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Investing.com - President Donald Trump’s latest trade-related executive order will raise the effective U.S. tariff rate to 16.1%, "less than threatened and less than feared" but above current levels, according to analysts at Wolfe Research.
Ahead of a much-anticipated August 1 deadline for his "reciprocal" duties to come into effect, Trump signed a proclamation on Thursday night lifting tariffs to as much as 50% on dozens of countries, as he steps up his drive to upend a global trading system he has described as unfair to U.S. interests. The levies are now set to activate at 12:01 am on August 7.
Major industrialized economies such as the European Union, Japan and South Korea will face duties of 15%, while other countries who run a trade surplus with the U.S. will be hit with tariffs of 10%.
Even higher tariffs are set to be slapped on other nations, including 50% levies on Brazil. Trump increased tariffs on Canada to 35% for goods that do not comply with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which was signed during Trump’s first term.
Meanwhile, Trump and Mexican counterpart Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexico was granted another 90-day reprieve to forge an agreement with Washington.
In a note, the Wolfe analysts estimated the aggregate tariff hike would amount to roughly $58 billion, below its prior projection of $85 billion, due largely to additional deals with countries notched this week.
"The incremental easing from deals with South Korea et al. was partially offset by higher tariffs on India, Taiwan, and some other countries not covered by Trump’s letters," the strategists wrote.
Meanwhile, the anticipated total effective U.S. tariff rate of 16.1% could rise further when separate sector-specific levies on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals roll out in the weeks ahead, the analysts suggested.