Entering mid-July, global dynamics reflected rising tensions across multiple areas, from U.S. trade policy to armed conflicts and shifts in multilateral cooperation frameworks.
The United States formally ended its 90-day tariff suspension on 9 July 2025, a pause previously declared by President Donald Trump to allow room for bilateral negotiations. Beginning 1 August 2025, the U.S. will reinstate import tariffs on several of its trading partners. The United Kingdom, China, and Vietnam managed to reach new trade agreements, but other countries—including Indonesia—were hit with steep tariff rates. Indonesia now faces a 32 percent tariff, while Thailand and Cambodia are subject to 36 percent, and Myanmar and Laos face the highest rate at 40 percent. This policy signals a renewed era of U.S. economic protectionism and has raised concerns about a new wave of global trade tensions.
From the Middle East, tensions between Iran and the U.S. continued to escalate. On 11 July 2025, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei threatened further attacks on U.S. military bases in the region following Iran’s retaliatory strike on the Al Udeid Air Base. That strike was itself a response to the U.S. military attack on an Iranian nuclear site on 21 June, which Tehran condemned as a serious violation of its sovereignty.
Armed conflict in the Red Sea has also intensified after Yemen’s Houthi rebels sank two Liberia-flagged cargo ships operated by a Greek company on 9 July 2025. Two days of drone attacks killed four sailors, while ten crew members were rescued and eleven remain missing. The U.S. has accused the Houthis of abducting the missing crew, whose whereabouts are still unknown.
In East Asia, Russia and North Korea strengthened their strategic partnership during Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Wonsan. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed unconditional support for Moscow’s military operations in Ukraine. The two countries held high-level strategic talks and discussed further cooperation under a partnership agreement that includes a mutual defense pact.
Europe also witnessed a shift in security policy as Finland officially withdrew from the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel landmines, citing heightened military threats from Russia. Several neighboring states—including Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, and all NATO and EU members bordering Russia—followed suit by pulling out of the treaty.
Amid rising conflict, the 2025 BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro continued efforts to uphold global cooperation. The meeting, held on 6–7 July, produced four key commitments in its Leaders’ Declaration: (1) strengthening multilateralism and promoting reforms in global governance while advancing peace, international security, and global stability; (2) deepening cooperation in international economics, trade, and finance; (3) addressing climate change and promoting sustainable, just, and inclusive development; and (4) fostering human, social, and cultural development partnerships.
On the humanitarian front, the world marked the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide on 11 July 2025. More than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed by Bosnian-Serb forces in 1995, making it the largest act of genocide in Europe since World War II. The International Court of Justice has formally designated the event as genocide.
Source:
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Jeyaretnam, Miranda. “Trump’s Trade Deals, Negotiations, and New Tariffs for Each Country.” Time. 11 July 2025. https://time.com/7300389/trump-trade-deals-tariff-letters-deadline/.
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