While US tariffs have been the major talking point in world trade all year, this month saw major developments in the area and many of president Donald Trump's promised 'reciprocal' tariffs finally came into effect.
Many of the rates have changed since the first announcements were made back in April, and there remain many sectors that face either exemptions of additional duties, making it a highly complex environment for firms seeking to do business in the US. This makes it more important than ever for firms to keep up with the latest changes in the rules.
So what have been the major developments in recent weeks and who are set to be the biggest winners and losers as a result of the US' trade policies?
India hit with 50 percent rise in US tariffs
This week saw the imposition of some of the biggest blanket tariffs imposed by the US in recent months, with the country hitting India with a 50 percent duty on imports. Previously, the country had been facing a 25 percent rate, but Mr Trump has now doubled this in response to India's continued purchases of Russian oil.
Until recently, the US was India's largest trade partner and there are fears that the new duties will make many imports impossible. Goldman Sachs’s chief India economist Santanu Sengupta told the Guardian the 50 percent rate would make it "very difficult to export" with sectors such as textiles, jewellery and seafood particularly badly affected.
India prime minister Narendra Modi has responded to the dispute by urging his citizens to buy locally, encouraging retailers to highlight domestically-made products. “All of us should follow the mantra of buying only ‘made in India’ goods ...Pressure on us may increase [from the tariffs], but we will bear it,” he stated.
Could big tech dispute reignite tensions with Europe?
Elsewhere, it had appeared that relations between the US and the EU were improving after the two sides agreed a deal last month. Although many European leaders expressed unhappiness with the outcome, noting it was skewed in the US' favor, it had seemed to avoid the most punishing tariffs. For instance, it avoided a potential rate of 250 percent on European pharmaceuticals.
However, recent comments by Mr Trump have suggested that more duties could be on the horizon if Brussels continues with its plans to impose new taxes on US tech firms. He wrote on his Truth Social platform: "Unless these discriminatory actions are removed, I, as president of the United States, will impose substantial additional tariffs on that country's exports to the USA, and institute export restrictions on our highly protected technology and chips.”
French president Emmanuel Macron responded by warning that the EU should consider retaliatory measures if such moves go ahead adding that focusing on the US' digital sector should not be off the table.
Will chip payment deal override export controls?
Aside from tariffs on imports, there have also been movements in recent weeks on exports from the US. with the signing of a new agreement between the US government and key chipmakers Nvidia and AMD that will allow them to ship hi-tech semiconductors to China.
The US has previously had strict export controls on the sale of items such as Nvidia's H20 and AMD's MI308 chips to Chinese buyers. Such technology is in high demand at the moment as they are highly useful in powering advanced AI solutions. Previously, the US had cited national security concerns as a major reason for blocking exports.
However, under a new deal, Nvidia and AMD will be allowed to sell H20 and MI308 technology in China, with the US government to receive 15 percent of their revenue in return.
Some commentators have warned that the payments undermine the purpose behind export controls, with Ilaria Carrozza, senior researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo, telling the Guardian: “If we assume these national security restrictions can be bypassed by paying some sort of fee to the government … then how can we keep these export controls credible?”
Peter Harrell, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, also added that the move "sets a terrible precedent" and noted that export taxes are clearly prohibited by the US constitution.