Trump says alignment with BRICS' 'anti-American policies' to invite additional 10% tariffs

 E-commerce is experiencing a major disruption due to U.S. tariffs in what one industry expert calls "the first widespread pullback ... in over a decade." Online purchases for home delivery saw double-digit percentage declines year over year across major categories, a new survey shows. And retailers are grappling with an uptick in returns as delivery costs have increased. Digital retailers Shein and Temu, meanwhile, saw U.S. purchases plunge between March and June as a result of levies on Chinese goods and the elimination of a popular tax loophole.

The European Union expects to find out on Monday whether President Donald Trump will impose punishing tariffs on America’s largest trade partner in a move economists have warned would have repercussions for companies and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.

Trump imposed a 20% import tax on all EU-made products in early April as part of a set of tariffs targeting countries with which the United States has a trade imbalance. Hours after the nation-specific duties took effect, he put them on hold until July 9 at a standard rate of 10% to quiet financial markets and allow time for negotiations.

Expressing displeasure with the EU’s stance in trade talks, however, Trump said he would increase the tariff rate for European exports to 50%, which could make everything — from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals — much more expensive in the U.S.

The EU’s executive commission, which handles trade issues for the bloc’s 27-member nations, said its leaders hope to strike a deal with the Trump administration. Without one, the EU said it was prepared to retaliate with tariffs on hundreds of American products, ranging from beef and auto parts to beer and Boeing airplanes.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNN’s “State of the Union” program on Sunday that “the EU was very slow in coming to the table” but that talks were now making “very good progress.”

Here are important things to know about trade between the United States and the European Union.

US-EU trade is enormous

The European Commission describes the trade between the U.S. and the EU as “the most important commercial relationship in the world.”

The value of EU-U.S. trade in goods and services amounted to 1.7 trillion euros ($2 trillion) in 2024, or an average of 4.6 billion euros a day, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat.

The biggest U.S. export to Europe was crude oil, followed by pharmaceuticals, aircraft, automobiles, and medical and diagnostic equipment.

Europe’s biggest exports to the U.S. were pharmaceuticals, cars, aircraft, chemicals, medical instruments, and wine and spirits.

EU sells more to the US than vice versa

Trump has complained about the EU’s 198 billion-euro trade surplus in goods, which shows Americans buy more stuff from European businesses than the other way around.

However, American companies fill some of the gap by outselling the EU when it comes to services such as cloud computing, travel bookings, and legal and financial services.

The U.S. services surplus took the nation’s trade deficit with the EU down to 50 billion euros ($59 billion), which represents less than 3% of overall U.S.-EU trade.

What are the issues dividing the two sides?

Before Trump returned to office, the U.S. and the EU maintained a generally cooperative trade relationship and low tariff levels on both sides. The U.S. rate averaged 1.47% for European goods, while the EU’s averaged 1.35% for American products.

But the White House has taken a much less friendly posture toward the longstanding U.S. ally since February. Along with the fluctuating tariff rate on European goods Trump has floated, the EU has been subject to his administration’s 50% tariff on steel and aluminum, and a 25% tax on imported automobiles and parts.

Trump administration officials have raised a slew of issues they want to see addressed, including agricultural barriers such as EU health regulations that include bans on chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-treated beef.

Trump has also criticized Europe’s value-added taxes, which EU countries levy at the point of sale this year at rates of 17% to 27%. However, many economists see VAT as trade-neutral since it applies to domestic goods and services as well as imported ones. Because national governments set the taxes through legislation, the EU has said they aren’t on the table during trade negotiations.

“On the thorny issues of regulations, consumer standards, and taxes, the EU and its member states cannot give much ground,” Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Germany’s Berenberg Bank, said. “They cannot change the way they run the EU’s vast internal market according to U.S. demands, which are often rooted in a faulty understanding of how the EU works.”

‘Consequence for many companies’

Economists and companies say higher tariffs will mean higher prices for U.S. consumers on imported goods. Importers must decide how much of the extra tax costs to absorb through lower profits and how much to pass on to customers.

Mercedes-Benz dealers in the U.S. have said they are holding the line on 2025 model year prices “until further notice.” The German automaker has a partial tariff shield because it makes 35% of the Mercedes-Benz vehicles sold in the U.S. in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but the company said it expects prices to undergo “significant increases” in coming years.

Simon Hunt, CEO of Italian wine and spirits producer Campari Group, told investment analysts that prices could increase for some products or stay the same depending on what rival companies do. If competitors raise prices, the company might decide to hold its prices on Skyy vodka or Aperol aperitif to gain market share, Hunt said.

Trump has argued that making it more difficult for foreign companies to sell in the U.S. is a way to stimulate a revival of American manufacturing. Many companies have dismissed the idea or said it would take years to yield positive economic benefits. However, some corporations have proved willing to shift some production stateside.

France-based luxury group LVMH, whose brands include Tiffany & Co., Luis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Moet & Chandon, could move some production to the United States, billionaire CEO Bernard Arnault said at the company’s annual meeting in April.

Arnault, who attended Trump’s inauguration, has urged Europe to reach a deal based on reciprocal concessions.

“If we end up with high tariffs, ... we will be forced to increase our U.S.-based production to avoid tariffs,” Arnault said. “And if Europe fails to negotiate intelligently, that will be the consequence for many companies. ... It will be the fault of Brussels if it comes to that.”

‘Road could be rocky’

Some forecasts indicate the U.S. economy would be more at risk if the negotiations fail.

Without a deal, the EU would lose 0.3% of its gross domestic product and U.S. GDP would fall 0.7%, if Trump slaps imported goods from Europe with tariffs of 10% to 25%, according to a research review by Bruegel, a think tank in Brussels.

Given the complexity of some of the issues, the two sides may arrive only at a framework deal before Wednesday’s deadline. That would likely leave a 10% base tariff, as well as the auto, steel, and aluminum tariffs in place until details of a formal trade agreement are ironed out.

The most likely outcome of the trade talks is that “the U.S. will agree to deals in which it takes back its worst threats of ‘retaliatory’ tariffs well beyond 10%,” Schmieding said. “However, the road to get there could be rocky.”

The U.S. offering exemptions for some goods might smooth the path to a deal. The EU could offer to ease some regulations that the White House views as trade barriers.

“While Trump might be able to sell such an outcome as a ‘win’ for him, the ultimate victims of his protectionism would, of course, be mostly the U.S. consumers,” Schmieding said.

 The United States is close to finalizing several trade agreements in the coming days and will notify other countries of higher tariff rates by July 9, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday, with the higher rates scheduled to take effect on August 1.

Trump and other top officials had flagged the August 1 date earlier, but it was unclear if all tariffs would increase then.

Asked to clarify, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters the higher tariffs would take effect on August 1, but Trump was "setting the rates and the deals right now."

Trump in April announced a 10% base tariff rate on most countries and additional duties ranging up to 50%, although he later delayed the effective date for all but 10% until July 9. The new date offers countries a three-week reprieve.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNN's "State of the Union" earlier on Sunday that several big announcements of trade agreements could come in the next days, noting the European Union had made good progress in its talks.

He said Trump would also send out letters to 100 smaller countries with whom the U.S. doesn't have much trade, notifying them that they would face higher tariff rates first set on April 2 and then suspended until July 9.

"President Trump's going to be sending letters to some of our trading partners saying that if you don't move things along, then on August 1 you will boomerang back to your April 2 tariff level. So I think we're going to see a lot of deals very quickly," Bessent told CNN.

Since taking office, Trump has set off a global trade war that has roiled financial markets and sent policymakers scrambling to guard their economies, including through deals with the U.S. and other countries.

Kevin Hassett, who heads the White House National Economic Council, told CBS's "Face the Nation" program there might be wiggle room for countries engaged in earnest negotiations.

"There are deadlines, and there are things that are close, and so maybe things will push back past the deadline," Hassett said, adding that Trump would decide if that could happen.

'I HEAR GOOD THINGS'

Stephen Miran, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, told ABC News' "This Week" program that countries needed to make concessions to get lower tariff rates.

"I hear good things about the talks with Europe. I hear good things about the talks with India," Miran said. "And so I would expect that a number of countries that are in the process of making those concessions... might see their date rolled."

Bessent told CNN the Trump administration was focused on 18 important trading partners that account for 95% of the U.S. trade deficit. But he said there had been "a lot of foot-dragging" among countries in finalizing trade deals.

Trump has repeatedly said India is close to signing a deal and expressed hope that an agreement could be reached with the European Union while casting doubt on a deal with Japan.

Thailand, keen to avert a 36% tariff, is now offering greater market access for U.S. farm and industrial goods and more purchases of U.S. energy, and Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab jets, Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira told Bloomberg News on Sunday.

India and the United States are likely to make a final decision on a mini trade deal in the next 24 to 48 hours, local Indian news channel CNBC-TV18 reported on Sunday, with average tariffs on Indian goods shipped to the U.S. to be 10%, it said.

Hassett told CBS News that framework agreements already reached with Britain and Vietnam offered guidelines for other countries seeking trade deals. He said Trump's pressure was prompting countries to move production to the United States.

Miran called the Vietnam deal "fantastic."

"It's extremely one-sided. We get to apply a significant tariff to Vietnamese exports. They're opening their markets to ours, applying zero tariffs to our exports."

 U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said that countries aligning themselves with the "Anti-American policies" of BRICS, will be charged an additional 10% tariff.

"Any Country aligning itself with the anti-American policies of BRICS will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Trump did not clarify or expand on the "Anti-American policies" reference in his post.

The original BRICS group gathered leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, and China at its first summit in 2009. The bloc later added South Africa and last year included Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia as members.

We are days away from the July 9 tariff deadline and the White House is reportedly set to announce a slate of new trade deals in the coming days.

At the same time, though, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said tariffs will return to April's levels by August 1 for countries who haven't secured deals.

He also rejected the idea that the new August date marks a new "deadline" from July 9, but he acknowledged that it still will give countries more time to negotiate.

It's worth noting that Bloomberg's US Economic Policy Uncertainty Index is hovering at record levels, above what was seen during the 2008 Financial Crisis, the dot-com bubble, the 9/11 attacks, and the fall of the Soviet Union, as the chart from Capital Group highlights.

Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), opens new tab is expected to forecast a 39% plunge in second-quarter operating profit on Tuesday, weighed down by delays in supplying advanced memory chips to artificial intelligence chip leader Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab.

The world’s biggest maker of memory chips is projected to report an April-June operating profit of 6.3 trillion won ($4.62 billion), its lowest income in six quarters, according to LSEG SmartEStimate.

The prolonged weakness in its financial performance has deepened investor concerns over the South Korean tech giant's ability to catch up with smaller rivals in developing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in artificial intelligence data centers.

Its key rivals, SK Hynix (000660.KS), opens new tab, and Micron (MU.O), opens new tab, have benefited from robust demand for memory chips needed for AI, but Samsung's gains have been subdued as it relies on the China market, where sales of advanced chips have been restricted by the U.S.

Its efforts to get the latest version of its HBM chips to Nvidia certified by Nvidia are also moving slowly, analysts said.

"HBM revenue likely remained flat in the second quarter, as China sales restrictions persist and Samsung has yet to begin supplying its HBM3E 12-high chips to Nvidia," said Ryu Young-ho, a senior analyst at NH Investment & Securities.

He said Samsung’s shipments of the new chip to Nvidia are unlikely to be significant this year.

Samsung, which expected in March that meaningful progress over its HBM chip could come as early as June, declined to comment on whether its HBM 3E 12-layer chips had passed Nvidia's qualification process.

The company, however, has started supplying the chip to AMD, the U.S. firm said, opening a new tab in June.

Samsung's smartphone sales are likely to remain solid, helped by demand for stock ahead of potential U.S. tariffs on imported smartphones, analysts said.

Many of its key businesses, including chips, smartphones, and home appliances, continue to face business uncertainty from various U.S. trade policies, including President Donald Trump's proposal for a 25% tariff on non-US-made smartphones and the July 9 deadline for "reciprocal" tariffs against many of its trading partners.

The U.S. is also considering revoking authorizations granted to global chipmakers, including Samsung, making it more difficult for them to receive U.S. technology at their plants in China.

Shares in Samsung, the worst-performing stock among major memory chipmakers this year, have climbed about 19% this year, underperforming a 27.3% rise in the benchmark KOSPI (.KS11), opens new tab.

President Donald Trump said the U.S. will start bilateral talks with China this week to approve the sale of TikTok's U.S. operations. "We pretty much have a deal," Trump told reporters late Friday. Bloomberg previously reported that a consortium of investors from Oracle, Blackstone, and Andreessen Horowitz was interested in buying the popular video-sharing platform. Meanwhile, TikTok is building a new version of the app for its users in the U.S., scheduled to be released September 5, according to The Information, citing anonymous sources.

A group of independent publishers has filed an antitrust complaint with the European Union over Google's AI Overviews, Reuters reports, citing a leaked document. The complaint argues that the AI-generated summaries misuse their content and cause significant harm due to "traffic, readership, and revenue loss.” It also adds that publishers, including news outlets, aren't able to "opt-out" of inclusion in the new feature unless they "disappear from Google search entirely," according to TechCrunch. The U.S. Justice Department is also investigating the search giant.

Companies and consumers alike are getting creative to cut costs. Top brands, including PepsiCo, Campbell’s, and Mondelez, have introduced smaller-sized snacks — which tend to have higher profit margins — at lower price points to keep cost-conscious customers buying their products. Shoppers, meanwhile, are forgoing brand-name groceries in favor of less-expensive private-label products, whether they know it or not; increasingly, their labels look remarkably similar. It’s a shift from decades past when supermarkets would use inexpensive packaging and stripped-down branding to signal a bargain.