Washington: US President Donald Trump has said his administration will send letters to countries "over the next week and a half or so" to tell them about their tariff rates, while noting that his pause on "reciprocal" tariffs could be extended or shortened.
Trump made the remarks as South Korea and other countries have been seeking to strike a trade deal with the United States to avoid or minimise the impact of the reciprocal tariffs, with his pause on the new tariffs scheduled to end on July 8, reports Yonhap news agency.
"So at a certain point over the next week and a half or so, or maybe before, we're going to send out a letter. We talked to many of the countries," Trump told a press briefing. "So we're just going to tell them what they have to pay to do business in the United States.
Asked whether the pause on the tariffs can be extended, the president said, "We can do whatever we want."
"We could extend it. We could make it shorter," he said. "I would like to make it shorter. I'd like to just send letters out to everybody, (saying) 'Congratulations. You are paying 25 percent.'"
Earlier in the day, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business that the Trump administration could wrap up its trade talks with countries by Labor Day on Sept.1, as he reiterated that trading partners are approaching it with "very good" deals.
Noting that there are 18 "important" trading partners, Bessent pointed out that Washington has struck a deal with Britain and reached an accommodation with China.
"So if we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18 -- there are another important 20 relationships -- then I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day," the secretary said.
On April 2, Trump announced reciprocal tariffs, including 25 percent duties on South Korea. Intended to match what other countries impose on U.S. goods, the new tariffs took effect on April 9, but the president paused them for 90 days that same day to allow for negotiations.
South Korea and other countries have been hoping to reach a trade deal with the U.S. before the temporary suspension of the reciprocal tariffs ends on July 8.
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