Forget trade talks: Trump says the U.S. will just tell countries their tariff rates (again)
Trump said his administration will be "sending letters out" telling countries "what they will be paying to do business" in the U.S.
President Donald Trump said Friday that his administration doesn’t have time to negotiate individual trade deals with scores of countries, so the administration will decide what the tariff rates will be “over the next two to three weeks.”
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“I think we’re going to be very fair. But it’s not possible to meet the number of people that want to see us,” the president said during a meeting in the United Arab Emirates.
Trump said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will “be sending letters out” that will “be telling people what they will be paying to do business in the United States.”
The president claimed there are “150 countries that want to make a deal.”
Trump first imposed universal and reciprocal tariffs in his “Liberation Day” announcement on April 2, before pausing them amid chaos in financial markets. The Trump administration had previously said it was going to make “90 deals in 90 days,” according to senior trade adviser Peter Navarro. So far, the president has agreed to trade deal frameworks with two countries: the U.K. (a deal the president said was “wonderful”) and China (“a very big deal” that’s “in the process of continuing to be formed”).
Earlier this week, U.S. and Chinese officials announced a 90-day pause on most tariffs and trade barriers. As part of the agreement, the U.S. will temporarily reduce tariffs on Chinese goods to 30%, down from 145%, while China will lower tariffs on American products to 10%, down from 125%.
The president has said this is a “total reset” for negotiations with the two countries. But others aren’t sure that it’s substantive — or that it will stick.
Bloomberg, citing analysts and investors, reports that Trump’s tariffs on China are likely to remain at a level that will “severely curtail Chinese exports” to the U.S. after the 90 days are up, “suggesting Beijing may have to endure further economic pain despite active talks.”
Other countries have been in trade talks but haven’t signed anything.
On Thursday, Trump said India might drop tariffs on U.S.-made goods in a future trade deal. Japan, which has pushed for a removal of tariffs on autos, has signaled that it won’t sign a partial deal, The Financial Times reported Friday. And South Korea’s minister of trade asked for a waiver from the administration’s tariffs but warned it might not be able to make a deal ahead of the July deadline due to domestic politics, according to Reuters.