Trump’s new elevated tariffs come into effect in latest escalation of trade war

Investing.com - U.S. President Donald Trump’s heightened tariffs on more than 90 countries snapped into effect after midnight Eastern time on Thursday, in another step forward for the White House’s ongoing drive to overhaul global trade.

Levies of 15% are now in effect for nations like Bolivia and Nigeria, while a 20% import tax has been slapped others, like Taiwan. Brazil and India are facing even higher tariffs in response to Trump’s displeasure with local policies -- in Brazil’s case, the prosecution of his political ally Jair Bolsonaro and, in India’s, the purchase of Russian oil.

A slew of other trading partners, including Britain, the European Union, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam, notched preliminary trade deals with Washington prior to the implementation of the new duties, giving them tariff rates ranging between 15% to 20% in exchange for opening their markets to American goods and, in some cases, pledging to invest in the United States.

Meanwhile, a 30% levy on Chinese goods is still in effect following a trade truce between Washington and Beijing earlier this year, but the agreement is set to expire on August 12.

Canada has been slapped with a 35% levy, while Mexico clinched a 90-day extension to Trump’s tariffs amid ongoing talks with Washington. 

The president has long criticized major U.S. trading partners for allegedly taking advantage of the U.S., with his tariffs aimed at reducing the country’s massive trade deficit. A bulk of this deficit is with China, against whom the U.S. still maintained about 50% tariffs.

Trump also threatened to place a 100% levy on all semiconductor imports, as part of a bid to reshore domestic chip manufacturing. However, he mentioned that companies who promise to invest and build in the U.S. will be exempted.

Amid this caveat, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook joined Trump at the White House on Wednesday to unveil a commitment to devote $100 billion in additional investment into the United States.

Cook particularly highlighted the California-based iPhone maker’s drive to increase its American manufacturing presence and bring much of its vast supply chain back to the U.S. Cook said he was taking Trump’s call for Apple to reshore its operations "very seriously."

Shares in Apple were higher by more than 2% in extended hours trading on Thursday after jumping by over 5% a day before.

Apple previously announced earlier this year that it was planning to plug $500 billion in fresh investments into the U.S., adding that it would hire some 20,000 workers over the next four years and construct a new plant in Texas focused on the creation of the machines needed to undergird its artificial intelligence ambitions.

Still, Apple has yet to bring all the manufacturing processes of its flagship iPhone to the U.S., despite Trump’s claim in May that he would put a 25% tariff on imported smartphones. Instead, Apple has shifted some of its iPhone production from China to Asian nations like India and Thailand.

(Ambar Warrick contributed reporting.)