Trump signals new unilateral tariffs as US shifts trade strategy

President Donald Trump hints that the US will unilaterally impose new tariffs on its trading partners rather than negotiate deals with all of them. 

He claimed they would announce new tariffs soon since meeting with all its partners would be impossible.

Trump will announce new tariffs over the next two to three weeks

On Friday, speaking with business executives in the United Arab Emirates, Trump revealed that they would unveil new tariffs over the next two to three weeks.

He stated that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick would communicate in letters detailing what countries must pay to do business in the United States.

Trump also argued that while roughly 150 countries wanted to make deals with the US, meeting all of them for negotiations would not be practical. 

He had paused his reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, ending July 8, while retaining the 10% base tariffs. Thus, countries have been under massive pressure to close deals with the American government before the deadline. Some nations were even hoping for zero-tariff deals like Japan and Argentina.

The US has agreed with the UK on a new trade deal. Under the agreement, the first 100,000 vehicles imported into the US by the UK will only be subjected to a 10% tariff, while any extra vehicles will be subjected to a 25% rate.

The US also announced a 90-day pause for its tariffs on China this week while they work on a long-term agreement.

Nevertheless, the US has been talking with the EU, Japan, India, and other countries.

President Trump agreed to let the UAE buy more AI semiconductors

President Trump’s Gulf Tour has paved the way for the UAE to purchase advanced AI semiconductors from US companies. The UAE also pledged to increase its energy investments in the US by over $440 billion in the next 10 years.

Back in March, the UAE also committed a $1.4 trillion investment in the US for a decade, which Trump mentioned during his tour. He commented, “We’re making great progress for the $1.4 (trillion) that UAE has announced it intends to spend in the United States.”

On Thursday, Trump had suggested going to Turkey to engage in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine; however, that did not happen. Nonetheless, Trump claimed that he would like to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as they can arrange a meeting.

On his way back today, Trump also confirmed that they had offered Iran a nuclear deal, urging that they have to move quickly. In the last weeks, state officials from Iran and the US have been discussing Tehran’s nuclear program. Trump even announced that he would consider letting the country have its civilian nuclear program.