Trump to send tariff rates by letter two days before deadline

Donald Trump said on Friday he would send trade letters to foreign governments next week, outlining the tariff rates they must pay to do business with Washington. 

"I signed some letters, and they'll go out on Monday, probably 12," Trump told reporters, adding that the list of countries receiving the letters would be published the same day.

Trump said he had planned to notify countries of US tariff decisions through formal letters rather than sit-down talks, seemingly brushing off the idea of hammering out dozens of individual deals.

It is "much easier to send a letter saying: 'Listen, we know we have a certain deficit, or in some cases a surplus (...) and this is what you have to pay, if you want to do business with the US,'" he said.

His comments come days before steeper duties, which the president said would range between 10 and 70%, are set to take effect on 9 July on dozens of economies, including the EU.

The tariffs were part of a broader announcement in April where Trump imposed a 10% duty on goods from almost all trading partners, with plans to ratchet up the rates for certain countries.

However, he swiftly paused the hikes until 9 July, allowing for trade talks to take place. Ever since, countries have been pushing to strike deals that would help them avoid these elevated duties.

So far, Washington has reached deals with the UK and Vietnam, and agreed with Beijing to temporarily lower staggeringly high levies on each other's products.

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