Overview

• President Trump on July 7 extended trade-talk deadlines with a dozen partners to August 1 and outlined conditional tariffs contingent on lowering Chinese-content in their exports.
• Under the new Vietnam deal, most Vietnamese goods will face a 20% tariff and any "transshipped" items a 40% duty to block tariff evasion.
• Countries that do not meet content thresholds risk significant duties—Japan and South Korea 25%, Cambodia 36%, and Myanmar and Laos 40%—as part of the administration’s strategy.
• The president also threatened an extra 10% tariff on nations aligning with BRICS policies, intensifying pressure on China-aligned blocs.
• The U.S. Justice Department has elevated trade and customs fraud enforcement even as undefined "transshipment" rules and component-value thresholds create uncertainty and elicit Chinese promises of countermeasures.