Trump says ‘no extensions’ to Aug 1 tariff deadline

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would not extend an August 1 deadline for higher US tariffs to take effect on dozens of economies, a day after he appeared to signal flexibility on the date.

Read more: Trump says will impose 25pc tariffs on Japan, South Korea

Stressing that the United States would start collecting tariffs on imports from various countries on August 1, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post: “There has been no change to this date, and there will be no change.”

BESSENT TO SKIP SOUTH AFRICA G20 MEETING

In a separate but related development, Reuters reported that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will not attend a Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in South Africa next week,
sources told Reuters, marking the second G20 meeting that he has skipped in the host country this year.

A Treasury official confirmed that Michael Kaplan, acting undersecretary for international affairs, will attend the July 17-18 G20 finance meeting in Durban, South Africa instead of Bessent.

INACCURATE VIEW

The announcement came just a day after Trump imposed 30 per cent on tariffs imported from South Africa.

In his reaction, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa pushed back against Trump’s imposition of a 30 per cent tariff from next month, saying that it is based on an inaccurate view of the two countries’ trade and that negotiations with the US would continue.

BRICS CONNECTION

In a joint statement from the opening of the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro released on Sunday afternoon, the group warned the rise in tariffs threatened global trade, continuing its veiled criticism of Trump’s tariff policies.

Hours later, Trump warned he would punish countries seeking to join with the grouping.

“Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10 per cent 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.

Meanwhile, South Africa is an important member of BRICS and also very vocal against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his indiscriminate and planned killing of Palestinians in Gaza as well as the West Bank.

‘DO NOT WANT TO LIVE UNDER AN EMPEROR’

And on Monday, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the emerging BRICS economies did not want to live under an “emperor”, after Trump declared a 10 per cent tariffs hike on members for their allegedly anti-American policies.

“We are sovereign nations,” Lula said as he ended a two day summit of 11 nations that include US allies and foes alike. “We don’t want an emperor.”

Read more: Gazans reject Trump displacement plan despite death, destruction

At the same time, Iran won the support of fellow BRICS nations meeting in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, with the bloc condemning recent Israel and US air strikes that hit military, nuclear and other targets.

“We condemn the military strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran since 13 June 2025,” leaders said in a summit statement, without naming the United States or Israel.

“We further express serious concern over deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities,” the bloc said.

Certainly, Trump and closest of allies Netanyahu won’t like BRICS’ stance on Iran.