Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, VITAL BRIEFING—Cornered by own deadlines, Trump pumps out tariff deals, policies, (Aug 1, 2025)

By Thomas Thompson

Ahead of an August 1 deadline, the Trump administration targeted individual countries and industries with relief or punishment.

Brazil was slammed with a 50 percent tariff, accompanied by an Executive Order citing threats to national security and alleged persecution of Jair Bolsonaro, former president of Brazil.

In a major trade deal, President Trump announced that South Korea will give $350 billion dollars for U.S.-controlled investments that he will personally select. There will also be a 15 percent tariff on its imports into the U.S.

Bananas got a reprieve, receiving a zero tariff rate as a natural resource that is not grown in the U.S. Copper was not so lucky, with a 50 percent tariff on semi-refined copper products, sending copper futures plummeting by almost 20 percent.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was set to hear argument on the administration’s appeal of a May finding by the U.S. Court of International Trade that the government had overstepped its tariff authority in several cases.

To read the latest Tariff Insights, click Cornered by own deadlines, Trump pumps out tariff deals, policies.

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