{"id":2027,"date":"2025-08-01T23:10:33","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T23:10:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=2027"},"modified":"2025-08-01T23:10:33","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T23:10:33","slug":"the-world-reacts-to-trumps-aug-1-tariff-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=2027","title":{"rendered":"The World Reacts to Trump&#8217;s Aug. 1 Tariff War"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at the global response to new <strong>U.S.<\/strong> tariffs, <strong>Gaza<\/strong>\u2019s escalating hunger crisis, and former <strong>South Korean<\/strong> President Yoon Suk-yeol refusing to be questioned.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>\u2018A New Reality\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>For months, world capitals have anxiously waited to see what tariffs their countries\u2019 exports would face come Aug. 1, when U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to impose sweeping duties on nearly all of Washington\u2019s trading partners. That day is (mostly) here.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at the global response to new <strong>U.S.<\/strong> tariffs, <strong>Gaza<\/strong>\u2019s escalating hunger crisis, and former <strong>South Korean<\/strong> President Yoon Suk-yeol refusing to be questioned.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-fallback\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/category\/world-brief\/\">Sign up<\/a>  to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.            <\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<form data-shortcode-newsletter=\"world_brief\" class=\"newsletter-unit-signup newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode email-capture--step-1 newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief newsletter-shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"show-on-email-capture--signed-up hide-from-newsletter-subscriber newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode--container\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit newsletter-row\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/h2>\n<p>\n                        <button class=\"button\">Sign Up<\/button>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"grid--flex newsletter-world_brief newsletter-signup-container\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"World Brief sign up form\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<div class=\"buttons\">\n<div class=\"hide-from-newsletter-subscriber privacy-policy-container\">\n<div class=\"privacy-policy-acknowledge\">\n<p><small>By submitting your email, you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/termsofuse\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of Use<\/a> and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.<\/small><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n    <label for=\"email-world_brief\">Enter your email<\/label><br \/>\n    <input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" class=\"hide-from-reg hide-from-sub\" id=\"email-world_brief\" aria-required=\"true\" required=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>    <button class=\"button button--signup \" data-newsletter-id=\"world_brief\" data-sourceid=\"In-article unit\" type=\"submit\"><br \/>\n      <span class=\"sign-up-text\">Sign Up<\/span><br \/>\n      <span class=\"loading-text\">Loading&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>\u2018A New Reality\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>For months, world capitals have anxiously waited to see what tariffs their countries\u2019 exports would face come Aug. 1, when U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to impose sweeping duties on nearly all of Washington\u2019s trading partners. That day is (mostly) here.<\/p>\n<p>Late Thursday, Trump issued an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/07\/further-modifying-the-reciprocal-tariff-rates\/\">executive order<\/a> announcing new and arbitrary tariff rates on 92 countries, though he delayed their implementation date by another seven days, to Aug. 7, to allow for the U.S. tariff schedule to be updated. \u201cIt\u2019s a new reality for a country, and a planet, whose post-World War II prosperity was ushered in by a decades-long effort to dismantle barriers to trade,\u201d FP trade reporter Keith Johnson <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/08\/01\/trump-liberation-day-tariffs-global-trade-us\/\">reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with NBC News, Trump called the process \u201cvery smooth\u201d and <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-tariffs-effect-05bc12428163b9f28ef80f952cf9dafd?user_email=6b04284e4d00370f16d3dac0a626e01bf24d86e4d6995646867da6aa680488d0&amp;utm_medium=Morning_Wire&amp;utm_source=Sailthru_AP&amp;utm_campaign=MorningWire_Fri_Aug1_2025&amp;utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers\">asserted<\/a> that Friday\u2019s announced rates would not be modified. However, he added, \u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean that somebody doesn\u2019t come along in four weeks and say we can make some kind of a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That may be good news for nations facing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/business\/live-news\/trade-deadline-tariffs-trump-deals#cmdt3ejo900053b6whfm6wsxy\">highest rates<\/a>, including Brazil at 50 percent, Syria at 41 percent, Laos and Myanmar at 40 percent, and Switzerland at 39 percent. When Trump launched his sweeping tariffs in April and then almost immediately paused them due to market panic, his administration pledged to secure \u201c90 deals in 90 days.\u201d So far, the White House has only struck <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/07\/30\/trump-tariffs-trade-deals-august-1-deadline\/\">trade frameworks<\/a> with Cambodia, the European Union, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam. Negotiations with China and Mexico have been postponed, and no African countries have clinched deals thus far.<\/p>\n<p>Among the nations <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/01\/business\/economy\/switzerland-trump-tariffs.html\">most outraged<\/a> by Trump\u2019s new rates is Switzerland, which was hit with a tariff rate 8 percentage points higher than what the U.S. president had initially threatened, despite most countries having their initial duties maintained or reduced. Bern has been \u201cespecially mistreated,\u201d Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin said, with the country\u2019s main engineering association calling the announcement \u201ceconomically incomprehensible\u201d and a risk to \u201clong-term cooperation with the U.S.\u201d Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter has vowed to press ahead with negotiations and urged citizens not to let the White House\u2019s announcement ruin the country\u2019s national holiday on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Taiwan also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/taiwan-says-20-us-tariff-is-temporary-separate-rate-chips-focus-2025-08-01\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&amp;utm_term=080125&amp;lctg=607f1056abd4f461f466319b\">expressed ire<\/a> over Trump\u2019s Aug. 1 measures, which will impose a 20 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods. While this is notably less than the 32 percent rate initially threatened in April, it still exceeds the 15 percent rates of the United States\u2019 other close East Asian allies, Japan and South Korea. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te stressed that the new rate is \u201ctemporary,\u201d adding that \u201cwe will continue negotiations and strive for a rate that\u2019s more favorable for Taiwan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Several other countries also vowed to push for a better deal, including South Africa (whose 30 percent rate went unchanged) and New Zealand (whose rate increased from a threatened 10 percent to 15 percent).<\/p>\n<p>However, a few countries emerged from the Aug. 1 announcement with substantially lower rates than expected. The steepest cuts to tariffs went to Lesotho (from 50 percent to 15 percent), Madagascar (47 percent to 15 percent), and the Falkland Islands (from 41 percent to 10 percent).<\/p>\n<p>Many governments also praised their lowered rates as proof of their successful diplomatic maneuvers. Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell heralded Canberra\u2019s 10 percent rate\u2014the minimum amount announced by the White House\u2014as \u201cvindication\u201d of a job well done. Bangladesh celebrated its reduced rate from 37 percent to 20 percent as a \u201cdecisive diplomatic victory.\u201d And Malaysia and Cambodia similarly cheered their 19 percent rates, having gone from 24 percent and from 49 percent, respectively.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Today\u2019s Most Read<\/strong><\/h3>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>What We\u2019re Following<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Trip to Gaza aid site. <\/strong>White House envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/01\/world\/middleeast\/witkoff-gaza-aid-trump-us.html\">traveled<\/a> to Gaza on Friday to inspect an aid distribution site overseen by the controversial Israeli- and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). \u201cThe purpose of the visit was to give [the president] a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza,\u201d Witkoff <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SEPeaceMissions\/status\/1951270165519212969\">posted<\/a> on X.<\/p>\n<p>Their visit comes as the world\u2019s top hunger monitor warns of <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/08\/01\/could-images-of-the-famine-in-gaza-change-israeli-public-opinion\/\">famine-level conditions<\/a> in Gaza driven by Israel\u2019s war and strict restrictions on aid entering the territory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maintains that accusations of mass starvation are overstated, and the GHF claims that much of the crisis is fueled by Hamas stealing aid from convoys. However, there is no evidence of such systematic theft, and even Trump (Netanyahu\u2019s closest foreign ally) has <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/07\/28\/trump-starmer-gaza-hunger-crisis-israel-netanyahu-palestine\/\">publicly refuted<\/a> the Israeli leader\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, senior Hamas official <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/01\/world\/middleeast\/witkoff-gaza-aid-trump-us.html\">Izzat al-Rishq<\/a> called the U.S. delegation\u2019s visit a \u201cpropaganda show,\u201d adding that \u201cWitkoff will only see in Gaza what the occupation wants him to see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>More than 1,300 Palestinians have been <a href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2025\/08\/1165552\">killed<\/a> while trying to access food since May, when Israel partially lifted its blockade on aid entering Gaza, according to the United Nations\u2019 human rights office. Shortly after the U.S. officials\u2019 visit to Gaza on Friday, a local hospital <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/world\/live-news\/israel-hamas-gaza-news-08-01-25#cmdsyj7g70005356p4hrfbray\">reported<\/a> that gunfire near the GHF site that Witkoff and Huckabee had visited killed at least three people and injured six others.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Act of protest. <\/strong>Jailed former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/south-korea-yoon-martial-law-9339473e8aacb1c3c77abd0e3f795c53\">refused<\/a> on Friday to submit to further questioning about allegations that he and his wife exerted inappropriate influence on the then-ruling party\u2019s election nomination process in 2022. It was the third time that Yoon had defied such a request; however, this time, Yoon\u2019s tactics included taking off his prison uniform and laying down on the floor of his detention room. He reportedly put his clothes back on once the investigators left.<\/p>\n<p>Yoon was <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/04\/04\/south-korea-yoon-suk-yeol-removed-impeached-constitution-martial-law\/\">removed<\/a> from office in April after declaring a short-lived <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2024\/12\/03\/south-korea-yoon-martial-law-declaration-army-parliament-vote\/\">martial law order<\/a> in December 2024, sparking allegations of a coup attempt. Yoon maintains that the decree was necessary to combat the then-opposition Democratic Party, which he accused of obstructing his political agenda. Yoon faces a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2024\/12\/12\/south-korea-yoon-speech-martial-law-impeachment-insurrection\/\">separate trial<\/a> for mounting an insurrection, which is punishable by death or life in prison.<\/p>\n<p>Yoon\u2019s lawyers have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/south-koreas-ex-leader-yoon-lay-floor-cell-refused-be-questioned-prosecutors-say-2025-08-01\/\">pushed back<\/a> on repeated interrogation requests by claiming that the former president is unwell due to preexisting conditions, including one that risks his eyesight. They argue that Yoon has not received <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/08\/01\/asia\/yoon-south-korea-clothes-prison-martial-law-latam-intl\">adequate medical care<\/a> while in detention, citing an unidentified hospital.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Authoritarian shift. <\/strong>A change to El Salvador\u2019s constitution could allow President Nayib Bukele to stay in power indefinitely. Lawmakers with Bukele\u2019s Nuevas Ideas party, which holds a supermajority in the country\u2019s Legislative Assembly, <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/el-salvador-nayib-bukele-reelection-f9efd1a08d3c9de2f886f7b911b9417d?user_email=6b04284e4d00370f16d3dac0a626e01bf24d86e4d6995646867da6aa680488d0&amp;utm_medium=Morning_Wire&amp;utm_source=Sailthru_AP&amp;utm_campaign=MorningWire_Fri_Aug1_2025&amp;utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers\">approved changes<\/a> on Thursday removing presidential term limits and extending the length of a term from five to six years. The legislation bolsters a Supreme Court ruling in 2021 that allowed Bukele to run for a second five-year term despite a constitutional ban; the Supreme Court was <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2021\/05\/12\/central-america-rule-of-law-under-attack-el-salvador-nicaragua-guatemala-honduras\/\">stacked<\/a> with judges chosen by Nuevas Ideas.<\/p>\n<p>Bukele won a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/06\/19\/bukele-el-salvador-gang-crime-crackdown-homicides-cecot-democracy\/\">landslide reelection<\/a> last year, claiming nearly 85 percent of the vote, on a platform catered to <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2024\/01\/02\/el-salvador-elections-bukele-bitcoin-crime-gang-policy\/\">fighting gang violence<\/a>. But rights groups have accused Bukele of carrying out <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2024\/08\/08\/el-salvador-bukele-crime-homicide-prison-gangs\/\">mass arrests<\/a> without due process and jailing people with no ties to gang organizations, including political dissidents, activists, lawyers, and journalists. Even Bukele has dubbed himself \u201cthe world\u2019s coolest dictator.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Experts warn that Thursday\u2019s constitutional change could <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2025\/08\/01\/bukele-el-salvador-president-constitution-power\/\">further strengthen<\/a> Bukele\u2019s authoritarian grip on power. \u201cThis is an effort to establish a dictatorship in El Salvador,\u201d said Juan Pappier, the deputy director for the Americas at Human Rights Watch.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>What in the World?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Militant rebels seized a key Somali town on Sunday. With which organization are the rebels affiliated?<\/p>\n<p>A. M23<br \/>B. Islamic State-Khorasan<br \/>C. Al Qaeda<br \/>D. Al-Shabab<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Odds and Ends<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>It may be a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=EgyhSMTboUo&amp;list=RDEgyhSMTboUo&amp;start_radio=1\">woman\u2019s world<\/a>, but Justin Trudeau appears to be happy living in it. The former Canadian prime minister was spotted at American pop star Katy Perry\u2019s concert in Montreal late Wednesday, jamming to \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@ruthesty1\/video\/7533073861391273272?embed_source=121374463%2C121468991%2C121439635%2C121749182%2C121433650%2C121404359%2C121497414%2C121477481%2C121351166%2C121772354%2C121487028%2C121679410%2C121331973%2C120811592%2C120810756%2C121819198%3Bnull%3Bembed_masking&amp;refer=embed&amp;referer_url=pagesix.com%2F2025%2F07%2F31%2Fcelebrity-news%2Fjustin-trudeau-spotted-at-katy-perrys-lifetimes-tour-after-sparking-romance-rumors%2F&amp;referer_video_id=7533073861391273272\">Firework<\/a>\u201d alongside screaming fans. Now that Trudeau is no longer in charge of running a country, it seems that he has more time to enjoy the good life. Trudeau, who separated from his wife of 18 years in 2023, was also recently photographed dining with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2025\/07\/29\/katy-perry-justin-trudeau-no-pda-at-dinner\/\">Perry<\/a>\u2014whose split from longtime beau Orlando Bloom was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cj61x8r552ko\">confirmed<\/a> last month\u2014sparking rumors of a budding romance.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>And the Answer Is\u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>D. Al-Shabab<\/p>\n<p>The central town of Mahaas, a key government outpost, lies about 220 miles north of the capital, Mogadishu, FP\u2019s Nosmot Gbadamosi <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/07\/30\/seychelles-qatar-resort-assomption-aldabra-reef-climate-change-economy\/\">reports<\/a> in Africa Brief.<\/p>\n<p>To take the rest of FP\u2019s weekly international news quiz, <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/08\/01\/foreign-policy-news-quiz-syria-elections-thailand-cambodia-cease-fire-russia-ukraine-peace\/\">click here<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/alerts\/\">sign up<\/a> to be alerted when a new one is published.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/08\/01\/trump-tariffs-trade-war-switzerland-taiwan\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at the global response to new U.S. tariffs, Gaza\u2019s escalating hunger crisis, and former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol refusing to be questioned. \u2018A New Reality\u2019 For months, world capitals have anxiously waited to see what tariffs their countries\u2019 exports would face come Aug. 1, when U.S. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2028,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2027","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politcical-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}