5 things to know for July 3

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With President Donald Trump's temporary pause on tariffs set to expire in a matter of days, the U.S. finalized a trade deal with Vietnam, CNBC reported. Per the agreement, the U.S. will apply a 20% duty on Vietnamese imports, which is less than half the 46% rate Trump originally imposed in April.

Vietnam is the latest in the few countries that have made deals with the White House. The 90-day pause that Trump imposed in April will expire on July 9 unless the president extends the pause.

Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics, told CNBC that since “Vietnam had an unusually weak negotiating hand” because the country has a strong dependency on trade with the U.S.

“Other countries will feel they should be able to lock in a lower tariff rate than the 20% that President Trump says Vietnam has agreed to,” he said.

The latest U.S. jobs data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday found that job creation outperformed what was anticipated for June, CNBC reported. Nonfarm payrolls increased to 147,000 for the month, according to the seasonally adjusted data. The figure is significantly higher than the estimated 110,000 originally forecasted for the month.

"The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, the lowest since February and against a forecast for a slight increase to 4.3%," the article states. "A more encompassing rate that includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time positions for economic reasons edged down to 7.7%, the lowest since January."

The jobless rate decrease was due in part, as CNBC reported, to a decrease in those working or looking for jobs. The labor force participation rate dropped to 62.3%, which is the lowest level since late 2022.

Online travel agencies have a big role to play in the hotel booking journey, and a group of experts at the 2025 HSMAI Commercial Strategic Conference discussed how best to optimize the hotel-OTA relationship, CoStar News' Sean McCracken reported.

One way to do that is to make strategic online marketing decisions about photo and website optimization. Another is to think of OTAs as a partner in demand generation strategies rather than just a distribution channel, said Julie Kyse, vice president of hotel global partnerships for Expedia Group.

"We want to provide you with useful insights that will help you figure out things like: What [should] your top pricing strategy should be? How are your campaigns delivering? Then you can tweak and adjust and go after the business that's most meaningful to you," she said.

A fire originating near a Cretan village on Wednesday afternoon has developed into a large wildfire, causing the evacuation of thousands of people and widespread damage, the BBC reports. The island's gale-force winds and high temperatures have escalated the fire that's now active in Achlia, where it originated, as well as Ferma and Skinokapsala.

"Authorities have ordered the mass evacuation of hotels, rental rooms and homes in the Ferma municipality," the news outlet reports. "The operation is underway with the support of the fire service, police and local volunteers."

According to Manolis Tzarakis, president of the Ierapetra and Southeast Crete Hoteliers' Association, 5,000 people have been evacuated, most of whom are tourists to the area.

An estimated 30,000 travelers have been affected by a French air traffic control strike that has canceled more than 170 Ryanair flights for Thursday and Friday, the BBC reports.

The strike involves two French unions that planned a two-day strike to fight for better working conditions. A quarter of flights in Paris and half of flights in Nice have been canceled.

French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot described the two unions' demands and the inopportune timing of the strike as unacceptable.

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