Trump flirts with unilaterally imposing tariffs on trading partners ahead of July 9 deadline

President Donald Trump toyed with unilaterally establishing tariff rates on trading partners leading up to a July 9 deadline that might see the U.S. reimpose new import taxes and disrupt global commerce.

"I'd rather just send them a letter, a very fair letter saying 'congratulations, we're gonna allow you to trade in the U.S. 'You're gonna pay a 25% tariff, or a 20%, or a 40 or 50%.' I would rather do that," Trump said in a Sunday Morning Futures interview on Fox News.

The president said his trade negotiating team still prefer to strike agreements over simply issuing letters that would amount to a take-it-or-leave-it diktat. He listed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer as the administration's emissaries locked in dealmaking around the world.

He argued that there's been progress and cited deals with China, the United Kingdom and India. Trump also kept the door open to extending the July 9 deadline to reimpose reciprocal tariffs on trading partners.

So far, there's been a limited accord struck with Beijing that scaled back supercharged tariffs while broader talks play out, and another agreement with the U.K. on reciprocal tariffs that shrunk barriers for British cars, steel, and aluminum. Trump administration officials say there are talks underway with 18 trading partners. It's not clear what agreement Trump is referring to with India.

Trump, though, has kept up a light-switch approach to tariffs. He bailed on trade negotiations with Canada on Friday over the imposition of a digital services tax that would collect new revenue from U.S. technology companies like Meta and Google. His administration has campaigned against digital service taxes, assailing them as a form of plunder against U.S. firms.

"There's been things going on that we don't like," Trump said Sunday on Fox Business.