President Donald Trump confirmed the tariff rates for U.S. trading partners, including those that had signed trade deals, through an executive order signed on Thursday, just ahead of the Aug. 1 tariff deadline.

The sweeping tariffs ranged from 10% to 41%, with the upper end of the range applicable for Syria. 

The markets have reacted negatively to the fresh announcement, with the U.S. stock futures falling modestly, while most Asian markets opened Friday's session lower.

That said, the U.S. market has weathered the tariff storm fairly well. The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the Nasdaq 100 Index, has gained 11% this year, and the SPDR S & P 500 ETF (SPY) has gained 8.5%.

In a White House release on the tariff rates, Trump said he has received“additional information and recommendations from various senior officials on, among other things, the continued lack of reciprocity in our bilateral trade relationships and the impact of foreign trading partners' disparate tariff rates and non-tariff barriers on the U.S.”

He added that exports, the domestic manufacturing base, critical supply chains, and the defense industrial base were also taken into consideration for finalizing rates. The new rates were set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 7.

Trump's executive order included countries that have agreed to, or are on the verge of concluding a deal, numbering 69. The other countries not included in the list would be subject to an additional ad valorem duty of 10%.

The countries subject to stiff rates include Laos (40%), which exports electronic equipment to the U.S., and Myanmar (40%), a primary exporter of apparel to the U.S. Transshipped goods will incur a 40% levy.

The rates applicable to most developed economies, including the European Union and Japan, would be the 15% agreed upon through the bilateral trade deals. 

After threatening Canada with no deal following its support for Palestine, the Trump administration hiked tariffs to 35%, starting Friday. However, the goods covered under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade pact signed during the president's first term will be exempt from the steep rate.

Citing estimates by RBC Economists, the New York Times said the pact covers 94% of the Canadian exports to the U.S. Autos, steel and aluminum will, however, be subject to Trump's sector-specific tariffs. 

As flagged by Trump in a Truth Social post on Thursday, India was hit with a 25% levy. Mexico received a 90-day extension, as announced by Trump in a social-media post on Thursday. 

“Mexico will continue to pay a 25% Fentanyl Tariff, 25% Tariff on Cars, and 50% Tariff on Steel, Aluminum, and Copper” until the extended deadline, the U.S. president said, adding that the country has agreed to terminate its non-Tariff trade Barriers immediately.

China has until Aug. 12 to finalize a deal after talks between Washington and Beijing held earlier this week in Stockholm to firm up the earlier announced preliminary deal ended without a breakthrough.

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