2 months ago
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President Donald Trump said late on Sunday (Jul 6) that the US will start delivering tariff letters to other countries starting 12pm ET (12am, Tuesday, Singapore time) on Monday.
"I am pleased to announce that the United States tariff letters, and/or deals, with various countries from around the world, will be delivered starting 12pm (Eastern), Monday, Jul 7. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Trump had said on Jul 4 that he had signed 12 trade letters ahead of an impending deadline for his tariffs to take effect.
"I signed some letters and they'll go out on Monday, probably 12," Trump told reporters, adding that the countries that the letters would be sent to will be announced on the same day.
Trump's tariffs were part of a broader announcement in April where he imposed a 10 per cent duty on goods from almost all trading partners, with a plan to step up these rates for a select group within days. But he swiftly paused the hikes until Jul 9, allowing for trade talks to take place.
Countries have been pushing to strike deals that would help them avoid these elevated duties.
So far, the Trump administration has unveiled deals with the United Kingdom and Vietnam, while Washington and Beijing agreed to temporarily lower staggeringly high levies on each other's products.
Trump also said that countries aligning themselves with the "Anti-American policies" of BRICS will be charged an additional 10 per cent tariff.
"Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10 per cent Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Trump did not clarify or expand on the "Anti-American policies" reference in his post.
The original BRICS group gathered leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China at its first summit in 2009. The bloc later added South Africa and last year included Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as members.
BRICS leaders at a summit on Sunday took aim at Trump's "indiscriminate" import tariffs and recent Israeli-US strikes on Iran.
The bloc voiced "serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff" measures.
BRICS members said the tariffs risked hurting the global economy, according to a summit joint statement.
