Trump announces new tariffs on Arab countries

SadaNews - On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a new round of reciprocal tariffs set to take effect on August 1, which includes several Arab countries led by Iraq, Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia.

The decisions announced today impose reciprocal tariffs of 30% on Iraq, Algeria, and Libya. The U.S. president had announced yesterday the first round of tariffs, including a 25% tariff on Tunisia.

Trump's targeting of several Arab countries came after he revealed on Monday the first round of warnings threatening to impose a 25% tariff on goods coming from several countries, including Japan and South Korea, starting August 1. It also included tariffs of 25% on Malaysia and Kazakhstan, while South Africa will see a tariff of 30%, and Laos and Myanmar will face tariffs of 40%.

Below is a table showing the Arab countries targeted by the tariffs announced by Trump so far, along with a comparison of the announced tariffs against the figures revealed in April.

Trump had given a 90-day grace period for all countries to reduce their tariffs to 10%, allowing time for negotiations. However, several countries were unable to reach agreements with the U.S. administration, leading the president to correspond with them through letters addressed to their leaders, urging them to work on reducing the trade deficit and investing in the United States to avoid tariffs.

The messages Trump published on his account on the "Truth Social" platform announce the commencement of the tariffs on August 1, providing additional time for countries until the end of this month, after originally setting it on July 9.

Trump's decisions are expected to target about 12 countries this week, according to statements made by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre during a press conference this week.

The affected countries may face the possibility of increasing the announced tariffs if they choose to respond in kind, as Trump wrote in his letters: "If you decide, for any reason, to raise your tariffs, any rate you choose to increase will be added to the new rates."