Customs duties: "Billions of dollars are flowing into the United States," says Donald Trump

"It's midnight!!! Billions of dollars in tariffs are now flowing into the United States of America!" US President Donald Trump welcomed the entry into force of new tariffs with dozens of countries on his Truth Social network on Thursday, August 7, outlining the new world trade order imposed on its partners. These various surcharges, which came into force at 6:01 a.m. Paris time, a week after the US president signed the decree , replace, for the economies concerned, the 10% tariff applied since April on almost all products entering the United States.

According to Donald Trump, this is about rebalancing trade between the United States and its partners, who, according to him , "benefit" from the leading economic power. "Billions of dollars, largely from countries that have profited from the United States while rubbing their hands, will begin to flow into the United States," the leader had already trumpeted a few minutes before the deadline.

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These surcharges fall within a wide range, between 15% and 41%. The European Union (EU), Japan, and South Korea, which are among the United States' main trading partners, are now subject to a rate of at least 15%.

Before these new taxes took effect, the average effective rate applied to products entering the country was 18.4%, the highest since 1933, according to Yale University's Budget Lab research center. This additional increase is expected to bring that rate to nearly 20%, according to analysts at Pantheon Macroeconomics. This would make it the highest since the early 1930s, according to the Budget Lab.

And further announcements are expected to follow, as the White House president also wants to tax imported pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. The latter, along with chips, should be subject to a 100% tax , he said Wednesday, without providing further details.

Some countries, such as Switzerland, tried until the last minute to change the rate assigned to them, with the Confederation sending its President, Karin Keller-Sutter, and its Minister of Economy, Guy Parmelin, to Washington. So far, while the American government assured that "dozens of agreements" would be signed in recent months, only seven have materialized, notably those with the European Union, Japan, and the United Kingdom. These are most often only preliminary agreements, to be formalized, accompanied by promises of massive investments in the United States from the countries or blocs concerned.

A rare exception, Mexico has escaped the new increases. President Trump extended for 90 days the customs conditions it currently benefits from, namely 25% on products entering the United States outside the North American Free Trade Agreement. However, the situation is not relaxing with Canada, which saw the surtax applied to its products increase to 35% on August 1. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, however, played down the impact of this surtax, estimating that more than 85% of Canadian exports to its neighbor were not affected.

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The Trump administration has been particularly tough on certain countries. Last week, Donald Trump signed a decree imposing a 50% customs surcharge on Brazil, which came into effect on Wednesday. Again, the numerous exceptions mean that less than 35% of products are affected, according to Brasilia. This surcharge is Trump's retaliation for the prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro, his far-right ally, accused of attempting a coup d'état after his defeat in the 2022 election.

India is facing tariffs of 25%, which will rise to 50% in three weeks on a number of products, as Donald Trump criticizes New Delhi for the lack of openness in its economy and its purchases of Russian oil under sanctions.

The countries concerned are nevertheless beginning to adapt: Brazil, which has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO), wants to help its companies diversify their markets. For their part, Canada and Mexico want to expand their economic cooperation to become less dependent on the United States, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum emphasized on Wednesday.

President Trump has touted the agreements already reached, which boost government revenues for a heavily indebted economy. However, the impact of tariffs continues to worry economists, who see them weighing on US inflation, which rose to 2.6% in June, with the risk of slowing growth, with analysts expecting it to reach no more than 1% at an annualized rate in the second half of the year.