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Chaotic race for trade deals before US tariff reprieve ends

Updated Jul 31, 2025, 7:11am EDT
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President Donald Trump delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington
Carlos Barria/Reuters

Canadian and Mexican negotiators rushed to Washington to try and seal last-minute trade deals in a chaotic push before a US tariff reprieve expires.

The White House also said it would hold 11th-hour talks with India, ahead of Friday’s return of punishing “Liberation Day” levies.

Separately, US President Donald Trump said he had reached an agreement with South Korea to reduce duties, and outlined exemptions to copper tariffs — also due to come into effect Friday — which were wider than investors had anticipated, sending prices for the metal plummeting. “It’s tempting to move on from the idea that US trade policy will move markets,” Morgan Stanley economists said in a note to clients. “Resist that temptation.”

A chart showing US imports by country of origin in 2025.
AD