Starting Friday, the US will scrap its duty-free status for low-value imports, marking a major shift in trade policy. An executive order signed by President Trump last month ends the long-standing exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less.

The change is part of Trump's wider agenda to reduce reliance on foreign goods and will mean all small parcels entering the US tax-free will now face duties. Retailers and consumers alike are bracing for higher costs, more paperwork and possible delays.

In other news, Mexico is set to join the US with tariffs and will raise duties on Chinese goods under its 2026 budget plan, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. The proposal, due next month, targets cars, textiles and plastics to shield local industries from cheap imports.

The EU said Wednesday it will seek to fast track removal of all tariffs on US industrial goods by the end of the week, days after the US and the EU established a written framework for the trade deal agreed to late last month.

President Trump requested that tariffs be removed before the US lower its duties on the bloc's auto exports.

The latest move by the EU follows Trump's warning on Monday that he could impose new tariffs and export limits on advanced technology and semiconductors in response to digital service taxes in other countries that he says unfairly target US tech firms.

Trump did not specify any countries in his post, but the European Union has employed various taxes and regulatory methods that Trump has said unfairly targets US tech giants. The EU defended its use of the measures on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Trump's 50% tariffs on India have now kicked in, a move that some say will upend a decades-long push by Washington to forge closer ties with New Delhi. Trump added an extra 25% tariffs on to India imports because of its purchase of Russian oil.

Elsewhere, Trump said Monday that a 15% tariff on imports from South Korea will hold despite bids from the country to lower those duties.

Trump said the US has also begun an investigation on furniture imports and will impose a tariff on the products once the probe is complete.

Also last week, Canada vowed to drop its retaliatory tariffs to match US tariff exemptions for goods covered under the US-Mexico-Canada trade pact.

Earlier this month, Trump unveiled "reciprocal" tariffs on dozens of US trade partners (which you can see in the graphic below).

Those tariffs face legal limbo in an appeals court case that could be decided within days.

Justice Department lawyers and lawyers for a group of small business importers who are challenging the tariffs imposed under this authority argued their positions before the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. If the court rules against the government, it's likely Trump would appeal to the Supreme Court.

Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet

Here are the latest updates as the policy reverberates around the world.

Bloomberg News reports:

Japan’s top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa canceled his US visit at the last minute on Thursday, due to issues that still need to be debated at the administrative level, according to the Cabinet Office.

On Wednesday evening Akazawa had said he aimed to use the trip, which was set to begin Thursday morning, to press Washington to implement the lower tariffs agreed in July — including reduced duties on cars and auto parts. Even though both sides struck a deal in July, the US has yet to deliver what it promised to do.

Japan wants the US to cut its tariffs on cars and car parts to 15% from 25%, and to end the stacking of previous duties on top of 15% universal tariffs. Those demands require US President Donald Trump to issue an executive order to address both points.

Read more here.

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) is bracing for the impact of higher tariffs, including a 50% US levy on its Indian imports.

\\"Our impact between the whole network is just under $200 million,\\" CEO Robert Ford said on Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid (video below). \\"But I think the key thing here, one thing that we have learned, is once tariffs come into place, whether in the United States or in another country, they do not go away.\\"

Ford added the healthcare company is finding ways to mitigate the tariffs, including making long-term investments in manufacturing and supply chains.

The Illinois-based Abbott has about 90 manufacturing sites worldwide, with roughly 40 of those in the US, per Ford. The Trump administration has unleashed a torrent of tariffs, including 50% on India, a major pharmaceutical producer.

“A very large percentage of our US revenue is supported by US manufacturing, and our international revenue is supported by international manufacturing sites,” he said. That strategy helps buffer the company from foreign exchange swings but builds supply chain resilience.

\\"Once tariffs come in place, whether in the United States or in another country, they do not go away,\\" Abbott CEO Robert Ford says. \\"We need to think about how do we mitigate that, not just in the short term, but also long term.\\" pic.twitter.com/G6eyLlqb7v

— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) August 27, 2025

In April, Abbott announced a $500 million investment to boost US manufacturing at two plants in Illinois and Texas. Those sites are expected to be \\"up and running by the end of the year,\\" according to Ford.

Read more from Yahoo Finance here.

Williams-Sonoma (WSM) said it saw minimal impacts from tariffs in its second quarter results but expects tariffs to pressure its top-line growth and operating margins in the current quarter.

\\"Our incremental tariff rate has doubled since our last earnings call,\\" CFO Jeffrey Howie said in the company's earnings call. \\"At our May earnings call, our incremental tariff rate was 14%. As of today's call, it has doubled to 28%. This includes the additional 30% China tariffs, 50% India tariff, 20% via non-tariff, and averaged 18% tariff on the rest of the world as well as the 50% steel and aluminum tariffs and a 50% copper tariff.\\"

The furniture company, which houses brands such as West Elm and Pottery Barn, reported better-than-expected earnings of $2.00 per share. Wall Street expected EPS of $1.80.

Williams-Sonoma stock was down 1.4% in early afternoon trading. The stock sank earlier this week, along with other furniture stocks, after President Trump posted on social media that his administration would open an investigation into furniture imports and impose additional tariffs on the sector.

\\"It's early to speculate — I think we're day 5 of a 50-day probe, there's not a lot of information on this subject,\\" Laura Alber, Williams-Sonoma's CEO, said about possible furniture tariffs. \\"But I will say that it's going to be very difficult for the industry, even if tariffs are put on to bring a huge amount back to the United States in a short window of time, because there aren't the factories available to do a lot of production.\\"

\\"For us, of course, we will be in a much better position than most if that were to happen because of our strong USA manufacturing capabilities already,\\" Alber continued. \\"We have ... [a] good chunk of our upholstery in the United States as we speak, and we can do more there, and that would be something we'd really push.\\"

In a portrait of US importers, Atlanta Fed economists wrote that most importers are small, and small importers are more exposed to tariffs and face steeper tariff increases.

According to their research, US firms tend to import products from one supplier and one country. Smaller importers import fewer products, and the products that they import are \\"on average less complex, more easily substitutable, and associated with shorter-lived supplier relationships.\\"

“Reliance on a single supplier means that small importers might have limited bargaining power to negotiate prices,\\" the economists wrote. \\"On the other hand, because small importers source less-complex products, they may be better able to find substitute products elsewhere.\\"

\\"Therefore, the ease with which small firms will be able to adapt to higher import tariffs and reroute supply chains depends on a combination of factors, including the extent to which they are affected by higher tariffs, the mix of products they import, and the countries from which they source their goods.”

The economists also noted that tariff-vulnerable importers tend to be located on the West Coast due to the proximity to shipping routes for China and Asia.

Yahoo Finance's Pras Subramanian reports:

Consumers are going to be paying a lot more for new cars, even if the White House strikes tariff deals with the biggest car importers, according to a report from Cars.com.

Currently, President Trump’s auto sector tariffs stand at 25% for most of the world and 27.5% for exports coming from the EU. Preliminary deals with the EU and Japan have the rate coming down to 15%, but there’s still much to be done to make the deals final.

But even if those rates come down, Americans will be paying significantly more for cars.

Cars.com said if tariffs remain at the 25% rate, analysts estimate the average new vehicle price could rise 13.5% to $54,400 from $48,000 — a difference of $6,400. But even if trade negotiations bring tariffs closer to 15%, prices may still increase by about 8.1%, or $4,300.

Read more here.

Bloomberg News reports:

Japan’s top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa will visit the US this week to press Washington to implement lower the tariffs agreed in July including lower duties on cars and auto parts.

His latest visit, starting Thursday, will be the 10th since the start of bilateral trade talks this year. Even though both sides struck a deal in July, the US has yet to deliver what it promised to do.

Japan wants the US to cut its tariffs on cars and car parts to 15% and to end the stacking of previous duties on 15% universal tariffs. Those demands require US President Donald Trump to issue an executive order on the car tariffs and amend his previous order on the across-the-board levies.

“The revision of reciprocal tariffs and the cut of auto tariffs are expected to take place simultaneously,” Akazawa said at a press conference in Tokyo on Wednesday evening.

“We urge them to be realized as soon as possible, even a day sooner, or even a moment sooner,” he said. Akazawa plans to return to Japan on Saturday.

Read more here.

The European Union will seek to fast-track legislation this week to remove all tariffs on US industrial goods, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. President Trump requested that tariffs be removed before the US lowers its duties on the bloc's auto exports.

The European Commission, which manages all trade-related matters, will impose preferential tariff rates on certain seafoods and agricultural goods.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the trade arrangement struck between the US and the EU last month as a \\"strong, if not perfect deal.\\" However, others felt the deal favored the US more than it benefited the EU.

Bloomberg News reports:

The move comes even as Trump has threatened to impose tariffs and other penalties on countries that tax online services, without specifying which nations he would target and whether the EU would be involved. Trump has long railed against EU tech and antitrust regulation over US tech giants including Alphabet Inc.’s Google (GOOG) and Apple Inc. (AAPL).

EU cars and auto parts currently face a 27.5% tariff on exports to the US. Even though the US and EU struck a trade agreement that would see American tariffs on nearly all European products drop to 15%, Trump said that wouldn’t apply to cars until legislation was proposed to remove industrial and other duties.

If the EU proposes the legislation by the end of the month, then the 15% tariff rate on European cars will be back-dated to Aug. 1. Automobiles are one of the bloc’s most significant exports to the US, with Germany alone exporting $34.9 billion of new cars and parts to the US in 2024.

Read more here.

India has saved billions of dollars by purchasing discounted Russian oil in the wake of the Ukraine war. But tariffs imposed by President Trump on Wednesday could quickly undo some of these gains.

Russian crude oil now accounts for almost 40% of India's total oil purchases. Analysts say that stopping this could not only signal capitulation under pressure but also be economically damaging.

Global crude prices could triple to around $200 a barrel if India, the third largest consumer of Russian oil, were to stop buying.

Reuters reports:

According to a report in Bloomberg, analysts have estimated that India has saved at least $17 billion by increasing oil imports from Russia since early 2022. But with Trump's tariffs now in place this could slash exports by 40%, or $37 million by April-March 2026.

The tariff fallout is politically debilitating for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as thousands of jobs are now at risk in labor-intensive sectors, such as textiles and jewellery.

Despite these tariffs Modi does want to repair the relationship between India and the US, and New Dehli's response over the coming weeks could reshape a decades-old partnership with Russia and recalibrate its complex relationship with the US.

\\"India needs Russia for defence equipment for several more years, cheap oil when available, geopolitical support in the continental space and political backing on sensitive matters,\\" said Happymon Jacob, the founder of Delhi's Council for Strategic and Defence Research. \\"That makes Russia an invaluable partner for India.\\"

Read more here.

Bloomberg reports:

President Donald Trump imposed a crushing 50% tariff on Indian goods to punish the country for buying Russian oil, upending a decades-long push by Washington to forge closer ties with New Delhi.

The new tariffs, the highest in Asia, took effect at 12:01 a.m. in Washington on Wednesday, doubling the existing 25% duty on Indian exports. The levies will hit more than 55% of goods shipped to the US — India’s biggest market — and hurt labor-intensive industries like textiles and jewelry the most. Key exports like electronics and pharmaceuticals are exempt, sparing Apple Inc.’s massive new factory investments in India for now.

The move marks a sharp deterioration in ties for the two nations and an about-turn in Washington’s strategy over the years to court India as a counterweight to China. Trump has slammed India for buying Russian oil, which he said was funding President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. New Delhi has defended its ties with Russia and has called the US’s actions “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable.”

The sky-high tariffs threaten India’s export competitiveness against rivals like China and Vietnam, while raising questions about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitions to transform the South Asian nation into a major manufacturing hub.

Read more here.

Yahoo Finance's Emma Ockerman reports:

Last week, the women’s shoe brand Zou Xou offered consumers a “pre-tariff” sale of 10% to 50% off, warning that prices were set to rise. Similarly, the activewear brand Girlfriend Collective said in an Aug. 21 email blast about a sale that “in nine days our prices get a little higher, but we still promise to make sustainable, high-quality clothes you can wear for years.”

The timing of the discounts hit as a loophole allowing cheaper imported packages to avoid steep levies comes to an end.

“I just framed it as an opportunity to save before the deadline,” said Katherine Theobalds, the Buenos Aires-based founder of Zou Xou. She manufactures and ships her artisanal leather shoes from Argentina, which has been hit with 10% tariffs.

The de minimis exemption allowed millions of shipments into the US each day duty-free if they were valued at or below $800.

But President Trump announced in late July that he would eliminate the policy, effective Friday. That decision, which sent direct-to-consumer companies and small businesses scrambling, subjects smaller imported parcels to tariffs moving forward, though gifts of less than $100 between individuals will not be taxed.

Read more here.

Reuters reports:

The Trump administration's tariffs have raised manufacturing costs for the $50 billion US heavy-duty truck industry, prompting companies to consider sourcing more components from Mexico to benefit from concessions under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

US truck manufacturers currently face 50% tariffs on imported steel, aluminum and copper derivatives under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. In addition, manufacturers like Bellevue, Washington-based Paccar are hit with tariffs on every non-USMCA-compliant part they import.

Rivals including Daimler Truck (DTG.DE) and Traton sidestep these levies by building in Mexico, giving them an edge on costs over companies that are manufacturing in the U

The USMCA pact allows goods to move duty-free between the US, Mexico and Canada, provided they meet certain regional sourcing rules.

Sweden's Volvo (VOLCAR-B.ST) and its subsidiary Mack Trucks produce their vehicles for the U.S. market domestically at their plants in Dublin, Virginia and Macungie, Pennsylvania, respectively.

\\"Trucks built in the U.S. are actually disadvantaged today compared to trucks built in Mexico,\\" a spokesperson at Volvo's North American unit said.

Read more here.

Low-value imports will be losing their duty-free status in the US soon, as part of President Trump's tariff agenda. This loss is a big deal for many businesses and shoppers alike.

As a result, global postal services across dozens of countries said they would temporarily suspend sending some or most US-bound packages due to confusion of processing and payment requirements.

AP reports:

In the U.S., the “de minimis” — Latin for lacking significance or importance — exemption started in 1938 as a way to save the federal government the time and expense of collecting duties on imported goods with a retail value of $1 or less. U.S. lawmakers eventually increased the eligibility cutoff to $5 in 1990, to $200 in 1993 and to $800 in 2015, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Since then, the number of shipments claiming de minimis treatment has exploded. A total of 1.36 billion packages with a combined value of $64.6 billion reached the U.S. last year, compared to 134 million packages sent under the exemption in 2015, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency reported.

Kristin Trainor is worried the end of de minimis will also mean the end of Diesel and Lulu's, her 3-year-old boutique in Avon, Connecticut. Over 70% of the women's clothes and accessories she stocks comes from small fashion houses in France, Italy and Spain. Trainor places small batch orders each week that fall under the $800 threshold.

“Our business model is to provide casual chic and unique clothes at affordable prices,” she said. “The added customs and duty charges that will go into effect on Aug. 29 will eliminate that affordability. ”

Read more here.

Switzerland’s manufacturing sector is putting pressure on the Swiss government to get better trade terms, as US tariffs weigh on activity and companies consider job cuts and relocating production.

Bloomberg reports:

More than 30% of companies are planning to shift operations to the European Union because of the levies President Donald Trump imposed on the country, trade group Swissmem said Tuesday. Many are also considering short-time work or layoffs.

The 39% US tariff on Switzerland is the highest imposed on any developed nation and poses a major threat to businesses and the economy. Swiss officials are trying to remedy the situation with a new offer to the US, aiming to get a new deal by October. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has indicated that the US wants to wrap up outstanding negotiations with countries by then.

“We are currently in a dangerous downward spiral, and the knock-on effect is being accentuated by the US tariffs,” Swissmem Director Stefan Brupbacher said. “This is a dramatic situation for the affected companies, employees and regions.”

Read more here.

From Bloomberg:

The European Union hit back at US President Donald Trump’s claims that digital regulations abroad are unfair, a day after he threatened to impose tariffs and other penalties on countries that tax online services ranging from social media to e-commerce.

“It’s the sovereign right of the EU and its member states to regulate our economic activities on our territory that are consistent with our democratic values,” European Commission Spokeswoman Paula Pinho told reporters Tuesday in Brussels.

Without specifying any government, Trump threatened export restrictions on US advanced technology and semiconductors and higher tariffs in retaliation for nations’ digital services taxes that hit American companies. His post on social media late Monday said that the measures “are all designed to harm, or discriminate against, American Technology.”

Trump has long railed against EU tech and antitrust regulation over US tech giants including Alphabet Inc.’s (GOOG, GOOGL) Google, Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Meta Platforms Inc (META). The US has also recently pushed the European Commission to water down its AI Code of Practice.

Read more here.

Reuters reports:

The United States has agreed in principle to exempt Indonesian exports of cocoa, palm oil and rubber from the 19% tariff imposed by President Donald Trump since August 7, Indonesia's top trade negotiator said on Tuesday.

The exemption will take effect once both sides reach a final agreement, but no timeline has been set because the U.S. is busy in tariff talks with other countries, Airlangga Hartarto, who is also the chief economic minister, told Reuters.

The two countries also discussed potential U.S. investment in fuel storage in Indonesia in partnership with the Southeast Asian nation's sovereign wealth fund Danantara and state energy firm Pertamina, Airlangga said in an interview.

Read more here.

Both China and Canada are gearing up to meet the US for discussions around trade and tariffs.

China said they will be sending a top negotiator to the US, a sign of progress after President Trump extended the tariff truce earlier this month.

But there is concern around the pace of talks between the two countries.

“Given the lack of progress in bilateral relations — not just in trade and economic areas but in other areas as well — both sides should work much harder if they want to turn this event a successful one,” Wu Xinbo, director at Fudan University’s Center for American Studies in Shanghai said.

Meanwhile, Canada's Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc, will visit Washington to meet Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick shortly after Canada agreed to lift most of its retaliatory tariffs on US goods.

“We are looking, I hope, for an agreement that will put us in a better position than we are right now,” LeBlanc said Monday in a French-language radio interview on Canada’s public broadcaster.

Both China and Canada have yet to agree on a formal trade arrangement with the US. However, with both sides set to meet in the coming days, a trade agreement may not be too far away.

President Trump said the US has more leverage over China on trade, citing airplane parts as a key item Washington has to counter Beijing's restrictions on rare earths.

Bloomberg News reports:

“We have much bigger and better cards than they do,” he said Monday. “If I played those cards, that would destroy China. I’m not going to play those cards.”

China halted most shipments of rare-earth magnets to the US in April, weaponizing the nation’s 90% grip on global production to squeeze American factories. Beijing agreed to normalize flows as part of a trade truce negotiated with the Trump administration, with shipments to the US reaching a six-month high in July.

Read more here.

The US will make an announcement this week on Japan's $550 billion investment package, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said, adding that a top Japanese trade envoy will visit Washington to formalize the deal.

\\"The Japanese agreement, which we're going to announce later this week, that's $550 billion at the hand of Donald Trump,\\" Lutnick told the Ingraham Angle show on Fox News on Monday night.

Reuters reports:

The Japanese funds could be used for the manufacturing of products such as semiconductors, antibiotics or rare earths in the U.S., Lutnick added.

Tokyo's top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa plans to visit the U.S. this week to craft a written confirmation on the financial details of the package, such as the split of investment returns between the U.S. and Japan, a government source close to the negotiations told Reuters.

Washington and Tokyo agreed in July to set a reduced 15% tariff on imports from Japan in exchange for a $550 billion package of U.S.-bound investment through government-backed loans and guarantees, but details of its contents remain obscure.

Read more here.

President Trump warned he may impose new tariffs and export curbs on advanced technology and semiconductors in response to digital services taxes from other countries that he says unfairly target US tech companies.

In a social media post Monday, Trump said taxes discriminate against American firms while giving China's biggest tech companies a free pass.

“This must end, and end NOW!” Trump posted, without naming any countries. “Unless these discriminatory actions are removed, I, as President of the United States, will impose substantial additional Tariffs on that Country’s Exports to the U.S.A., and institute Export restrictions on our Highly Protected Technology and Chips.”

Bloomberg News reports:

The president’s latest act of trade brinkmanship again raises uncertainty over tariff rates for US trading partners. Soon after Trump set country-based levies with dozens of partners earlier this month, he vowed to impose new charges on a range of imports. Last week, he said imported furniture would be subject to new duties.

Trump has long argued that digital services taxes discriminate against US tech giants such as Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), Google owner Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL) and Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. (META). The US has increasingly used export restrictions on technologies — including advanced chips from firms including Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) for artificial intelligence — it deems critical for national or economic security.

The warning from the president comes a week after the US and the European Union agreed in a joint statement that they would together “address unjustified trade barriers,” and would “not impose customs duties on electronic transmissions.” The 27-member bloc also confirmed it wouldn’t adopt network usage fees.

Read more here.

Reuters reports:

Indian exporters are bracing for disruptions after a U.S. Homeland Security notification confirmed Washington would impose an additional 25% tariff on all Indian-origin goods from Wednesday, ramping up trade pressure on the Asian nation.

Indian exports will face U.S. duties of up to 50% - among the highest imposed by Washington - after President Donald Trump announced extra tariffs as punishment for New Delhi's purchases of Russian oil.

The new duties will apply to goods entering the U.S. for consumption or withdrawn from warehouses for consumption from 12:01 a.m. EDT on Wednesday or 9:31 a.m. IST, according to the Homeland Security notice.

Read more here.