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Trump says he's ready to raise tariffs to 70% on some countries

Trump says he's ready to raise tariffs to 70% on some countries

On April 9, President Donald Trump gave the world a three-month window to negotiate trade deals with the United States or face higher “reciprocal” tariffs. With just five days left in that tariff moratorium, the White House is expected to start delivering a message to about a dozen countries: Time is up, and here’s your new tariff rate.

Trump early Friday at Joint Base Andrews told reporters he would notify 10 to 12 countries a day over the next five days, detailing their new tariffs in letters the White House would begin sending them on Friday. In most cases, the new rates would take effect on Aug. 1, Trump said.

"They're going to range in value from maybe 60% or 70% tariffs to 10% and 20% tariffs, but they're going to start coming out sometime tomorrow," Trump said. "We've got the final form, and it's basically going to spell out what countries are going to pay in tariffs."

In April, Trump imposed "reciprocal" tariffs of up to 50% on most of America's trading partners. So tariffs of 60% or 70% would exceed those rates, sending stocks lower, while bonds and the U.S. dollar fell sharply. U.S. stock and bond markets were closed Friday for Independence Day, but stock markets and futures contracts fell around the world, CNN writes .

It is not yet clear which countries are being targeted, but Trump has criticized several trading partners for going beyond the agreement, including the European Union and Japan. Trump this week threatened to send a letter to "spoiled" Japan, raising its tariff rate to 35%. However, this may have been a negotiating tactic, and it is not known whether these partners will be among the countries on which the White House will impose new tariffs.

On Friday, a European Union diplomat told CNN that the trading bloc was in the "middle of very difficult negotiations," which are likely to continue into the weekend as the deadline approaches.

The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about closed-door meetings, told CNN that talks are continuing constructively, but it is unclear whether the administration's July 9 deadline will be extended if a final agreement is not reached in time.

 

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