Washington, Jul 31 (AP) With President Donald Trump's dramatic tariff hikes on the cusp of starting, countries around the world scrambled on Thursday to finalise their trade frameworks with the United States, figure out the tax rates their goods might face and prepare for the unknown.

Shortly before Friday deadline for the tariffs beginning, Trump said he would enter into a 90-day negotiating period with Mexico, one of the nation's largest trading partners, with the current 25 per cent tariff rates staying in place, down from the 30% he had threatened earlier.

“We avoided the tariff increase announced for tomorrow and we got 90 days to build a long-term agreement through dialogue,” Mexican leader Claudia Sheinbaum wrote on X after a call with Trump that he referred to as “very successful” in terms of the leaders getting to know each other better.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at Thursday's news briefing that Trump “at some point this afternoon or later this evening” would sign an order to impose new rates starting at 12:01 a.m. EDT Friday. Countries that had not received a prior letter from Trump or negotiated a framework would be notified of their likely tariff rates, either by letter or executive order, she said.

The unknowns created a sense of drama that has defined Trump's rollout of tariffs over several months, with the one consistency being his desire to levy the import taxes that most economists say will ultimately be borne to some degree by US consumers and businesses.

“We have made a few deals today that are excellent deals for the country,” Trump told reporters on Thursday afternoon without detailing the terms of those agreements or nations involved.

Trump imposed the Friday deadline after his previous “Liberation Day” tariffs in April resulted in a stock market panic. His unusually high tariff rates unveiled in April led to recession fears, prompting Trump to impose a 90-day negotiating period. When he was unable to create enough trade deals with other countries, he extended the timeline and sent out letters to world leaders that simply listed rates, prompting a slew of hasty deals.

Trump reached a deal with South Korea on Wednesday, and earlier with the European Union, Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines. His commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, said on Fox News Channel's “Hannity” that there were agreements with Cambodia and Thailand after they had agreed to a ceasefire to their border conflict.

Among those uncertain about their trade status were wealthy Switzerland and Norway.

Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg said it was “completely uncertain” whether a deal would be completed before Trump's deadline.

But even the public announcement of a deal can offer scant reassurance for an American trading partner.

EU officials are waiting to complete a crucial document outlining how the framework to tax imported autos and other goods from the 27-member state bloc would operate. Trump had announced a deal on Sunday while he was in Scotland.

“The US has made these commitments. Now it's up to the US to implement them. The ball is in their court,” EU Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said. The document would not be legally binding.

Trump said as part of the agreement with Mexico that goods imported into the US would continue to face a 25 per cent tariff that he has ostensibly linked to fentanyl trafficking. He said autos would face a 25 per cent tariff, while copper, aluminium and steel would be taxed at 50 per cent during the negotiating period.

He said Mexico would end its “Non Tariff Trade Barriers,” but he didn't provide specifics.

Some goods continue to be protected from the tariffs by the 2020 U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, which Trump negotiated during his first term.

But Trump appeared to have soured on that deal, which is up for renegotiation next year. One of his first significant moves as president was to tariff goods from both Mexico and Canada earlier this year.

US Census Bureau figures show that the US ran a $171.5 billion trade imbalance with Mexico last year. That means the US bought more goods from Mexico than it sold to the country.

The imbalance with Mexico has grown in the aftermath of the USMCA, as it was only $63.3 billion in 2016, the year before Trump started his first term in office.

Besides addressing fentanyl trafficking, Trump has made it a goal to close the trade gap. (AP) AMJ AMJ

Import tariffs prompt urgent negotiations as the US imposes new rates while offering a short negotiation period. The United States issued imminent import tariffs alongside short negotiation windows, notifying countries of likely provisional rates by order or letter and prompting hurried framework agreements. Some partners reached interim understandings preserving specified rates during negotiations, while other countries remained uncertain. The approach applies differentiated temporary tariffs by product category, links tariff treatment to policy objectives such as curbing illicit trafficking, and preserves exemptions where standing trade agreements continue to operate. Implementation depends on subsequent executive actions and nonbinding framework documents, creating layered compliance obligations and commercial uncertainty.