WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday his administration will begin independently informing other countries the tariff rate the U.S. will charge them, weeks before the pause in his sweeping “reciprocal” duties he issued to allow for negotiations is set to expire. 

What You Need To Know

  • President Donald Trump said Friday his administration will begin independently informing other countries the tariff rate the U.S. will charge them, weeks before the pause in his sweeping “reciprocal” duties he issued to allow for negotiations is set to expire
  • Trump suggested his administration does not have time to negotiate with every country and will send nations letters about their new rates in the next two to three weeks
  • A week after announcing in early April an across-the-board 10% baseline tariff on nearly all imports into the U.S., as well as higher individual rates on dozens of countries with which the U.S. has a trade deficit, Trump issued a 90-day pause on the individualized fees 
  • Key members of Trump’s trade team have suggested for weeks that a deal with India is close but no such agreement has been announced, even as Trump said the country offered to place no tariffs on its imports of American goods

Speaking at a roundtable in the United Arab Emirates on the last day of his whirlwind, four-day Middle East Trip, the president suggested that his trade negotiators do not have enough time to engage in talks with every country hoping to cut a deal with the U.S. for a lower rate than what Trump initially imposed on his self-declared “Liberation Day” announcement. 

“We have, at the same time, 150 countries that want to make a deal, but you’re not able to see that many countries,” Trump said. 

He went on to say that over the next two to three weeks, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will send letters to foreign nations that haven’t struck an agreement letting them know the new fee the U.S. will be imposing. He insisted — as he did in the lead-up to his “Liberation Day” announcement — that the U.S. will be “very fair” in setting the rates. 

“I think Scott and Howard will be sending letters out essentially telling people — and we’ll be very fair — but we’ll be telling people what they’ll be paying to do business in the United States,” the president said. 

In a highly anticipated announcement in early April, Trump placed an across-the-board 10% baseline tariff on nearly all imports into the U.S., as well as higher individual rates on dozens of countries with which the U.S. has trade deficit, sending markets tumbling. 

A week later, he issued a 90-day pause, with a mid-July expiration, on the individualized rates — with the exception of the ones on China — while keeping the 10% baseline in place in a move he said would allow for his administration to personally negotiate with countries over their trade relationship. 

In the ensuing weeks, Trump frequently touted what he said was a flood of outreach from nations wanting to make a deal. Trump’s trade team and the president himself engaged early with key partners in Asia, particularly Japan and South Korea. 

But since the pause, only two agreements have been announced, one of which is a temporary deal with China as a trade war boiled between the world’s two largest economies. 

Last week, Trump announced his first new trade agreement since his tariff announcement with the United Kingdom, cutting rates on autos, steel and aluminum and securing what he said would be an increase of American beef and ethanol going into Britain. Days later, the U.S. announced a deal with China after talks in Switzerland to drastically scale back the 145% and 125% duties they had placed on one another for 90 days, allowing talks on a more permanent plan.  

The administration has indicated that no matter the terms of any potential deals, the 10% baseline fee will be kept in place. 

Key members of Trump’s trade team have suggested for weeks that a deal with India is close, but no such agreement has been announced, even as Trump, in the Middle East on Thursday, said the country offered to place no tariffs on its imports of American goods.

“Because India is ... one of the highest tariff nations in the world, it’s very hard to sell into India,” Trump said at a separate roundtable in Qatar. “And they’ve offered us a deal where, basically, they’re willing to literally charge us no tariff.”

The president also noted at the roundtable that he told Apple CEO Tim Cook that he had a “little problem” with his plan to increase production in India.

“I don’t want you building all over India,” Trump said he told the Apple CEO. “You can build in India, if you want, to take care of India.”

Several of Trump’s events while in the Middle East this week included American and foreign business leaders.