With only days to go before the 9 July deadline for US president Donald Trump’s ‘reciprocal’ tariffs to return to their highest rate, diplomats are scrambling for last-minute deals amidst concerns about the damaging impact on the global economy.

Asia and Europe

Trump has threatened Japan, a long-standing ally, with a rate of almost 35%. This is above the pre-deadline rate of 24%.

The US had also signed an agreement with Vietnam. In a social media post, Trump claimed that Vietnam will pay a 20% tariff rate while not charging anything on US goods. A 46% levy was previously threatened.

The EU has stuck to its guns on many issues, with EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič being given tougher lines for his trip to Washington this week. Brussels appears to accept a 10% baseline, with targeted sectoral deals that would reduce tariffs.

Tech

Tech firms are reporting that that various export controls have been withdrawn, following a deal between Beijing and Washington.

In a statement, Siemens said that it has restored “full access to software and technology” controlled under US law and resumed sales and supports to Chinese customers.

Synopsys also confirmed that it is now selling to China following the withdrawal of trade measures.

Analysis from JPMorgan Chase found that Trump’s policy could add as much as US$187.7bn in costs to medium firms, especially in metro areas.

This number had been revised down to US$82.3bn following trade negotiations, but areas such as East Texas, Southern California and the East Coast around New Jersey and New York remain vulnerable to these costs.