Trump is preparing tariffs for 150 countries: the rate could reach 15%

US President Donald Trump has announced plans to impose a single tariff rate of 10% or 15% on more than 150 countries with which the United States has trade relations.

Trump said that these countries will be sent official notices detailing the new terms, as part of his updated trade strategy.

“We’ll just send a payment notice that will say what the tariff rate is going to be,” Trump said during a White House briefing on Wednesday. He stressed that these are mostly small countries that don’t do much trade with the United States.

Trump later clarified that the final rate has not yet been determined, but will likely be 10% or 15%. In addition, the administration extended the previous deadline for negotiations from July 9 to August 1, leaving room for possible agreements that would avoid tariffs.

The new tariff initiative has sparked heated reactions among U.S. trading partners, including the European Union and Asian countries. According to Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief economist for Asia-Pacific at Natixis, fixed rates could be a positive signal for smaller countries that will avoid tougher tariffs. At the same time, it also shows Trump’s limitations: tariffs that are too high can hurt the United States itself.

Despite his loud statements, Trump leaves it up to individual countries to conclude bilateral agreements that could reduce the planned tariffs. However, he calls the “tariff letters” themselves agreements and shows little interest in negotiations, including with the EU.

The president drew special attention to Canada, which could face a 35% tariff on certain goods starting in August. However, he refrained from final comments, noting that it is still too early to talk about this.

Recall, Trump said that the US will impose a 50% tariff on all imports from Brazil after clashing this week with his Brazilian counterpart Lula da Silva, who called him an unwanted “emperor.”

Tags: USA, duties