President Donald Trump has announced a flurry of trade activity ahead of Friday's official start of his new tariffs regime — executive actions including 50% tariffs on Brazil, a 15% tax on American imports from South Korea and an end to exemptions for imported goods worth less than $800.
The implementation is being portrayed by the White House as a testament to Trump’s negotiating skills, even as concerns persist that the taxes will stunt the U.S. economy and increase inflation in ways that disproportionately harm working-class Americans. And while Trump has been getting his way on trade, strong-arming the European Union, Japan and other partners, he's facing at least seven lawsuits charging that he’s overstepped his authority.
Meanwhile, Trump lashed out at Republican Sen. Josh Hawley after his proposal to ban stock trading by members of Congress — and the president and vice president — won bipartisan approval to advance in a committee vote. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sought to walk back his comments that Trump-branded investment accounts will be “a back door” to privatizing Social Security. And privacy concerns mount about a new health tracking system that would share Americans' personal data with tech companies.
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Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on social media that the president will host professional athletes at the White House Thursday as he signs an executive order re-establishing the program.
The program created in 1966 had children run and perform sit-ups, pull-ups or push-ups and a sit-and-reach test. It was changed in 2012 during President Barack Obama’s administration to focus more on individual health than athletic feats.
The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits is inching up as businesses retain staff amid the economic uncertainty around U.S. trade policy.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims for the week ending July 26 ticked up by 1,000 to 218,000. It was the first time in seven weeks that benefit applications rose, although layoffs remain at historically low levels. Though the top line numbers reflect a broadly healthy labor market by historical standards, some weakness has surfaced. If consumers continue to pull back on spending, a decline in demand could push businesses to freeze hiring or cut staff.
Companies announcing job cuts this year include Procter & Gamble, Dow, CNN, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, Microsoft, Google, Meta and most recently, Intel and The Walt Disney Co.
The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge ticked higher last month in a sign that Trump’s broad-based tariffs are starting to raise prices on many goods.
Prices rose 2.6% in June compared with a year ago, the Commerce Department said Thursday, up from an annual pace of 2.4% in May. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, prices rose 2.8% in the past year, the same as the previous month, which was revised higher. The figures are above the Fed’s 2% goal.
The uptick helps explain the central bank’s reluctance to cut its key interest rate, despite Trump’s repeated demands. On Wednesday, the Fed left its key rate unchanged at 4.3%. Fed Chair Jerome Powell suggested it could take months to determine whether the import duties will cause just a one-time increase in prices or a more persistent increase in inflation.
In the tiny African nation of Lesotho, clothing manufacturer Tzicc’s business has dried up in the face of tariffs imposed by Trump’s administration. A few months ago, work was steady. The factory’s 1,300 employees have made and exported sportswear to American stores, including JCPenney, Walmart and Costco.
A sewing machine is covered by a sheet inside the empty Tzicc clothing factory following the threat of U.S.-imposed tariffs in Maseru, Lesotho, Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)
But when Trump announced sweeping new tariffs in April, Lesotho found itself topping the list, with a rate of 50%.
Since then, Trump backed off — temporarily. During a monthslong pause for trade talks, the U.S. has charged a baseline 10% tariff and announced new rates for dozens of countries starting Friday. Lesotho’s rate will be set at Trump’s whim, with aides suggesting that tariffs charged on goods from smaller African countries could top 10%.
Many nations have received letters laying out a new tariff. With the pause set to expire Friday, Lesotho officials say they’ve not received one and they find themselves among the countries where Trump says officials simply don’t have time for one-on-one negotiations.(backslash)
▶ Read more about the impacts on Lesotho
Trump said Canada’s announcement it will recognize a Palestinian state “will make it very hard” for the U.S. to reach a trade agreement with its northern neighbor.
The threat posted in the early hours Thursday on Trump’s social media network is the latest way he has sought to use his trade war to coerce countries on unrelated issues, and is a swing from the ambivalence he has expressed about other countries making such a move.
“Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine,” Trump posted on Truth Social just past midnight. “That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh’ Canada!!!
The Republican president said this week that he didn’t mind British Prime Minister Keir Starmer taking a position on the issue of formally recognizing Palestinian statehood. And last week, he said French President Emmanuel Macron’s similar move was “not going to change anything.”
Imagine getting the day off work for Donald Trump’s birthday. Receiving a $100 bill with Trump’s portrait on it. Touching down at Donald J. Trump International Airport near the nation’s capital. And taking in a show at the Donald J. Trump Center for Performing Arts.
All would be possible under a series of bills Republican lawmakers have sponsored this year.
Trump is little more than six months into his second term, but some Republicans are ready to elevate him into the pantheon of American greats, proposing an ever-growing list of bills paying tribute well before his second term ends. One lawmaker even proposes carving his face into Mount Rushmore.
It’s a legislative exercise that mixes flattery and politics, providing another stark reminder of the Republican Party’s transformation under Trump as lawmakers from red-leaning states and congressional districts look for ways to win the president’s good graces — and stay close to his supporters.
▶ Read more about Trump tribute bills
The United States will impose a 25% tariff on goods from India, plus an additional import tax because of India’s purchasing of Russian oil, Trump said Wednesday.
The new tariffs were part of a flurry of trade activity that included a series of executive actions regarding Brazil, copper and shipments of goods worth less than $800, as well as a reduced 15% tax on imports from South Korea, including its autos.
It was all a prelude to Friday when Trump’s new tariff regime is scheduled to start, an event the White House has portrayed as a testament to Trump’s negotiating skills even as concerns persist about the taxes hurting growth and increasing inflationary pressures.
The South Korea agreement will impose a 15% tariff, instead of the 25% Trump had threatened. South Korea would also buy $100 billion in energy resources from the U.S. and provide $350 billion for “investments owned and controlled by the United States, and selected by myself, as president,” Trump said.
▶ Read more about Trump’s latest executive actions regarding trade
Trump has been getting his way on trade, strong-arming the European Union, Japan and other partners to accept once unthinkably high taxes on their exports to the United States.
But his radical overhaul of American trade policy has not gone unchallenged. He’s facing at least seven lawsuits charging that he’s overstepped his authority. The plaintiffs want his biggest, boldest tariffs thrown out.
And they won Round One. Now it goes on to Round Two.
On Thursday, the 11 judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, which typically specializes in patent law, are scheduled to hear oral arguments from the Trump administration and from the states and businesses that want his sweeping import taxes struck down.
That court earlier allowed the federal government to continue collecting Trump’s tariffs as the case works its way through the judicial system.
▶ Read more about the challenges surrounding Trump’s trade policies
