no such announcement has been made by the White House.
Should the current pause in tariffs expire on Aug. 12, tariffs between the two countries will revert to levels upwards of 145%. U.S. soy currently faces a total duty, including retaliatory tariffs, of 34.07% going into the Chinese market.
The trade and tariffs situation continues to evolve rapidly and draw media attention to U.S. soybean growers and ASA.
