New rates that can potentially redraw contours of global economy go into effect on August 7

US President Donald Trump on Friday imposed steep tariffs on exports from dozens of trading partners, including Canada, Brazil, India and Taiwan, ahead of a trade deal deadline, pressing ahead with plans to reorder the global economy. The new rates go into effect on August 7.

Trump set rates including a 35% duty on many goods from Canada, 50% for Brazil, 25% for India, 20% for Taiwan and 39% for Switzerland, according to a presidential executive order.

Pakistan will have tariffs set at 19% and Israel, Iceland, Norway, Fiji, Ghana, Guyana and Ecuador among the countries with imported goods taxed at 15%.

The order listed import duty rates of 10% to 41% for 69 trading partners. Some of them had reached tariff-reducing deals while others had no opportunity to negotiate. Goods from all other countries not listed would face a 10% US import tax.

China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with Trump's administration after Beijing and Washington reached preliminary deals in May and June to end tit-for-tat tariffs and a cut-off of rare earth minerals.

Trump said that Canadian PM Mark Carney had called ahead of 35% tariffs being imposed on many of his nation’s goods, but “we haven’t spoken to Canada today.” Trump separately amended a previous order to raise the fentanyl-related tariff on Canada from 25% to 35%.

US federal appeals court judges on Thursday questioned Trump's use of the emergency powers to justify his tariffs of up to 50% on nearly all trading partners.

Trump invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to declare an emergency over the growing US trade deficit and impose his "reciprocal" tariffs and a separate fentanyl emergency. 

Cut prices in 60 days, US prez tells pharma majors

President Donald Trump on Thursday said he asked major pharmaceutical companies to take steps to cut US drug prices within the next 60 days.

On Truth Social on Thursday, Trump posted individual letters he sent 17 drugmakers: AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Genentech, Gilead, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Regeneron and Sanofi

Trump threatened to “deploy every tool in our arsenal to protect American families from continued abusive drug pricing practices” if companies refuse to comply. He asked for each company to commit to his several goals by September 29.