On the 16th, US President Trump stated that he will “set tariff rates for US trade partner countries in the next two to three weeks.”
He pointed out that the US government cannot negotiate agreements with all trade partners.
While meeting with business executives in the UAE, he said: “I think we will be very fair, but there is no way to accommodate so many people who want to meet with us.”
He said that Treasury Secretary Besent and Commerce Secretary Lutnik “will send out letters, essentially telling everyone how much it costs to do business with the US.”
He claimed, “There are 150 countries that want to reach an agreement with the US.”
In any case, Trump did not disclose how many or which countries would receive letters.
Currently, the US is still in consultations with several economies, including Japan, South Korea, India, and the EU. The US recently reached a trade framework agreement with the UK and reached a temporary mutual tariff reduction arrangement with China to buy more time for further negotiations.