US stocks are floating near all-time highs as Wall Street maintains cautious optimism that Washington might ink more trade deals, avoiding a worst-case scenario of extraordinarily high tariffs and enabling the resilient economy to continue chugging along.

With inflation creeping back into the US economy, it's as important as ever to have a firm grasp on Donald Trump's tariffs and what they mean.

Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs are scheduled to go into effect on August 1 after a 90-day delay—just as American families begin back-to-school shopping—and could hike up the cost of consumer goods imported from other countries.

On his own terms, it could now be said that the aggressive approach by the US President is yielding tangible results.

Japan's top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, the Asahi newspaper reported on Wednesday.