US to start sending letters to trade partners on tariff hikes kicking in from Aug 1

New Delhi, July 4 (IANS) President Donald Trump has announced that the US administration will start sending letters informing trading partners of their tariff rates as soon as Friday, even as negotiations with various countries including India to avoid higher US levies have stretched into the last lap.

Trump told journalists late on Thursday that about “10 to 12 countries will get letters on Friday with additional letters coming “over the next few days.”

He said that the tariffs will range in value from 60 per cent-70 per cent and 10 per cent-20 per cent, which these countries will have to start paying from August 1, to do business with the US.

“My inclination is to send a letter out and say what tariffs countries are going to pay. We have more than 170 countries. And how many deals can you make? And you can make good deals, but they’re very much more complicated,” media reports cited Trump as saying.

“I’d rather just do a simple deal where you can maintain it and control it. You’re going to pay a 20 per cent or 30 per cent tariff, and we’re going to be sending some letters out, starting probably tomorrow, maybe 10 a day, to various countries, saying what they’re going to pay to do business with the US,” he added.

Trump has announced a number of trade deals, including with Vietnam and China,. He stated last month that the US and India “may sign an agreement that will open up India for US goods".

This announcement comes ahead of the July 9 deadline that was set by the Trump administration to conclude deals with certain countries after the announcement of the reciprocal tariffs. There was a 90-day pause to provide room for trade talks during which the tariff rate was kept at a lower 10 per cent for most countries to allow negotiations until July 9.

India’s negotiating team led by Special Secretary Rajesh Agarwal is in Washington to engage in high-level talks to conclude the bilateral trade agreement.

Indian and US negotiators were aiming to finalise an interim trade deal ahead of the July 9 deadline that has been fixed by US President Donald Trump for the 90-day pause on new tariffs that were to be levied on Indian products.

Negotiations are expected to continue after that for a bigger trade deal to be signed in September-October.

The US is seeking broader market access for its agricultural and dairy products, which is a major hurdle as for India this is a livelihood issue of the country’s small farmers and hence is considered a sensitive area.

--IANS

sps/na