The Trump administration is preparing to formally notify countries of the tariffs they will face on exports to the United States, departing from previous plans to pursue a patchwork of individual trade agreements.
President Donald Trump revealed on Thursday that starting Friday, letters will go out to countries in batches of ten, detailing tariffs that could range from 20% to 30%.
Trump acknowledged the hurdles of negotiating bilateral deals with the United States’ vast array of trading partners, numbering more than 170.
The Republican leader’s decision marks a pivot away from the administration’s earlier ambition to clinch one-on-one trade pacts.
According to the president, most nations will be assigned a designated tariff rate rather than engaging in protracted negotiations, though he indicated that a handful of more comprehensive deals—such as the one just reached with Vietnam—could still be struck.
Top administration officials had previously floated the aim of concluding 90 trade agreements in as many days, a plan that drew skepticism from experts familiar with the intricacies of trade diplomacy.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg Television that around 100 countries would likely see reciprocal tariffs set at 10%, and he anticipated a surge of announcements prior to a July 9 deadline, when certain levies may escalate sharply.
Earlier, Trump roiled global markets by announcing sweeping tariff proposals fluctuating between 10% and 50%, though most nations were temporarily assigned a 10% rate to allow time for potential talks. As negotiations evolved, only a few countries, such as the UK, successfully secured preferential terms for key industries.
Negotiations with major economic blocs and countries have produced divergent outcomes, though not final: the European Union faces a 20% tariff, India 26%, and Japan 24%. Meanwhile, nations that have not entered into talks with the U.S. could see even steeper rates, with Lesotho, Madagascar and Thailand among those potentially subject to the harshest penalties.
In a notable breakthrough, Trump announced this week a new trade pact with Vietnam, under which the U.S. will slash tariffs on many Vietnamese exports to 20% from the previously threatened 46%. Meanwhile, Vietnamese authorities have agreed to allow more American-made products to enter their market tariff-free, marking a rare de-escalation in the administration’s tougher trade stance.
