“Tariff is the most beautiful word in the dictionary,” Donald Trump once declared. That wasn’t a throwaway line, but what seemed to be a transnational battle cry. Six months into his second term, the former and now current US President has turned the word into a policy instrument of unparalleled weight. And as of this week, the tariffs keep coming, swelling in scale, reach, and global consequence.
Image for representational purposes only
On July 9, Trump expanded his tariff net further, issuing formal notifications to seven new countries — Algeria (30 per cent), Iraq (30 per cent), Libya (30 per cent), the Philippines (20 per cent), Brunei (25 per cent), Moldova (25 per cent), and Sri Lanka (30 per cent) — warning that reciprocal duties on all goods from these nations will take effect from August 1, 2025. These join 14 others already hit with reciprocal tariff rates ranging between 25 per cent and 40 per cent. After these countries received the respective letters, the US announced a 50 per cent tariff on the neighbouring country, Brazil, the highest tariff imposed among all. However, tariff imposition upon Brazil is speculated to stand upon a whole different reason. More letters are expected. The President confirmed this personally in a Truth Social post, stating, “As per letters sent to various countries yesterday, in addition to letters that will be sent today, tomorrow, and for the next short period of time, TARIFFS WILL START BEING PAID ON AUGUST 1, 2025.”
But the key question echoing across boardrooms, shipping yards, and global supply chains remains: What goods exactly are being tariffed? And who, ultimately, pays the price?
Let’s be clear. Aluminium is not on the new hit list. And, for good reason. It’s already under a 50 per cent Section 232 tariff invoked on the grounds of national security. The same goes for steel. Trump’s trade architects consider these metals a done deal. In fact, the recent round of reciprocal tariffs explicitly excludes aluminium, steel, and copper (which is now also slapped with its own 50 per cent tariff but under a separate order), not the current reciprocal actions.
So, what does the new tariff wave cover? The answer is, in short, everything else. From consumer electronics to footwear, automotive components to plastic goods, the tariff net is cast wide over virtually all other import categories from the affected nations. It’s a sweeping, aggressive gambit aimed at pressuring trade partners into cutting their own duties on American products—a textbook “reciprocity” approach, albeit one drawn with a sledgehammer.
And who pays these tariffs? Here lies the trickiest part of the equation. Despite the populist narrative that these levies are “charged to foreign countries,” the reality is that US importers foot the bill, and those costs are almost always passed down the line to American businesses and consumers. Tariffs act like a hidden tax. They inflate the price of imported goods and often lead to retaliatory actions that squeeze US exports abroad.
Take the Philippines, for instance, a country now facing a 20 per cent tariff. It’s a critical source of semiconductors and electronic components (largely using aluminium among other metals like copper) for US tech firms. A 20 per cent hike in input costs doesn’t just punish Philippine manufacturers. It ricochets back to American factories, raising costs for devices, delaying production cycles, and weakening competitiveness. The same holds for Sri Lanka’s apparel exports, Brunei’s energy derivatives, and Algeria’s minerals. The cost curve bends back home.
These measures also risk triggering a chain reaction of retaliatory tariffs. Other nations aren’t likely to sit idly by. The EU, UK, Canada, and India are still negotiating hard to avoid being added to the list. With no exemptions currently granted and Trump himself doubling down on the August 1 deadline, the spectre of a full-blown tariff war redux (not unlike the one seen in 2018-2019) is drawing uncomfortably close.
This isn’t just about trade anymore; it’s geoeconomic posturing dressed in red, white, and blue. Trump’s strategy is rooted in leverage: create enough pain to force foreign governments to lower their own tariffs on American goods. But the line between strategic pressure and economic self-sabotage is perilously thin.
The irony is glaring! In trying to rebalance trade, the US risks disfiguring it altogether. Industries that rely on complex global value chains( example, tech, auto, retail) may find themselves stranded between higher input costs and reduced export access. Consumers, meanwhile, may soon find that everything from smartphones to sneakers comes with a steeper price tag.
So, while aluminium may be off the table this time, the broader cost of Trump’s tariff focus is very much on it. The latest wave signals a doubling down on economic nationalism. The danger is that, in pursuit of symmetrical tariff regimes, the US might unleash asymmetrical damage, mostly on itself.
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