Just hours before the deadline he had set for himself, Donald Trump signed an executive order on the evening of Thursday, July 31, imposing so-called reciprocal tariffs on some 69 entities around the globe. These are set to take effect not on August 1 but on August 7 at midnight. The Republican president had nevertheless declared the opposite on his Truth Social network the previous day: "THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE IS THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE — IT STANDS STRONG, AND WILL NOT BE EXTENDED. A BIG DAY FOR AMERICA!!!" The new rates amend those announced on April 2, which were then suspended for four months after the turmoil their announcement caused in financial markets.

At the high end, Syria is taxed at 41%, Myanmar and Laos at 40% and Serbia and Iraq at 35%. Following the breakdown of bilateral negotiations, Switzerland is also penalized, taxed at 39%. It is among the few countries to see its situation worsen compared to April 1, when it was only promised a 31% rate. It therefore moves closer to Brazil, taxed at 50% due to political feuds between Trump's team and Brazil's president and judiciary, as former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro is prosecuted for attempting a coup.

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