Tariffs Threaten to Undermine U.S.-Iraqi Relations

[u/jamesdurso]

https://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2025/08/23/tariffs_threaten_to_undermine_us-iraqi_relations_1130561.html

In July 2025, President Donald Trump issued a flurry of tariff threats to 14 countries—including long-standing allies such as Japan and South Korea—demanding new trade deals or facing levies of up to 40%. Days later, the list grew to include hydrocarbon exporters Libya, Algeria, and Iraq, despite their modest trade profiles with the United States. On 31 July, the White House announced the final – for now – tariff rates, and Iraq was hit with a 35% rate, up from the 30% announced in Trump’s early July letter to Iraq’s prime minister, Mohammed Shia’ Al-Sudani.

At first glance, Iraq seems an unlikely target...