It's really annoying that it's been raining all weekend. The weather report says it will continue to rain next week, even more frustrating!!

Recently, there has been another annoying piece of news. I have looked at a few reports and summarized them for everyone.
Recently, the U.S. government has implemented a series of executive orders to introduce new tariff policies affecting over 60 countries and regions worldwide, causing turmoil and heightened attention in international markets.

The new measures announced on July 31 will officially take effect on August 7, setting the import basic tariff for all non-negotiated countries at 10%. However, for countries where the trade with the United States has a surplus, the tariff will be raised to about 15%. Some countries have been designated specific high tax rates, including Brazil at 50%, Switzerland at 39%, Canada at 35%, India at 25%, and Taiwan at 20%. Tariffs as high as 41% will be applied to countries like Syria.

This policy falls under the so-called "reciprocal tariff", and its strategic intent is to counteract so-called unfair trade practices through punitive tariffs and negotiation leverage. The U.S. government has explicitly stated that if specific countries evade tariffs through transshipment, those goods will face additional penalties; it has even eliminated the previous tax exemption threshold for low-value packages (de minimis clause), meaning that all imported goods, regardless of their value, may be subject to taxation.

After the announcement of this round of tariff policies, the global market reacted immediately, with the three major U.S. stock indices generally declining that day. The S&P index fell by 1.6%, the Dow dropped by 1.2%, and the Nasdaq plummeted by 2.2%, reflecting investors' concerns about supply chain disruptions and rising costs. Many companies have warned that the increase in raw material costs and logistics expenses may directly compress gross margins and subsequently be passed on to the consumer market.

Nevertheless, some countries such as the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, and South Korea have reached some form of trade compromise with the United States. For example, the EU accepted a 15% basic tariff condition in exchange for certain zero-tariff products and energy trade agreements to avoid harsher rates. This plan reduced the originally expected maximum EU tariff of 30% and also released a certain stable signal to the market.

In summary
The United States' newly implemented "reciprocal tariff" policy has a wide coverage and high tax rates, aiming to use economic pressure to promote trade negotiations and reduce trade deficits. The market reacted immediately, with the stock market under pressure and inflation concerns rising. The costs for businesses and consumers have increased; although the judiciary has restricted some executive orders, this round of tariffs mainly remains effective based on other legal provisions. The short-term impact is highly visible, and in the future, we still need to observe whether the progress of negotiations and regulatory challenges can change the current situation.

In Taiwan, several industries were affected when high tariffs were announced in April, and this was reflected in the market at that time. Although it has now been reduced to 20%, it is still relatively high compared to several neighboring competitive countries. Let's see how the situation develops.
That's it for now; I will continue to organize things for everyone later.