This page contains Flexport’s older updates (late June - mid-July) on the Trump administration’s tariffs and trade policies. Find early updates from mid-March - mid-June here, and even older updates (including our original blog on the 2024 election) here.

For Flexport’s most up-to-date developments and guidance, check out our live tariff and trade blog.

Calculate and analyze tariff impacts in real time with the Flexport Tariff Simulator.

Updated July 16, 2025:

On July 7, President Trump began publishing his first batch of tariff letters laying out trade agreement terms with select nations. These include proposed reciprocal tariff rates—all expected to take effect on August 1, 2025, pending official confirmation via executive order or Federal Register notice.

Duties proposed so far include:

Per the letters, if any of the aforementioned nations raises tariffs on the U.S., then the U.S. will increase its reciprocal tariff on that nation by an identical amount. Additionally, any goods that are transshipped to evade a higher tariff will be subject to that higher tariff.

The original end date for the Trump administration’s 90-day country-specific reciprocal tariff pause was July 9, 2025. Per President Trump’s executive order published July 7, that end date has been postponed to August 1, 2025.

Separately, President Trump announced on July 9 that a 50% tariff on copper imports will take effect on August 1, now that the Commerce Department’s national security investigation into copper has concluded.

President Trump stated that he also plans to impose pharmaceutical tariffs as high as 200%—but will first “give people about a year, a year and a half, to [bring manufacturing operations to the U.S.].”

Finally, on July 6, President Trump announced on Truth Social that he intends to levy an additional 10% tariff on “any country participating in the anti-American policies of BRICS,” with “no exceptions to this policy.”

Prior to President Trump’s announcement, BRICS—an intergovernmental group that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the UAE—released a statement expressing “serious concerns” about unilateral tariffs that “are inconsistent with WTO rules.” BRICS’ statement did not explicitly mention the Trump administration or the United States.

Updated July 7, 2025:

Today, the White House published an executive order postponing the end date for the country-specific reciprocal tariff pause to August 1, 2025. Until then, reciprocal tariffs will remain at their current rates.

Updated July 4, 2025:

The Big Beautiful Bill: A New Chapter in Global Trade

The "Big Beautiful Bill,” represents a significant shift in international trade policy. This legislation aims to rebalance global trade relationships through a combination of targeted tariffs, enhanced supply chain security provisions, and investment in domestic manufacturing capabilities. The bill seeks to address economic concerns through a two-pronged approach: reforming business taxation to incentivize domestic job creation while implementing stronger immigration enforcement measures. For global markets, this signals a move away from unrestricted free trade toward a more managed approach that prioritizes national economic interests and supply chain resilience. While supporters argue it will revitalize domestic industries and create jobs, critics warn that the bill could stifle economic growth by increasing costs for businesses through stricter compliance requirements while potentially exacerbating labor shortages in key industries that rely on immigrant workers. As implementation begins, businesses worldwide are reassessing their international strategies to navigate this evolving trade landscape.

With the passing of the Big Beautiful Bill, many ‘Big’ changes have been made but let’s discuss one in particular…

SEC. 70531 - End of De Minimis

This portion of the bill clarifies that this is for commercial de minimis only. SEC. 70531 of the bill creates a new penalty that is effective in 30 days from enactment. If an importer tries to claim de minimis where they are not otherwise allowed to then a new penalty will be introduced: $5,000 for the first violation and up to $10,000 for each subsequent violation.

Lastly, the Big Beautiful Bill will end De Minimis for all countries on July 1st, 2027 (however, China is still banned from De Minimis today).

Updated July 2, 2025:

President Trump announced on Truth Social a trade agreement between the U.S and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Following discussions with To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the agreement establishes new tariff structures aimed at strengthening economic relations.

The U.S. will apply a 20% tariff on all goods of Vietnamese origin, and a 40% tariff on transshipping activities. As part of the agreement, the U.S. is granted full access to the Vietnamese market, allowing American products to enter Vietnam without any tariffs.

This agreement could significantly impact the export of SUVs and large engine vehicles from the U.S. into Vietnam, expanding the product range available in the Vietnamese market.

A formal announcement, including clarification around the transshipping activities, is still pending.

Updated June 27, 2025:

President Trump stated yesterday that the U.S. had “just signed [a deal] with China,” though it appears that the agreement is unrelated to tariffs. Since then, White House officials have indicated that the deal involves streamlining American access to Chinese rare earth minerals—an essential component of semiconductor manufacturing.

Increasing U.S. access to Chinese rare earth shipments comprised part of the proposed U.S.-China trade agreement President Trump announced earlier this month. However, that agreement—which also includes a 55% tariff rate on China—has yet to be approved by President Trump and President Xi.

Separately, President Trump announced on Truth Social today that the U.S. is “terminating all discussions on trade with Canada, effective immediately,” in light of Canada’s digital services tax on American technology companies. The Trump administration will “let Canada know the tariff that they will be paying to do business with the United States within the next seven-day period,” he added.

The current effective tariff rate on Canada is 25%, excluding energy products (10%) and goods that fall under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) (0%).