After announcing sizable tariff rates for trading partners in early April, the Trump administration put on hold the implementation of much of the levies, except for a baseline 10% rate.
The tariff uncertainty just got murkier. President Donald Trump signaled Wednesday that he would send letters individually to trading partners within the next couple of weeks regarding unilateral tariff rates.
The president made the comments as he spoke to reporters at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.
“We’re going to be sending letters out in about a week and a half, two weeks, to countries, telling them what the deal is," Trump said, according to Bloomberg.
“At a certain point, we’re just going to send letters out. And I think you understand that, saying this is the deal, you can take it or leave it.”
After announcing sizable tariff rates for trading partners in early April, the Trump administration put on hold the implementation of much of the levies, except for a baseline 10% rate. The 90-day suspension was seen as a step allowing countries to negotiate bilateral deals with the U.S.
Since the suspension, only the U.K. has clinched a deal with the U.S.
Trump’s threat of a 50% tariff on imports from the European Union, effective June 1, was put on hold until July 9.
China, which did not benefit from the temporary reprieve, negotiated an initial agreement in Geneva in mid-May. Subsequently, the U.S. and China alleged that the other party did not keep its end of the deal, escalating the trade tensions.
A second round of talks took place earlier this week at the U.S.'s behest. At the end of the two-day protracted discussions, both sides confirmed reaching a consensus framework. The two heads of state must vet it.
On Wednesday, Trump said he would be open to extended trade deal deadlines with individual nations, but added, “But I don’t think we’re gonna have that necessity.”
Countries have until July 9 before the April 2 “Liberation Day” tariff rates kick in.
Separately, Trump scored a win this week when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit extended its stay on a lower court ruling that declared the U.S. tariffs illegal.
Japan, India, the EU, and South Korea are among the countries that have had trade talks with Trump administration officials.
The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ETF and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) are up 4.3% and 2.9%, respectively, for the year.
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