Trump live updates: President delays tariffs deadline to August 1 as US nears trade deals

President Donald Trump is signing an executive order on Monday to delay that tariff increase deadline by roughly three weeks to Aug. 1, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at the news briefing.

The 90-day negotiating period on trade was set to expire on July 9, causing tariffs to increase from the baseline 10% rate to the generally higher levels set by Trump on April 2. But the order would allow the new rates being announced by Trump on Monday and Tuesday to be imposed starting on Aug 1.

Trump posted letters to the leaders of South Korea and Japan saying imports of their goods will be taxed at 25 percent. Leavitt said approximately a dozen other countries will receive letters.

Leavitt was quizzed about the DOJ and FBI’s newly-released memo about the Epstein files, which said its investigation found that the disgraced financier did not have a “client list.”

The DOJ and FBI also said they would not be making any further charges in the case.

MAGA has responded with fury. Leavitt was asked what the administration has to say to MAGA supporters “who want anyone involved in Epstein’s crimes to be held accountable.”

“This administration is committed to truth and transparency, that’s why the Attorney General and FBI director pledged to do an exhaustive review of Epstein’s crimes,” Leavitt said.

She explained that there was material the law enforcement agencies did not release “because it was incredibly graphic and not appropriate for public consumption.”

“They committed to an investigation” and “delivered,” she claimed. “That’s transparency.”

When asked by a reporter which countries would receive the next batch of letters from the president about the tariffs, Leavitt said she would leave the reveal to Trump.

“Keep your eyes on Truth Social,” she said.

Turning to trade deals, President Donald Trump will sign an executive order delaying the July 9 deadline on trade tariffs to August 1, Karoline Leavitt said.

Letters are going out to countries where trade deals are not yet in place.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt starts the briefing by touting the president’s “many, many wins” over the last six months, including ushering in the “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” the U.S. trade deal with Vietnam, and taking credit for low gas prices.

She is now taking questions from the press.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is due to hold a briefing in the next few minutes.

Follow along at the link below.

Trump has not said anything further about the feud with Elon Musk, and instead turned his attention to how Brazil “is doing a terrible thing” to former President Jair Bolsonaro.

Trump defended Bolsonaro on Truth Social and said his former ally was the victim of a “witch hunt,” a term Trump has used to describe his own treatment by political opponents.

Bolsonaro, who was friendly with Trump when they were both in office, is on trial in Brazil on charges of plotting a coup to stop Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office in January 2023.

Elon Musk lashed out at the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files after the DOJ and FBI said the disgraced financier had “no client list” to “blackmail” individuals.

The law enforcement agencies said no further charges would be brought against anyone else.

Musk responded by sharing several memes on X.

In his feud with the president, the world’s richest person has the distinct disadvantage of not possessing nukes.

But that doesn’t mean he has no cards to play, writes Io Dodds.

Scott Bessent and Peter Navarro have been back out in front of the cameras hyping the president’s latest tariff announcements but neither Fox News pundit Jessica Tarlov nor CNBC seem convinced based on what they’ve heard from the administration so far.