U.S. President Donald Trump has announced plans to impose flat tariffs of 15% or 20% on most U.S. trading partners.
On Thursday, In a phone interview with Kristen Welker, the host of NBC News‘ Meet the Press, Trump declared, “We’re just going to say all of the remaining countries are going to pay, whether it’s 20% or 15%. We’ll work that out now,” indicating that the administration is moving forward with this initiative.
When questioned about concerns that tariffs could negatively impact the stock market or drive up inflation, Trump claimed that the stock market had hit a new high that day and that the perceptions of the tariffs were positive.
This week alone, the Trump administration has sent letters to 22 countries outlining specific tariff rates. Notably, Brazil was informed of a 50% tariff.
During the call, Trump clarified that not all countries would receive formal letters but would instead be notified of their specific tariff rates.
Following the interview, Trump revealed via social media plans to impose a 35% tariff on imports from Canada, a fellow signatory of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade agreement, starting August 1.
In the NBC News interview, Trump also hinted at plans to send letters detailing new tariff rates to the European Union (EU).
Meanwhile, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič stated in the European Parliament that both sides are currently in daily negotiations to avoid U.S. tariffs.
It has been reported that if negotiations break down, the EU is prepared to retaliate with tariffs on 100 billion USD worth of U.S. products.
Trump also disclosed details of a new agreement between the United States, NATO, and Ukraine regarding the provision of U.S. weapons to Ukraine.
