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Donald Trump has held out the prospect that the US will impose increased tariff charges on lots of its buying and selling companions, somewhat than putting offers with all of them.
Talking at a gathering with enterprise executives within the United Arab Emirates on Friday, the US president mentioned Washington would impose new tariffs “over the subsequent two to a few weeks”.
Trump mentioned that, whereas “150 international locations” wished to agree offers, “it’s not potential to satisfy the variety of folks that wish to see us”.
He added that Treasury secretary Scott Bessent and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick would “be sending letters out primarily telling individuals” what “they’ll be paying to do enterprise in the USA”.
Trump unveiled steep tariffs of as much as 50 per cent on most US buying and selling companions in early April, earlier than decreasing them to 10 per cent for 90 days to permit international locations time to barter decrease levies.
The president’s suggestion that international locations could face increased tariffs forward of the deadline will inject additional uncertainty into the US’s erratic commerce coverage rollout, which has been marked by a sequence of reversals and U-turns.
US officers have been holding talks with the nation’s main buying and selling companions since earlier than Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs took impact in early April, with overseas negotiators searching for to go off the worst of the duties.
Together with the “reciprocal” tariffs that Trump has levied on most US buying and selling companions, his administration has introduced tariffs of 25 per cent on metal, aluminium and auto imports.
It has additionally launched probes that would result in levies on semiconductors, prescription drugs, copper, lumber, essential minerals and aerospace elements.
To this point, solely the UK has managed to strike a restricted deal to decrease a few of Trump’s sectoral tariffs, scoring a lowered price for a restricted variety of vehicles, together with metal and aluminium exports to the US.
However London didn’t carry Trump’s “reciprocal” tariff under 10 per cent. US officers have mentioned this would be the minimal tariff imposed by Washington.
US officers are in talks with South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, India, the European Union and different companions over potential offers to decrease US tariffs on their items.
Final weekend, Bessent and US commerce consultant Jamieson Greer sought to de-escalate commerce tensions with China, main each side to considerably decrease tariffs and comply with additional talks.
