Trump bets big on new tariff deals as deadline to price spike ‘doomsday’ approaches
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Global markets are bracing for more tariff chaos as the White House plans to release a dozen or more letters signed by President Trump telling countries what taxes must be paid when they send goods to the United States.
Talk of letters has now overtaken much of the conversation about ‘deals,’ with Trump’s team telling various nations in writing how much must be paid. The result could hike the costs that American pay for a variety of goods.
He wouldn’t tip off reporters to which countries would get letters but said they would be sent at some point this week, beginning on Monday.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who stood alongside Trump told reporters the tariffs would go into effect on August 1. He said Sunday night that Trump was ‘setting the rates and the deals right now.’
President Donald Trump said he has signed about a dozen different tariff letters that will go out Monday starting at noon, as markets brace for the impact of new U.S. tariffs
The uncertainty comes just two days before the July 9th deadline Trump imposed, with Trump’s team teasing more deals in the next 48 hours, and indicating the store is is still open for negotiations.
‘We’ve had a lot of people change their tune in terms of negotiations. So my mailbox was full last night with a lot of new offers, a lot of new proposals,’ Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC. ‘So it’s going to be a busy couple of days,’ he added.
‘The United States is always willing to talk to everybody about everything,’ economic advisor Kevin Hassett told CBS ‘Face the Nation’ on Sunday.
‘There are deadlines, and there are things that are close, so maybe things will push back past the deadline or maybe they won’t. In the end the president is going to make that judgment.’
Trump announced a series of tariffs on April 2, which he termed ‘liberation day,’ then instituted a 90-day ‘pause’ after a market panic.
Trump imposed a base tariff of 10 percent, with some countries hit with additional duties of up to 50 percent, although these country-by-country tariffs got suspeneded.
Since that time, Trump has announced deals with the United Kingdom, China and Vietnam, and even these require further negotiation. Trade advisor Peter Navarro at one point promised ’90 deals in 90 days.’
Trump hit ‘pause’ on the ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs he imposed on April 2
‘We’ve had a lot of people change their tune in terms of negotiations. So my mailbox was full last night with a lot of new offers, a lot of new proposals,’ Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC
‘The United States is always willing to talk to everybody about everything,’ economic advisor Kevin Hassett told CBS ‘Face the Nation’ on Sunday.
U.S. stock markets opened lower early Monday amid anxiety over the looming deadline, with the S&P 500 down less than 1 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 96 points. Bond yields were mixed.
In just one of the trade matters that is up in the air, Trump reportedly threatened the European Union with a 17 percent tariff on food exports, a move that could hammer that industry.
Without a deal the EU faces a 50 percent tax on all its goods going into the United States.
EU officials told the Financial Times the new food tax is an escalation between the two trading partners.
Two federal courts have struck down the tariffs that Trump imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by citing a national emergency.
But their rulings are stayed – meaning the tariffs go into effect while the lawsuits continue to make their way through the courts.
Trump returned to Washington July 6 as his tariff deadline loomed
