U.S. trade partners such as Switzerland, Brazil and India were still scrambling to get a better deal on Thursday as President Donald Trump's higher tariff rates on imports from dozens of countries kicked in,

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency began collecting the higher tariffs at 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) after weeks of suspense over Trump's final tariff rates and frantic negotiations with major trading partners that sought to lower them.

The U.S. officially began levying higher taxes on imports from dozens of countries Thursday, four months after President Donald Trump first announced plans to impose tariffs on most of the world while seeking new trade agreements across the board.