6m agoFri 1 Aug 2025 at 12:39am

Some other Trump tariff news you might have missed

There’s been a lot of tariff info swirling around this week.

One thing you might have missed is that US President Donald Trump has suspended the so-called “de minimis” exemption that allowed packages worth less than $US800 to get into the United States without tariffs.

The exemption has already been axed on shipments going into the US from China, impacting massive online retailers like Shein and Temu.

Now the rest of the world’s shipments won’t get the free pass from July 1 either. They will now get one of two types of tariffs, depending on their origin.

ABC News has reached out to several Australian brands that ship into the US.

The owner of one swimwear company, Bond Eye, told us it “knew this was coming” and the company has already moved its online shipping logistics to inside the US.

If you’re still confused by this tax exemption that’s now ended for all brands going into the US, I can recommend this piece by our colleague Kate Ainsworth from earlier this year.

16m agoFri 1 Aug 2025 at 12:28am

Market reaction to new tariffs ‘relatively subdued’

That’s according to analyst Tony Sycamore.

He notes that financial market indicators including the AUD/USD exchange rate, US market futures and the gold spot price are all relatively stable right now, despite the latest order out of Washington about extra tariffs being imposed on about 70 nations.

Tony writes:

“Market reactions to the newly announced tariffs, have been relatively subdued, largely due to recent trade agreements with the EU, Japan, and South Korea and others that have mitigated their impact.

“Mexico’s 90-day tariff reprieve and positive progress on US-China trade talks, as noted by President Trump, further softened the blow.”

“Additionally, markets which learned the hard way in April, have since then grown accustomed to tariffs being negotiated lower or them leading to trade deals and/or extensions, reducing initial concerns.”

Yet he writes that this subdued reaction could change, if countries retaliate with more tariffs, and then this leads to further higher US tariffs.

Australia is one of the first markets to open post-Trump annoucement. It is worth noting that the ASX has opened lower this morning, currently it is down about 1%. 

“And that’s due to a combination of the new tariffs this morning and the falls on Wall Street Overnight,” Tony says.

“As long, as the ASX200 holds above support at 8620/00, the uptrend remains intact. Much below that would suggest some cracks are starting to appear.”

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27m agoFri 1 Aug 2025 at 12:18am

ASX extending falls

The local share market is extending its early falls, with the ASX 200 down 1 per cent now and the broader All Ordinaries index off 0.9 per cent.

34m agoFri 1 Aug 2025 at 12:10am

It looks like Taiwan has struck its deal with US

Taiwan is a major exporter of crucial electronic parts like computer chips.

It was facing a tariff of 32% on goods going into the United States. In recent days global financial news outlets have been reporting that Taiwan and the US were getting closer to an agreement on a lower rate.

Now the annex released shows Taiwan is getting a tariff of 20%. That’s the same as Vietnam and Bangladesh, which also export a lot of goods like garments, but higher than Japan.

37m agoFri 1 Aug 2025 at 12:08amAustralian share market opens in the red after tariff announcement

The Australian share market is open for trade, and just a few minutes in the benchmark ASX 200 index is down around three-quarters of a per cent.

49m agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 11:55pm

Rules on trans-shipments still to be finalised: US official

A senior US official has said the “technicalities” regarding trans-shipped goods are still being finalised.

That is, goods that are produced in one country but shipped to the US from another.

The official said the details of how the country of origin was determined would be implemented in coming weeks.

Reporting with Reuters

58m agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 11:46pm

No sign of penguin-laden Heard and McDonald Islands

I think everyone wants to know how much are the new tariffs on them Penguins? I don’t see their island listed anywhere.

– Jason

Good observation Jason — the penguin inhabitants of the Heard and McDonald Islands are likely… entirely unaware that they have been spared from US tariffs.

They were among several small Australian territories that were singled out in the initial “Liberation Day” tariff announcement, which also slugged Norfolk Island with a 29 per cent tariff.

(ABC News)

As you note, today they were not included in the table of countries that will be subject to higher tariffs above a 10 per cent baseline rate from August 1, US time.

You can catch up on the confusion that erupted in April here:

1h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 11:38pm

What reasons have the Trump administration given for tariff rates?

Alongside the executive order imposing “reciprocal” tariff rates on dozens of countries (instead of the 10 per cent tariff rate that applies to countries including Australia), the White House has issued a fact sheet that describes their apparent reasoning:

This decisive action reflects the President’s continued efforts to protect the United States against foreign threats to the national security and economy of the United States by securing fair, balanced, and reciprocal trade relationships to benefit American workers, farmers, and manufacturers and to strengthen the United States’ [defence] industrial base.

On April 2, President Trump announced an additional 10% tariff on all countries, and for countries with which the United States has large trade deficits, he announced higher additional tariffs individualized to each country, effective April 9.

A lot has happened since then. For example:

Several countries have agreed to, or are on the verge of agreeing to, meaningful trade deals and security agreements with the United States.

Some countries, through negotiations, have offered terms that, in the President’s judgment, do not sufficiently address the national emergency he declared on April 2.

Some countries have not negotiated at all with the United States.

Based on this additional information and recommendations from senior officials, among other things, the President has determined that it is necessary and appropriate to modify the reciprocal tariff rates for certain countries.

You can read more from reporter Brad Ryan in Washington DC, who will be updating us throughout the morning:

1h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 11:34pm

The Australian industries impacted by 10% tariffs

As we’ve just learned, Australia’s 10% tariff on goods going into the US is not going up, with our country not singled out for higher import taxes in today’s executive order.

Here’s a little refresher on what this means for Australia.

Australia’s most valuable exports to the US are services, and while the flow of that trade can be hemmed or reduced through visa and travel restrictions, they can’t be tariffed in the same way as goods arriving at a US port.

One of the industries impacted by a 10% tariff is beef. We’ve already heard from exporters this year that they think this extra financial levy is largely manageable.

We also export around $1.6b in pharma products to the US, mostly from one company CSL, in the form of blood products.

Overall, while the US is a sizeable market for Australia, it’s worth about 6% of our exports. China is worth more than 5 times that.

1h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 11:30pm

US stock market futures in the red

There hasn’t been a huge market reaction to the confirmation of the 10 per cent baseline tariff and higher “reciprocal” tariff rates by any stretch, but US stock market futures have dipped further into the red.

Here’s where they currently stand:

S&P emini futures -0.2%Nasdaq emini futures -0.3%

1h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 11:26pm

Currencies holding steady as higher tariffs announced

US tariffs on Australia are set to remain at 10% following Donald Trump’s latest executive order just released.

The Aussie dollar hasn’t moved much since that news hit the markets, still hovering around 64.26 US cents.

Meanwhile, Canada’s tariff is going up from 25% to 35%. But the country’s dollar is steady against the greenback, down near a 10-week low.

It’s possible markets have already priced in changes or this tariff news just isn’t rocking markets as much anymore.

1h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 11:22pm

Here’s the list of the US tariffs above 10% baseline

In announcing this morning’s executive order, just hours before the deadline of midnight US time, the White House said “the President has determined that it is necessary and appropriate to modify the reciprocal tariff rates for certain countries.”

Here’s the list of the countries:

The countries not listed are subject to a 10 per cent tariff.

1h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 11:14pmAustralia’s tariff to remain at 10 per cent

Australia is not listed as a country hit with a higher “reciprocal” tariff in US President Donald Trump’s executive order.

That means Australia will remain subject to a 10 per cent tariff.

1h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 11:09pmCanada’s tariff to increase from 25% to 35%

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order increasing the tariff on Canada from 25 per cent to 35 per cent.

In a White House statement, the Trump administration said “Canada has failed to cooperate in curbing the ongoing flood of fentanyl and other illicit drugs, and it has retaliated against the United States”.

1h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 11:05pmBaseline tariff remains at 10 per cent: White House

The White House says the baseline tariff for countries not specifically named will be 10 per cent, as had been announced in April.

1h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 11:04pmDonald Trump signing executive orders on ‘reciprocal’ tariffs

The White House says Donald Trump has signed executive orders modifying his “reciprocal” announced in April — we’ll bring you the details as they come through.

1h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 10:55pm

A little refresher on the ASX

Before the Australian market opens at 10am AEST, it’s worth doing a bit of a stop-and-check on yesterday’s performance.

The S&P/ASX 200 closed lower, dropping 13.60 points or 0.16 per cent to 8,742.80. The bottom performing stocks in index were Champion Iron, down 12.29 per cent and Beach Energy, down 9.30 per cent respectively.

Over the last five days, the index has gained 0.38 per cent and is currently 0.38 per cent from its 52-week high. The S&P/ASX 200 has consistently flirted with all-time highs and sector rotation continues in earnest.

(Reuters: David Gray)

That sector rotation is seeing money flowing from miners and into financials on the back of weaker-than-expected Chinese economic data, or when sentiment sours.

The opposite happens as the price of iron ore spikes.

Somewhat bizarrely Australians banks are now being viewed by some market participants as “safe haven” assets.

So what could happen today?

1h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 10:47pm

Expect the Aussie dollar to move around today

The Australian currency pulled back against the USD overnight, with it currently down around 64.26 US cents.

Here’s the latest note from currency watchers at CBA:

“There will likely be some currency market volatility today because the US’ 1 August tariff truce deadline expires at 2pm Sydney time.  President Trump will announce new tariff rates ahead of the deadline. 

“If he announces high unilateral tariffs and/or a high blanket tariff, then based on the tariff announcements we have seen so far this year the USD will fall.  AUD/USD can also fall because high tariffs will worsen the global outlook.  

“However lower unilateral tariffs and/or blanket tariff rates will likely support USD.  Lower tariffs can support the AUD crosses. “

2h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 10:42pm

Which countries don’t have a trade agreement?

The exact number of countries facing higher duties isn’t clear, but the majority of the 200 have not made deals.

Mr Trump has, however, already slapped large duties on Brazil and India before the deadline was reached.

Brazil are facing a 50% duty on imports, though Mr Trump exempted several large categories, including aircraft, aluminum, and energy products.

Late on Wednesday, the president said India would pay a 25% duty on all its exports, in part because it has continued to purchase oil from Russia.

For smaller countries, the deadline is particularly difficult — the White House has acknowledged they aren’t able to negotiate with every country facing tariff threats.

Workers leaving the Nien Hsing Textile factory on the outskirts of Maseru, the capitol of Lesotho. (Reuters: Siyabonga Sishi)

Lesotho, a small country in southern Africa, was hit with a 50% duty on April 2. Even though it was postponed, the threat has already devastated its apparel industry, costing thousands of jobs.

“There’s 200 countries,” the president acknowledged earlier this month. “You can’t talk to all of them.”

2h agoThu 31 Jul 2025 at 10:37pm

Samsung says trade deal with US helps alleviate uncertainty

Many countries are in limbo ahead of US President Donald Trump’s expected executive order on tariffs today. But some countries have already struck deals, including South Korea.

It has agreed to 15% tariff on goods going into the US. South Korea is a powerhouse exporter of computer chips, cars, and steel. It had been facing up to a 25% tariff on those goods.

South Korean company Samsung Electronics says this will help alleviate business uncertainty, Reuters is reporting.

The company has just inked a $16.5 billion deal with Elon Musk‘s Tesla.

It is set to do this out of a factory in Texas in the US, which should ramp up around 2026. Notably, Samsung goods made inside the US wouldn’t face tariffs.