President Donald Trump said he intended to send letters to trading partners in the next one to two weeks setting unilateral tariff rates, ahead of a July 9 deadline to reimpose higher duties on dozens of economies.

“We’re going to be sending letters out in about a week and a half, two weeks, to countries, telling them what the deal is,” Trump told reporters Wednesday at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington where he was attending a performance.

“At a certain point, we’re just going to send letters out. And I think you understand that, saying this is the deal, you can take it or leave it,” he added.

It’s unclear if Trump will follow through with his pledge. The president has often set two-week deadlines for actions, only for them to come later or not at all. The president on May 16 said he would be setting tariff rates for US trading partners “over the next two to three weeks.” 

Trump in April announced higher tariffs on dozens of trading partners only to pause them for 90 days as markets swooned and investors feared the levies would spark a global downturn. Yet, despite the ongoing negotiations, the only trade framework the US has reached is with the UK, along with a tariff truce with China. 

But even the truce with China was threatened after Washington and Beijing accused each other of reneging on the terms, leading to marathon talks earlier this week in London on how to implement their agreement. 

Trump earlier Wednesday said the trade framework with China had been completed and would have Beijing supply rare earths and magnets, with the US allowing Chinese students to study at American colleges and universities. 

Asked Wednesday at the performance if he would extend the deadline for nations to cut deals with his administration before higher levies take effect, Trump said he would be open to it.

“But I don’t think we’re gonna have that necessity,” he added.

Trump had initially suggested he would engage in talks with each partner but has moved away from that idea, prioritising talks with some key economic partners and acknowledging that the administration lacks the capacity to negotiate dozens of individual deals. Trump’s team is also working to secure bilateral deals with India, Japan, South Korea as well as the European Union.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said earlier Wednesday that the European Union is likely to be among the last deals that the US completed, expressing frustration with conducting talks with a 27-nation bloc.

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Published on June 12, 2025