President Donald Trump said he will send a mix of tariff and trade deal letters to a dozen countries on July 7, two days ahead of an initial deadline for sweeping tariffs to take effect.
Trump announced a baseline tariff of 10% on all US imports and varying per-country rates as part of his April 2 "Liberation Day" announcement, but he placed three-month pause on the reciprocal tariffs. That pause ends July 9.
Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on July 6 that he will deliver "tariff letters, and/or deals" to various countries at noon on July 7. He previously hinted during a Sunday meeting with reporters that the number of letters could be "12, maybe 15."
"And they'll be going out on Monday, and a couple will go out on Tuesday and Wednesday," he said.
Trump has made trade protectionism a central part of his economic and trade policy, imposing 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico that fall outside the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, and launching national security investigations into possible tariffs on copper and other critical minerals.
The letters will inform countries that "if you don't move things along, then on Aug. 1, you will boomerang back to your April 2 tariff level," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said July 6 on CNN's "State of the Union."
The Aug. 1 deadline appears to be an extension of the July 9 deadline for countries to reach a deal before the increased rates take effect. Trump had promised 90 deals in 90 days, but he has only announced agreements with the UK and Vietnam and established a framework with China.
"I think we're going to see a lot of deals very quickly," Bessent added.
Trump on July 6 told reporters he was confident he will advance negotiations or reach deals by the initial July 9 deadline.
"I think we'll have most countries done by July 9 — either a letter or a deal," he said when asked to clarify if the deadline moved from July 9 to Aug. 1.
"Tariffs go into effect Aug. 1, but the president is setting the rates and the deals," Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick added during the July 6 comments to reporters.
On July 4, Trump told reporters that countries will start paying tariffs on Aug. 1 that will "range in value from maybe 60 or 70% tariffs to 10 and 20% tariffs."
Trump has threatened an additional 10% tariff on "any country aligning themselves with the anti-American policies of BRICS." The acronym represents a group of 11 countries including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
"There will be no exceptions to this policy," Trump wrote in a July 6 Truth Social post.
It is unclear what prompted Trump's BRICS tariff threat. Leaders are currently meeting for the 2025 BRICS summit in Brazil.
