President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he would send letters to trading partners in the next week or two setting unilateral tariff rates.
“At a certain point, we’re just going to send letters out. And I think you understand that, saying this is the deal, you can take it or leave it,” the president said at the Kennedy Center in Washington.
Soon after introducing steep new tariffs that roiled markets, Trump instituted a pause on his most punishing duties that expires July 9. His latest comment, however, only muddies the waters about what could happen next as the deadline approaches.
Earlier on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Congress that it is "highly likely" that the tariff pause would be extended for countries that are negotiating with the administration "in good faith."
"There are 18 important trading partners — we are working toward deals on those — and it is highly likely that those countries that are ... negotiating in good faith, we will roll the date forward," Bessent said during testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee.
On Tuesday, the US and China agreed to a framework and implementation plan to ease tariff and trade tensions. Trump signaled his approval, saying the deal was "done" pending sign-off from him and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Trump and other US officials indicated the deal should resolve issues between the two countries on rare earths and magnets, though reports later indicated China would only loosen restrictions on rare earth mineral exports for a six-month period. Trump also said the US will allow Chinese students in US colleges, a sticking point that had emerged in the weeks following the countries' mid-May deal in Geneva.
Trump said the US would impose a total of 55% tariffs on Chinese goods. Yahoo Finance's Ben Werschkul reports , citing a White House official, that Trump arrived at that figure by adding together an array of preexisting duties and not any new tariffs.
Meanwhile, though Trump's most sweeping tariffs continue to face legal uncertainty, on Tuesday, the president received a favorable update. A federal appeals court held a decision saying his tariffs can temporarily stay in effect. The US Court of International Trade had blocked their implementation last month, deeming the method used to enact them "unlawful."
Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet
Here are the latest updates as the policy reverberates around the world.
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