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APTrump warns of sweeping tariffs up to 70 percent, claims credit for halting global conflicts in fiery July 4 Iowa rally as trade partners face July 9 deadline
US President Donald Trump used his appearance at Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines to issue a high-stakes ultimatum to America鈥檚 trading partners about finalizing new trade agreements by July 9, or face tariffs as high as 70 percent starting August 1. The rally took place as part of the America250 Independence Day celebration.Just before boarding Air Force One for his campaign stop in Iowa, Trump confirmed his administration will begin sending formal letters to between 10 and 12 countries starting today, notifying them of new unilateral tariffs ranging from 10 to 70 percent. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to be sending letters out to various countries starting tomorrow,鈥 he told reporters. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l range in value from maybe 60 or 70 percent tariffs to 10 and 20 percent tariffs.鈥 The president said the money from these duties will begin 鈥渢o come into the United States on August 1.鈥漈his latest round of tariffs, which far exceed the 10 percent baseline announced in April under his 鈥淟iberation Day鈥 trade policy, marks a significant escalation in Trump鈥檚 economic strategy. During his remarks, Trump signaled frustration with slow-moving multilateral talks and emphasized his preference for direct, bilateral deals. 鈥淲e have a couple of other deals,鈥 he said, 鈥渂ut my inclination is to send a letter out and say what tariffs they are going to be paying. It鈥檚 much easier.鈥滾ive EventsTrump the peacemakerTrump’s speech in Iowa veered into foreign policy, where he made sweeping claims about halting international conflicts. 鈥淲e stopped five nations from going to war,鈥 he declared. 鈥淚ndia and Pakistan. Kosovo and Serbia. And in Africa, what was going on in the Congo with Rwanda.鈥 He described the Congo conflict as 鈥渁 war going on for 30 years, 6 million people killed, and it was a bad one. It was killed and killed badly. Machetes. You know what a machete is? You don鈥檛 want to know.鈥漈he perfect hitTrump also referenced tensions with Iran, calling a recent US strike 鈥渢he perfect hit,鈥 after the regime chanted 鈥淒eath to America, death to Israel.鈥 He said the tone from Tehran has changed. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not talking badly anymore. To be honest with you, they want to meet, and we鈥檒l see if we can do something.鈥滵eals and negotiations On the economic front, the White House has reached partial deals with the United Kingdom and Vietnam. Under the Vietnam deal, a 20 percent tariff will apply to most exports, while transshipped goods from countries like China will face a 40 percent rate.Negotiations remain ongoing with other major partners including Japan, South Korea, India, and the European Union. Trump praised progress with India but criticized Japan as a difficult negotiating partner, saying Tokyo should be forced to 鈥減ay 30 percent, 35 percent, or whatever the number is that we determine.鈥漈he July 9 deadline stems from a 90-day pause Trump announced in April, which temporarily capped tariffs at 10 percent to give countries time to reach deals. As the window closes, pressure is mounting on US allies and trading partners to finalize terms.Markets reacted nervously to the announcement. Equities in Asia dipped early Friday, while US manufacturing and agricultural leaders raised alarms about the possible fallout.Trump ended his speech by claiming that allied nations have now committed to pay over a trillion dollars a year for US defense, citing recent gains at NATO. 鈥淵ou saw what happened in NATO. We have our ambassador to NATO here,鈥 he added.Whether Trump’s gamble leads to a new set of bilateral deals or triggers a new wave of global trade disruptions remains to be seen.(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
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(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)Read More News onTrump tariffsDonald Trump70 percent tariffstrade agreementsNATOwhite housetrumpIran tensionsIowa State FairgroundsIndependence Day(Catch all the US News, UK News, Canada News, International Breaking News Events, and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily International News Updates….moreless
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