Dharshini David
Deputy economics editor

There is a ray of hope here.

As it stands, when you look at inflation forecasts they haven't really been nudged up on the back of this. Supply chains are complex things, and there could be some things that go up in costs because of third-party countries.

On the whole, it doesn't seem to be likely to have a huge impact on inflation. It may actually keep a lid on inflation if we see weaker demand elsewhere in the world.

Silver linings, eh?

Devina Gupta
BBC Delhi business reporter

There's definitely an unease here, because India has been in conversation with the US for several weeks now. There were expectations that India could have lower tariffs like we have seen in the region such as Japan, Vietnam and Indonesia.

There's 25% tariffs, plus more penalties that are yet to be announced because India has trade ties with Russia.

So, there's been unease, especially when it comes to exporters, especially those engaged in labour intensive industries, because these are small businesses in leather and textile industries and they employ a lot of people.

There's uncertainty over their orders, shrinking profit margins and whether they'll be able to have those kinds of jobs.

One tea exporter told me at the moment they aren't in a position to absorb these tariffs, which means they will have to pass it down to US consumers. This will mean that US consumers will pay more for products from India.

India has said so far it is more concerned about protecting its own producers.

India has kept its door open for negotiations with the US. There's a statement from India's foreign ministry saying they continue to engage, but at the same time saying Russia and India ties are at a good level.

There are a lot of balancing acts and diplomacy going on behind the trade talks.

In the US, some people are asking if Donald Trump's tariffs are working? The president says they are bringing in billions of dollars - do you think they are working so far?

Jeff Moon, president of China Moon Strategies and former assistant US trade representative for China, says that these are taxes on the American public and "when you look at winners and losers, probably, American businesses and consumers are the biggest losers".

He adds that although Trump talks about how the US is getting tariffs from different countries, the tariffs are paid when products arrived in the States and then people have to absorb those tariffs.

"We don't know the answer yet," he says, adding that "simply because Trump has moved the tariffs and deadlines up and down and tariffs haven't moved through the supply chain enough".

Moon adds that economists agree that these costs have to be absorbed but have yet to be passed along fully to the public in the US.

"The jury is out for the time being among the public," he adds.

Do other countries charge the US tariffs that are much higher than the US charges them?

Jeff Moon, president of China Moon Strategies and former assistant US trade representative for China, says that when Trump talks about the US being "ripped off", he is focusing on trade deficits, which he says are persistent and getting larger.

Trade deficits occur when the value of a country's imports exceeds the value of its exports.

"The trade deficit with the EU exceeds $200bn a year. With China it exceeds $300bn a year. We are talking about a lot of money," he says.

Moon adds that when the US was trying to promote globalisation, the idea was to lower tariffs as much as possible to promote trade and prosperity.

He says that Trump is now much more focused on trade deficits as opposed to increasing trade.

What do you think the American public make of these tariffs? The argument is they could lead to higher prices in the US.

Jeff Moon, president of China Moon Strategies and former assistant US trade representative for China, says that according to polls the majority of people don't necessarily support tariffs.

But he doesn't think people understand what they're all about, because the impact has yet to be felt. It takes a long time for tariffs to make their way through the supply chain and reach consumers, Moon says.

"They will be eventually felt, and I predict they will be felt by the mid-term elections in November 2026, so there will be a verdict on whether people support it and how they feel, but it will take a bit of time."

Dharshini David
Deputy economics editor

A tariff, to put it quite simply, is a tax.

It is a charge on goods entering a country and they tend to be imposed by governments who are trying to protect their own industries and stop cheaper imports coming in in great quantities.

They are paid for, crucially, by the body that is doing the importing - so, normally, the wholesaler.

Up until the start of this year, goods going into the US attracted a low tariff on the whole with an average of 2%, now it will be an average of over 15% - so you can see exactly why this has become a big deal.

We'll shortly be hearing from our team of experts who will be answering your questions on tariffs.

After the US announced fresh tariffs on more than 90 countries deputy economics editor Dharshini David, BBC Delhi business reporter Devina Gupta, and Jeff Moon, president of China Moon Strategies and former assistant US trade representative for China, will be distilling what it all means.

In our earlier post, we broke down how much cash the US is raising from tariffs.

You can follow along with our experts by clicking watch live at the top of this page.

As a reminder, in some cases a selection of your comments and questions will be published, displaying your name and location as you provide it unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published.  

Asya Robins
Live reporter

Image source, epa

First off, let's look at the basics

• The US announced fresh tariffs on more than 90 countries after a deadline imposed by Donald Trump for nations to reach trade deals arrived this morning
• Tariffs on Canada, for example, are set to increase from 25% to 35%, although most Canadian goods are exempt
• Meanwhile, higher tariffs for Mexico are paused for another 90 days
• Brazil, on the other hand, is facing a 50% levy on goods it exports to the US

• You can take a look at a fuller list of tariffs in our previous post

Here's how people are reacting

• Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he is "disappointed" but plans to bolster Canadian domestic buying power
• Switzerland's government has said it would "analyse the new situation and decide on the next steps" after the White House announced a higher 39% tariff for the country
• South Africa has noted "with concern" the 30% tariff beginning 7 August but says it will keep negotiating with the US
• A spokesperson for China's foreign ministry said "there are no winners in tariff wars or trade wars" - China isn't included in today's announcement and negotiations are continuing between the countries

And here's what BBC correspondents make of the situation

• South America correspondent Ione Wells describes the move to increase tariffs on Brazil as 'entirely political'
• Our Geneva correspondent Imogen Foulkes says Switzerland's pharmaceutical industry has described today as a "dark day"
• Deputy economics editor Dharshini David says that overall the tariffs are less aggressive than the president threatened in April

US tariffs see countries deepening ties with otherspublished at 11:58 British Summer Time 1 August

11:58 BST 1 August

By Ben Chu, Daniel Wainwright & Phil Leake

Some countries have responded to Trump's trade war by seeking to deepen trade ties with other countries, rather than by putting up their own barriers.

The UK and India have signed a trade deal that they were negotiating for three years. Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein have concluded a new trade deal with a number of Latin American countries in a grouping known as Mercosur.

The EU is pushing ahead with a new trade deal with Indonesia. Canada is exploring a free trade agreement with ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

China has traditionally been a significant global importer of soybeans from the US but in recent years Beijing has been increasingly shifting towards buying its soybeans from Brazil, external.

Imogen Foulkes
Reporting from Geneva

Reaction here to Donald Trump’s 39% tariffs - higher even than the 31% he originally threatened - is total shock.

Right until the last minute, Switzerland hoped for a deal. Last May, Swiss president Karin Keller-Sutter said she had been told she was next in line after the UK to strike a deal with the US, and hinted at 10%.

But after a final phone call with Donald Trump last night, she said no agreement could be reached.

Switzerland’s pharmaceutical industry - key to the Swiss economy - has called it a dark day for the country: the Swiss tech industry says thousands of jobs are at risk.

Leading politicians are urging the government to continue negotiating, but no one seems too hopeful.

The key problem for Donald Trump seems to be that Switzerland sells more to the US than it buys. But the harsh reality is the Swiss produce things the US needs, but does not make, chief among them specific machine tools, and pharmaceuticals.

Many things the US produces - cars, for example - are just not on Switzerland’s shopping list. So there is no way Switzerland, a country of just 9 million people, can balance that deficit..

So today, the mood in Switzerland is despondent. Today - Trump’s deadline for tariff deals - is also Swiss national day, Switzerland’s equivalent of the Fourth of July.

As they celebrate, the Swiss feel they are being unfairly punished for producing high quality products that the world’s biggest economy loves to buy.

Dearbail Jordan
Senior business and economics reporter

Image source, Reuters

Can we now assume that the subject of US tariffs is done and dusted following Trump’s announcement on Thursday?

No, we cannot.

Firstly, there is a week to go before the tariffs go live on 7 August. As the saying goes, a week is a long time in politics - perhaps doubly so for the unpredictable Trump administration.

Secondly, these tariffs might not even be legal. Trump has bypassed Congress with his tariff policy by using emergency powers. This is being challenged in the US courts, meaning that these taxes could ultimately be blocked.

Thirdly, the deals the US has struck with different nations are not legally binding. Take the European Union, for example: they have shaken hands on a deal, but there is still much to negotiate.

And finally, the pharmaceutical and semiconductor industries may yet be specifically targeted by the US.

On Thursday, Trump threatened measures against drug-makers unless they cut prices in the US. Meanwhile, semiconductor sector could face tariffs following national security investigations by the US government.

There is still much we don’t know.

Mie Mie Khaing
BBC News Burmese, Bangkok

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

Donald Trump has pressed ahead with 40% tariffs on Myanmar - striking another blow to the war-torn country.

The garment industry employs more than half a million workers and is the lifeblood of Myanmar’s economy, which has been battered since the 2021 military coup. The US is its fourth-largest export market.

Many Chinese firms also place orders with Myanmar factories, then re-export the finished garments. With 40% tariffs, these orders may move to neighbouring countries with lower rates.

Myanmar’s textile manufacturers also rely on China for raw materials - and costs could surge if the US continues with punitive tariffs on China.

“It’s not just an economic blow, and it could trigger a wider chain of problems,” said a garment owner who did not wish to be named in early July.

The junta government has not been widely recognised - and military chief Min Aung Hlaing said it was “an honour” for him to receive Trump’s tariff letter in July.

In response, the junta head offered to lower tariffs on US goods to 0-10% if Trump reduced the levies to 10-20%.

Jonathan Head
BBC South East Asia Correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

The 19% tariff slapped on Thailand is high, but still it offers a reprieve from the earlier expected 36% and puts Bangkok on par with its main competitors here in the region.

The Thais have been waiting, like so many other countries, for what the Trump administration was going to announce.

Exports account for 60% of Thailand's GDP, and the US receives one fifth of those.

Thailand had previously seen other competitors like Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines getting lower rates, while it was still stuck at 36%.

The 19% headline number is a big relief, no doubt - but details of the deal are still being ironed out.

In particular the vexed issue of trans-shipment - products with large amounts of Chinese content. If the US is tough on that, businesses here could end up paying much higher tariffs.

The Thai manufacturers I have spoken to say they cannot make any real plans about investment or moving production until they see more details.

And they reckon that could take months, if not years, to be worked out.

At 12:30 BST, our team of experts will be answering your questions after the US announced fresh tariffs on more than 90 countries.

You'll be hearing from:

• Deputy economics editor Dharshini David
• India Business Correspondent Devina Gupta
• President of China Moon Strategies and former Assistant US Trade Representative for China Jeff Moon

We’ll bring you updates here with their answers, and you can also watch live at the top of our page.

You can send in your questions in the following ways:  

Email: bbcyourvoice@bbc.co.uk, external 

WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803 , external 

Upload your pictures and video  

Please read our terms & conditions and privacy policy  

In some cases a selection of your comments and questions will be published, displaying your name and location as you provide it unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published.  

Dearbail Jordan
Senior business and economics reporter

British pharma giants AstraZeneca and GSK are among a list of drug-makers who Trump has written to demanding that America is charged the same price for medicines as other nations.

In the letters, published on Trump's Truth Social platform, the president has demanded that all companies take action within the next 60 days or the US government "will deploy every tool in our arsenal" against these businesses.

Pharmaceutical companies have seen their share prices fall today which, according to Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, is "the market’s way of saying it doesn’t like the prospect of Trump effectively declaring war with the sector".

Image source, Reuters

Dearbail Jordan
Senior business and economics reporter

Stock markets in Europe have dropped this morning, particularly in Germany where the DAX is down 1.5%.

Daimler Truck is the biggest faller on the Frankfurt-based stock index after it cut its profit forecast for the US because of uncertainty caused by tariffs.

Merck, the German conglomerate whose business includes pharmaceuticals, is also a major faller after Trump wrote to a number of drug companies demanding that they match the price of medicine in the US with the lowest prices they charge in other countries.

One of the UK's biggest pharma companies - AstraZeneca - is a big faller on the FTSE 100, with its share price down 3.8%. Overall, the FTSE 100 is off 0.7%.

In Paris, the Cac 40 has dropped by 1.5%.

Image source, EPA

Image source, Getty Images

Switzerland's government says it will "analyse the new situation and decide on the next steps" after the White House announced a higher 39% tariff on Swiss imports to the US.

"Switzerland has been and remains in contact with the relevant US authorities," the Federal Council says in a post on X.

It adds that it "continues to seek a negotiated solution with the US".

The government also notes that the extra tariff "differs significantly" from a draft joint statement which was "the result of intensive talks between the two countries over the past few months and was approved by the Federal Council on 4 July".

Switzerland is a major investor in the US and is the only country that does brisk trade to face such steep tariffs.

In April, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche announced plans to invest $50bn (£39bn) in the US over five years.

Image source, Reuters

South Africa says its president Cyril Ramaphosa "notes with concern" the 30% tariff from 7 August announced by Trump.

A statement from the presidency says it will keep negotiating with the US, and that "our negotiators are ready pending invitation from the US".

It also says the government is finalising a package to help companies affected by the tariffs.

South Africa is the only country from sub-Saharan Africa singled out in the announcement - reflecting Trump's strained relationship with Cyril Ramaphosa's government.

Cyril Ramaphosa went to Washington to meet Donald Trump in May, but in the end got a dramatic ambush by the US president.

Read more: Trump presses ahead with 30% tariff on South Africa

Image source, Reuters

"There are no winners in tariff wars or trade wars," says a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry.

Reiterating China's opposition to the US tariff scheme, Guo Jiakun says: "Protectionism harms the interests of all parties."

China isn't included in the US tariff announcement today. Teams from both sides have been holding negotiations, with a 90-day pause agreed in May set to expire on 12 August.

• China is "the elephant in the room", our Asia business correspondent says - you can read more here

How much cash is the US raising from tariffs?published at 09:04 British Summer Time 1 August

09:04 BST 1 August

By Ben Chu, Daniel Wainwright & Phil Leake

The Budget Lab at Yale University estimates that, as of 28 July 2025, the average effective tariff rate imposed by the US on goods imports stood at 18.2%, the highest since 1934.

That was up from 2.4% in 2024, external, before Donald Trump returned to office.

That significant increase means the US government's tariff revenues have shot up.

Official US data shows that in June 2025 tariff revenues were $28bn (£21.2bn), triple the monthly revenues seen in 2024.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the independent US fiscal watchdog, estimated in June that the increase in tariff revenue, based on the new US tariffs imposed between 6 January and 13 May 2025, would reduce cumulative US government borrowing in the 10 years to 2035 by $2.5 trillion., external

However, the CBO also judged that the tariffs would shrink the size of the US economy relative to how it would perform without them.

They also project that the additional revenues generated from the tariffs will be more than offset by the revenue lost due to the Trump administration's tax cuts over the next decade, external.

• You can find out more here