MINT HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 25: Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to attendees during a campaign rally at the Mosack Group warehouse on September 25, 2024 in Mint Hill, North Carolina. Trump continues to campaign in battleground swing states ahead of the November 5 presidential election. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
The president and his officials are pressuring world trading and commercial partners urgently as a last major trade deadline approaches, threatening vast tariffs unless nations can negotiate new trades with Washington.
The 90-day pause on punitive tariffs by Trump, which came into force in April in order to give time to enter talks, is scheduled to end on Wednesday, July 9.
Starting Monday at noon (1600 GMT), the White House will start tracking off the formal letters known as tariffs in which the White House will inform up to 15 countries of the penalties which will be leveled upon them in cases no deal is made.
Room to Negotiate To August 1
Even though the letters represent a substantial escalation, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made it clear over the weekend that it will take until August 1 before the actual tariff hikes will be in effect.
Bessent told CNBC on Squawk Box on Monday they would have numerous announcements within the next 48 hours.
There have been so many people who have changed their tune. Last night, I had my inbox cluttered with new offers and proposals.”
This transition time may act as critical space to make last-minute deals.
Background of Rough Responses
In early April, Trump imposed a blanket 10 percent tariff on imports, and proposed higher tariffs on nations the U.S. believes have unfairly traded with it. There were others that were going to be charged with even greater levies such as the European Union.
READ ALSO: Mystery Deepens Around Epstein Files as Bondi Cites “Tens of Thousands” of Videos
But as the markets collapsed, the administration has retreated from the sterner measures and given a negotiation window, a window that now seems to be shutting rapidly.
Bessent said the letters should not be construed as final punishments but as formal warnings of what foreign exporters will experience unless their governments come back to the table.
They are normal letters that read, :This is what your country will pay unless you wish to come back and renegotiate, he advised.
Deals? To Date, Only a Few
The administration has signed only two major trade deals so far, with Britain and Vietnam, despite aggressive pledges of success by the Trump trade team, the most notorious of which was the 90 deals in 90 days.
In June, a truce was also achieved with China with both countries agreeing to temporarily lower three-digit tariffs. Nonetheless, that ceasefire will lapse later this month and additional negotiations are expected within the next two weeks, Bessent said.
Every nation that we have a big trade deficit with is all involved, insisted trade adviser Peter Navarro. We are satisfied with the progress.
BRICS Countries of Focus
In another move, Trump on Sunday night threatened a10 percent tariff on countries, which support the BRICS, the emerging economic bloc comprising China, Russia, and Iran. The group had spoken against U.S. trade practices in their recent summit, which led Trump to blame them with the charge that they were pursuing Anti-American policies.
Trump posted on Truth Social that there would be no exceptions, and the new penalties would be imposed on all BRICS-aligned states.
International Responses: Bad Signals
Foreign reactions have been mixed:
On Sunday, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was said to have had a positive chat with Trump, and the EU is expecting to agree on a deal in principle later this week.
READ ALSO: Idaho Shooter Had ‘N@zi Tendencies’ in School, Say Classmates After Firefighter Attack
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, however, said that Tokyo would not easily cave in.
With the Wednesday deadline coming, diplomats across the globe are scrambling to escape tariffs that may have a major effect on global supply chains and pressure the economies with the U.S.
What’s Next?
Now as the clock ticks down to the last two days, the world is on edge to know whether Trump has won his big gamble of trade as he looks to settle a spate of last-minute transactions on the eve of closing the books of 2019 or he will unleash a fresh round of global tariffs that may cripple international commerce.
Either we will have deals or a tariff, Trump further stated. In any case, it is America that wins.
About The Author
