Trump Slaps Sri Lanka With 30% Tariffs, Warns Against Retaliatory Levies

President Donald Trump on Wednesday slapped 30% tariffs on goods exported from Sri Lanka to be imported into the United States, adding the country to a growing list of territories impacted by the Trump administration’s tariff war.

Apart from Sri Lanka, at the time of writing, President Trump announced tariffs on the Philippines, Brunei, Moldova, Algeria, Iraq, Libya, and Sri Lanka. This is in addition to the tariffs announced on 14 countries on Monday.

In a post on Truth Social, President Trump said tariffs on Sri Lanka will kick in from August 1.

“Please understand that the 30% number is far less than what is needed to eliminate the Trade Deficit disparity we have with your Country,” he said.

President Trump warned Sri Lanka against transshipping goods to evade the higher tariffs announced on Wednesday.

Transhipping refers to the practice of rerouting goods through another country before shipping them to the U.S. This is usually done to take advantage of lower duties applicable to the third country.

Further, President Trump added that if Sri Lanka retaliates by raising tariffs on U.S. goods, the Trump administration would counter it by tacking on 30% levies on the retaliatory tariffs imposed by Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities remained optimistic on Wednesday as Wall Street digested the impact of President Trump’s tariff policies as the July 9 deadline is here.

At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was up 0.36%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) gained 0.48%. Stocktwits data shows retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF has been in the ‘bullish’ territory over the past week.

The announcement comes after Trump has already announced tariffs on South Korea and Japan. The President also announced plans to impose 50% tariffs on copper and up to 200% levies on pharmaceutical imports.

President Trump has also warned that there will be no more tariff deadline extensions.

“TARIFFS WILL START BEING PAID ON AUGUST 1, 2025. There has been no change to this date, and there will be no change,” he said.

More trade letters are expected in the afternoon. According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the Trump administration expects its tariff collections to touch $300 billion by year-end, after having touched the $100 billion mark already.

While there has been no new progress on the China deal, Bessent said he is going to meet his Chinese counterpart in the next two weeks.

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Also See: Trump Hits Algeria With 30% Tariffs, Warns Against Transshipping Goods To Evade Levies