Trump Says He'll Skip Trade Deals, Set Global Tariffs With A Letter: 'Pay A 25% Tariff, Or 20%, Or 40 Or 50%'

President Donald Trump has revealed his intention to set new tariff rates unilaterally for various trading partners through letters. This decision will bypass the need for individual trade agreements.

What Happened: President Trump declared that the upcoming deadline for trade agreements is irrelevant, as the U.S. will assign tariff rates to numerous countries through letters. The halt on Trump’s comprehensive global tariffs is set to end in about ten days. Currently, only one deal and a temporary truce have been achieved, leaving the rest of the world in a state of uncertainty.

Trump voiced his preference for this method on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures”, saying, “We made deals, but I’d rather just send them a letter, a very fair letter, saying ‘congratulations, we’re going to allow you to trade in the United States of America, you’re going to pay a 25% tariff, or 20%, or 40 or 50%’.”

Giving an example of ally nation, Japan, Trump stated that the letters would be on the lines of “Dear Mr. Japan, here’s the story. You’re going to pay a 25% tariff on your cars.”

When asked about extending the pause beyond the July 9 deadline, Trump replied, “I don’t think I’ll need to. I could, there’s no big deal.” He added that these letters would be sent out “pretty soon” and that meetings were unnecessary as “we understand, we have all the numbers.”

SEE ALSO: Pepe Leaps Ahead Of Dogecoin, Shiba Inu Sunday Night: Analyst Expects ‘Jackpot July’ For Frog-Themed Crypto – Benzinga

Why It Matters: In mid-May, Trump had already expressed his intention to bypass individual trade deals and set new tariff rates unilaterally. He stated that it was impractical to meet with all interested countries and that the new tariffs would be communicated through letters.

Trump noted that while there were “150 countries” interested in striking deals, it was not practical to meet with all of them. His administration had already reduced many of the tariffs announced on April 2 to 10% for a 90-day period.

So far, a trade deal with the U.K. has been signed and finalized. By late June, the U.S. had finalized the framework of a trade agreement with China on rare earth and was said to be making progress towards closing deals with ten other major trading partners. However, Trump’s latest move suggests a shift away from these negotiations.

Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had announced that the EU was open to a trade deal with the U.S., but was also considering other possibilities. Trump’s decision to assign tariffs through letters could potentially impact these discussions.

• READ MORE: Canada Rescinds Digital Services Tax After Trump Calls It A ‘Blatant Attack’ On America
  

Image via Shutterstock

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.