Trump assigns tariffs, delays all except on Canada

What happened

President Donald Trump Thursday signed a series of executive orders fixing new tariffs of between 15% and 41% on 68 countries and the European Union but he delayed the start of most new import duties until Aug. 7. He diverged from that new deadline with two of America's biggest trading parters, however: a 35% tariff on many Canadian goods took effect today, while Trump gave Mexico another 90 days to negotiate down its 25% rate. The new import duties are on top of other industry-specific tariffs on cars and various metal imports that Trump has enacted.

Who said what

Trump's allocation of tariff rates suggests he "decided to punish countries that he did not believe offered enough concessions" after he unveiled his initial "reciprocal" tariffs on April 2, Politico said. Trump said on social media Thursday that his pending tax hikes on nearly $3 trillion in imported goods would make "America GREAT & RICH Again." But economists "remain deeply skeptical" about his promised trade and labor benefits, The New York Times said.

The Labor Department Thursday suggested "inflation may be accelerating," and Trump's "vast tariffs risk jeopardizing America's global standing as allies feel forced into unfriendly deals," The Associated Press said. His seven-day delay has also "injected a new dose of uncertainty for consumers and businesses," and the "very legality of the tariffs remains an open question."

Trump's broad "assertion of emergency powers to impose worldwide tariffs" faced its "toughest legal test" Thursday, The Wall Street Journal said. The 11 judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit "voiced skepticism of his unilateral move to impose levies" under a 1977 law that doesn't even mention tariffs.

What next?

The special appellate court is weighing Trump's challenge to a decision by a federal trade court to throw out his tariffs because they exceeded his authority, but its "decision could be weeks away," The Washington Post said. The case is ultimately "expected to end up at the Supreme Court."

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