The United States will begin sending formal letters to trading partner countries outlining tariff rates they will face from next month, President Donald Trump said on Thursday.
Fresh from historic legislative victory in the US Congress, Trump told reporters that around “10 or 12” letters would be sent in a day, with more to follow in the coming days. The letters will be issued to countries that have not finalised bilateral trade deals with the US before July 9—the end of a 90-day pause on the administration’s proposed “reciprocal tariffs”.
“I think by the ninth they will be fully covered,” Trump said. “They will range in value from maybe 60 percent or 70 percent tariffs to 10 percent and 20 percent tariffs.”
The president did not name the countries that will be targeted or specify which goods or services the tariffs will apply to.
So far, the US has reached agreements with the UK and Vietnam, and has brokered a truce with China following a protracted trade war. Earlier this week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated that a framework agreement with the European Union was close, which could help the bloc avoid a threatened 50 percent blanket tariff on exports due to take effect next Wednesday.
Trump originally announced the global tariff regime on April 2—dubbed “liberation day”—but then granted a 90-day window for countries to negotiate exemptions. With that deadline now approaching, the US administration has intensified pressure on remaining holdouts.
“While a couple more trade deals are close to completion, my inclination is to just send the letters and say what tariffs they’re going to be paying,” Trump said. “It’s much easier.”
Earlier this week, the president confirmed there would be no extension of the July 9 deadline. “We’re going to do what the president wants,” Bessent said in an interview on Thursday. “And he’ll be the one to determine whether they’re negotiating in good faith.”
The announcement comes a day after Trump secured a major political victory, with Congress passing his sweeping tax-and-spending bill.
