US administration finalizing new import levies to replace expiring trade duties

The US has implemented new tariffs (10-12.5%) on 60 trading partners, including South Korea and Japan, signaling a protectionist shift. Concurrently, maritime and regional tensions are escalating with Houthi forces claiming a lethal attack and blockade of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and multiple reports of explosions on Iran's Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz, attributed by Iranian state media to unconfirmed US missile strikes. Iran also reports 55 fatalities from US strikes since June 27, while denying involvement in an alleged attack on a Kuwaiti power station.