Donald Trump said US will set tariff rates for other countries in a few weeks
By yash chouhan 2025-05-16 18:00:53
Trump: U.S. to Set New Tariff Rates Soon
President Donald Trump said he would set tariff rates for US trading partners in the next two to three weeks, saying his administration did not have the ability to make deals with all of its trading partners.
Trump said on Friday that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick would "send out letters to people telling them" what they would pay to do business in the United States.
"I think we're going to be very fair. But the number of people who want to meet with us is not going to be possible," the president said during a meeting with trade executives in the United Arab Emirates.
The US president insisted there were "150 countries that want to make a deal." He did not say how many or which countries would receive the letters.
The White House and Commerce Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment overnight in the US.
Trump announced higher tariffs on dozens of trading partners on April 2, but later put them on hold for 90 days to give foreign governments time to negotiate as investors panicked. Yet in recent weeks the president has moved away from the idea that he would negotiate back and forth with every partner.
While the Trump administration is prioritizing trade talks with more than a dozen countries, a lack of manpower and capacity makes it impossible to negotiate concurrently with all the countries caught up in the president's so-called reciprocal tariff plan.
Tariffs are imposed at the border by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, but the extra costs are often partially or entirely passed on to American consumers.
Earlier this month, Trump said he would set the level of tariffs for several countries wanting to avoid higher duties.
Negotiations are still ongoing with several economies, including Japan, South Korea, India and the European Union. Trump recently agreed to a trade framework with the UK and reciprocal temporary tariff cuts with China to buy more time for negotiations.
The US president said on Thursday that New Delhi had proposed to reduce tariffs on American goods, an offer that the Indian government did not confirm.
"We have four or five other deals coming immediately," Trump said on May 9, promoting his UK blueprint. "We have many more deals coming. Eventually, we're just signing the rest of the deals."
