President Donald Trump warned that his August 1 deadline for making a trade deal with the U.S. ‘stands strong’ on Wednesday, threatening several key nations with a big tariff hike.
‘The August first deadline is the August first deadline — it stands strong, and will not be extended. A big day for America!’ Trump wrote on Truth Social, using all-caps.
Here are the major countries that still need to negotiate deals with the U.S.
Canada
Trump sent a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney threatening a 35% tariff if a deal isn’t struck, but negotiations appear to have stalled.
‘We haven’t really had a lot of luck with Canada. I think Canada could be one where they’ll just pay tariffs. It’s not really a negotiation,’ Trump said of the negotiations with our neighbor to the north on Friday.
Carney himself said on Monday that negotiations have reached an ‘intense phase.’
‘It’s a complex negotiation. You see with the various trade deals that have been agreed to by other jurisdictions — the European Union yesterday, Japan before that, Indonesia, United Kingdom — that there are many elements to these negotiations. We’re engaged in them. But the assurance for Canadian businesses, for Canadians, is we will only sign a deal that’s a good deal, the right deal for Canada,’ he told reporters Monday.
According to the US Trade Representative (USTR), Canada is America’s third-largest importer, totaling $412.7 billion in 2024. The U.S. exported $349.4 billion to Canada in the same year.
Mexico
Trump sent a similar letter to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum earlier this month, this one threatening a 30% tariff.
No deal has been struck as of Wednesday, however, and neither party has been vocal about where negotiations stand.
Mexico is America’s top source of imports, totaling $506 billion in 2024, according to the USTR. Meanwhile, the U.S. exported $334 billion to the country over the same year.
China
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent negotiated with Chinese officials in Sweden this week and said Tuesday that the talks were ‘very constructive.’
He emphasized to reporters that no final agreement was made, however. Unlike most countries, China is facing an August 12 deadline rather than August 1, giving them somewhat more breathing room for negotiations.
‘Nothing is agreed until we speak with President Trump,’ Bessent told reporters.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox News on Monday that the deadline for China could be extended even further than August 12, though that decision will be up to Trump.
South Korea
Trump warned South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in a July 7 letter that the country would face a 25% blanket tariff if a deal isn’t reached by August 1.
Lee’s office said late last week that it was preparing a proposal. Lutnick met with three top Korean officials in Washington this week, though no news has come out of the meeting.
Taiwan
Taiwan has yet to reach a trade deal with the Trump administration, but Taipei has a delegation in Washington hoping to reach one before August 1, Reuters reported Wednesday.
The self-governed island is facing a 32% tariff if it does not secure a deal.
‘All the relevant talks are still ongoing,’ one source familiar with the talks told Reuters, with another saying negotiators were still in the U.S.
‘We hope these negotiations will accomplish four objectives: safeguarding national interests, protecting industrial interests, ensuring public health, and securing food safety. These objectives serve dual purposes: promoting balanced bilateral trade between Taiwan and the U.S., and enhancing cooperation in diverse areas like technology and national security,’ Taiwan’s cabinet said in a statement.
India
Trump appears to have slammed the door shut early on India, announcing on Truth Social that the country will face a 25% tariff across the board beginning August 1.
‘Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the world, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers of any country. Also, they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia’s largest buyer of energy, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine — all things not good!’ Trump wrote.
‘India will therefore be paying a tariff of 25%, plus a penalty for the above, starting on August first. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAGA!’ he added.
Brazil
Trump threatened a massive 50% blanket tariff on Brazilian goods in a letter to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva earlier in July.
Trump credited the higher rate to Brazil’s prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who many compared to Trump himself. The U.S. president said Bolsonaro was the victim of a ‘witch hunt.’
Lula’s regime has requested that the U.S. exempt certain industries from the tariffs, but a deal before August 1 appears unlikely.
