As he lived in a tent and battled to provide for his family, Hussam al-Masri, a Reuters journalist killed by Israeli fire on Monday while running a live video feed at Gaza's Nasser Hospital, covered the suffering of civilians during the conflict. According to journalist colleagues, Masri, 49, was a seasoned cameraman who was well-liked by Gaza's close-knit community of reporters because of his upbeat demeanor in the most perilous circumstances. In the months before his death, he would say, "Tomorrow will be better," despite the fact that the Palestinian enclave was becoming increasingly desolate and hungry. That was the conclusion of his final discussion with Mohamed Salem, a senior Reuters visuals journalist who had collaborated with Masri in Rafah, in southern Gaza, last year and had known him since 2003. Salem, who left Gaza later in 2024 but stayed in daily contact with Masri until Monday morning, said he was a pleasure to work with because of his smiles and o...
The letters were sent out on Wednesday. They propose tariff levels of 30 percent on Algeria and Iraq, 25 percent on Brunei, Libya, and Moldova, and 20 percent on the Philippines—the highest among the trading partners announced this Wednesday. Implementation of the tariffs is slated for August 1.
The letters went up on Truth Social a few days after the expiration of the 90-day negotiating period in which the baseline levy had been 10 percent. Trump is letting the countries bargain more before his August 1 deadline but is insisting that no extensions will be made for any countries that receive letters.
The US reports a trade inequality with six countries.
According to the Census Bureau, last year the US had a trade imbalance in goods of 1.4 billion dollars with Algeria, 5.9 billion with Iraq, 900 million with Libya, 4.9 billion with the Philippines, 111 million with Brunei, and 85 million with Moldova.
The imbalance represents the difference between what the US exported to those countries and what it imported None of the countries listed are major industrial rivals to the United States.
Taken together, the trade imbalances with those six countries are essentially a rounding error in a US economy with a GDP of $30 trillion.
The letters issued on Wednesday are the latest in a series of letters that the Trump Administration has sent to countries all over the world. On Monday, he threatened Japan and South Korea with 25 percent tariffs in a bid to increase pressure on the two traditional US allies as well as a dozen other economies to cut trade deals with Washington.
Over the weekend, the Trump administration started sending letters to countries informing them about the reimposition of tariffs by the US, which it had suspended in April. Trump's erratic approaches to tariffs are having ripple effects on the economies of the US and countries worldwide.
The US GDP Shrinks
The latest US jobs report showed hardly any growth in the trade and construction sectors, industries that ought to be hard hit by the imposition of tariffs. The US economy contracted by 0.5 percent in the first quarter of this year, reported the US Department of Commerce last month.
Several trade deals sit on the brink now that will impact the US economy and many of its key trading partners.
To this date, the Trump administration has signed or proposed only two trade agreements, in addition to the other agreements with Great Britain and Vietnam.
There has not been much change in price in the US markets amid the series of new tariffs. At the time of 12:30 pm ET (16:30 GMT), the Nasdaq was up 0.5 percent. The S&P 500 was barely performing, being only 0.2 percent up, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1 percent.