Pressure From Trump for Trade Deals    07/07 06:12

   The Trump administration is stepping up pressure on trading partners to 
quickly make new deals before a Wednesday deadline, with plans for the United 
States to start sending letters Monday warning countries that higher tariffs 
could kick in Aug. 1.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Trump administration is stepping up pressure on 
trading partners to quickly make new deals before a Wednesday deadline, with 
plans for the United States to start sending letters Monday warning countries 
that higher tariffs could kick in Aug. 1.

   That furthers the uncertainty for businesses, consumers and America's 
trading partners, and questions remain about which countries will be notified, 
whether anything will change in the days ahead and whether President Donald 
Trump will once more push off imposing the rates. Trump and his top trade 
advisers say he could extend the time for dealmaking but they insist the 
administration is applying maximum pressure on other nations.

   Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, told 
CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that Trump would decide when it was time to 
give up on negotiations.

   "The United States is always willing to talk to everybody about everything," 
Hassett said. "There are deadlines, and there are things that are close, so 
maybe things will push back past the deadline or maybe they won't. In the end 
the president is going to make that judgment."

   Stephen Miran, the chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, 
likewise said countries negotiating in good faith and making concessions could 
"sort of, get the date rolled."

   The steeper tariffs that Trump announced April 2 threatened to overhaul the 
global economy and lead to broader trade wars. A week later, after the 
financial markets had panicked, his administration suspended for 90 days most 
of the higher taxes on imports just as they were to take effect. The 
negotiating window until July 9 has led to announced deals only with the United 
Kingdom and Vietnam.

   Trump imposed elevated tariff rates on dozens of nations that run meaningful 
trade surpluses with the U.S., and a 10% baseline tax on imports from all 
countries in response to what he called an economic emergency. There are 
separate 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum and a 25% tariff on autos.

   Since April, few foreign governments have set new trade terms with 
Washington as the Republican president demanded.

   Trump told reporters Friday that his administration might be sending out 
letters as early as Saturday to countries spelling out their tariff rates if 
they did not reach a deal, but that the U.S. would not start collecting those 
taxes until Aug. 1. On Sunday, he said he would send out letters starting 
Monday -- "could be 12, could be 15" -- to foreign governments reflecting 
planned tariffs for each.

   "We've made deals also," Trump told reporters before heading back to the 
White House from his home in New Jersey. "So we'll get to have a combination of 
letters, and some deals have been made."

   He and his advisers have declined to say which countries would receive the 
letters.

   Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent rejected the idea that Aug. 1 was a new 
deadline and declined to say what might happen Wednesday.

   "We'll see," Bessent said on CNN's State of the Union. "I'm not going to 
give away the playbook."

   He said the U.S. was "close to several deals," and predicted several big 
announcements over the next few days. He gave no details.

   "I think we're going to see a lot of deals very quickly," Bessent said.

   Later Sunday, Trump vowed to impose more tariffs against the BRICS bloc of 
developing nations, which had condemned tariffs increases at its summit in 
Brazil. Trump said in a post on his social media platform that any country 
aligning itself with what he termed "the Anti-American policies of BRICS" would 
be levied an added 10% tariff.

   Trump has announced a deal with Vietnam that would allow U.S. goods to enter 
the country duty-free, while Vietnamese exports to the U.S. would face a 20% 
levy.

   That was a decline from the 46% tax on Vietnamese imports he proposed in 
April -- one of his so-called reciprocal tariffs targeting dozens of countries 
with which the U.S. runs a trade deficit.

   Asked if he expected to reach deals with the European Union or India, Trump 
said Friday that "letters are better for us" because there are so many 
countries involved.

   "We have India coming up and with Vietnam, we did it, but much easier to 
send a letter saying, 'Listen, we know we have a certain deficit, or in some 
cases a surplus, but not too many. And this is what you're going to have to pay 
if you want to do business in the United States."

   Canada, however, will not be one of the countries receiving letters, Trump's 
ambassador, Pete Hoekstra, said Friday after trade talks between the two 
countries recently resumed.

   "Canada is one of our biggest trading partners," Hoekstra told CTV News in 
an interview in Ottawa. "We're going to have a deal that's articulated."

   Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he wants a new deal in place by 
July 21 or Canada will increase trade countermeasures.

   Hoekstra would not commit to a date for a trade agreement and said even with 
a deal, Canada could still face some tariffs. But "we're not going to send 
Canada just a letter," he said.