US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said tariff letters will be sent to around 100 countries over the coming days, as the Trump administration’s 90-day tariff pause ends on Wednesday.
“If you don’t move things along, then on August 1 you will boomerang back to your April 2 tariff level,” Bessent said of trading partners on Sunday.
Trump has indicated that the letters could outline tariff rates ranging from the current baseline of 10 percent to as high as 70 percent. However, Bessent clarified on Sunday that the United States would not impose 70 percent tariffs on its major trading partners.
“We’re going to be sending letters out on Monday regarding the trade deals. Could be 12, maybe 15... and we’ve made deals, also,” Trump told CNN when asked about the tariff rates.
He added that the letters would continue to be sent on Tuesday and Wednesday. “We’ll have most countries done by July 9 — either a letter or a deal,” Trump said.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, appearing alongside the president, said Trump was “in the midst of discussing all sorts of deals with all sorts of countries.” He also confirmed that tariff rates would take effect from August 1.
Bessent declined to specify which countries were close to finalising deals but said around 100 letters would be sent to smaller countries “where we don’t have very much trade,” many of which are “already at the baseline 10 percent.” Trump had earlier described the letters as a “better” option for countries failing to conclude deals before the July 9 deadline.
On April 9, Trump had announced a three-month suspension of all “reciprocal” tariffs, despite his earlier assertion that historically high tariffs were permanent. Later that month, he claimed to Time magazine that he had concluded 200 trade deals but declined to reveal with whom.
So far, deals have only been formally announced with three countries: the United Kingdom, which retained a 10 percent tariff; China, which temporarily reduced most tariffs from 145 percent to 30 percent; and Vietnam, which agreed to a minimum tariff of 20 percent on its goods.
In response to these deals being characterised as “frameworks,” Bessent said the letters being sent “will set their tariff rates. So we will have 100 done in the next few days.”
“Many of these countries never even contacted us,” he said, adding: “We have the leverage in this situation,” referring to the US trade deficit.
Bessent rejected the idea that August 1 represented a new deadline. He described the administration’s approach as applying “maximum pressure.”
“It’s not a new deadline. We are saying, ‘This is when it’s happening. If you want to speed things up, have at it. If you want to go back to the old rate, that’s your choice,’” Bessent said, citing the European Union as an example of countries that came to the negotiating table after Trump threatened 50 percent tariffs on EU imports.
Economists have repeatedly warned that Trump’s expansive trade war — particularly the broad tariffs on Chinese imports — would drive up prices for consumers. Several companies, including Walmart, have stated they plan to increase prices despite White House pressure.
“We have seen no inflation so far,” Bessent said on Fox News Sunday, dismissing warnings as “misinformation” and branding them symptoms of “tariff derangement syndrome.” He and other Trump officials continue to argue that countries like China, not American consumers, ultimately bear the costs of tariffs.
