Mid-Week Tariff Updates on Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines

After the White House pushed back on the July 9 deadline, the August 1 deadline approaches. Yesterday afternoon, the President announced a military and trade deal with the Philippines.

President Trump posted that the trade deal with the Philippines will include a 19% tariff on goods. He said that Manila would not apply tariffs on U.S. goods. As of the time of writing, the Philippines has not confirmed that it struck a deal. Just as the U.S. tentative deal with China that expires in a few weeks was light on details, investors will need to wait.

The U.S. President also announced a “massive” trade deal with Japan. He wrote that Japan will face a 15% tariff on its exports. In addition, Japan would invest $500 billion in the U.S.

In the deal with Indonesia, the Asian country will face a 19% tariff on Indonesian goods. Any goods transshipped (originally from China, for example) will face a 40% rate. Again, U.S. goods would not have any tax (applicable to “99%” of U.S. imports).

The U.S. needed these smaller deals to strengthen its position in its negotiations with India and the European Union. Canada’s Ministers are also in internal discussions before it returns to the negotiation table with the U.S.