Trump says he will notify countries by letter "how much they will have to pay" to negotiate with the U.S.

WashingtonAfter the tariff table he displayed on the White House lawn, Donald Trump will now use the postal service to notify countries "how much they will have to pay to do business in the United States." The notification by letter is once again a dramatic gesture typical of a president who cemented his fame on television sets and who wants to play with the rest of the opponents again while in the background he rolls back his tariff war. The US president assured this Friday, during the last day of his tour of the Middle East, that "in two or three weeks" his administration will send a letter to the countries on how to negotiate the current tariff situation.

"We have 150 countries that want to reach an agreement, but I can't see myself with that many," Trump explained to justify the decision to send the letters instead of holding bilateral meetings. That is why "over the next two or three weeks" the Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, and the Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, "will send letters in which, basically, they will tell people [...] how much they will have to pay to do business in the United States." In this sense, the American president has indicated that, although these countries "could appeal" the decision, "generally" he hopes to offer a fair deal. "I think we will be very fair," he insisted.

After unleashing a tariff war of the highest level with the rest of the world, the Trump administration has continued to roll back the taxes it initially wanted to apply to imports from other countries. All of the nations affected by the reciprocal tariffs—with the exception of China—have been immersed in the 90-day partial truce for some time now, while Beijing sees a softening of words from the US president after he raised tariffs on the Asian giant to 145%.

Drastic reduction

Last week, on the eve of the first meeting between the US and Chinese delegations in Switzerland, Trump raised the possibility of lowering tariffs on China by up to 80%. Following last weekend's meeting, in a joint statement, both countries announced they had decided to drastically reduce import taxes for an initial period of 90 days. Amid the trade escalation, China had imposed tariffs of 125%.

Trump began to tone down the tone with China after meeting with senior executives from major retailers in the country, such as Target, Walmart, and Home Depot. Representatives from the companies warned the president that taxes on Chinese imports would lead to higher prices for their products. This Thursday, Walmart's chief financial officer, John David Rainey, openly criticized Donald Trump's tariffs after the company had announced it would have to raise prices on its products: "The level of tariffs poses a major challenge, and consumers will undoubtedly suffer."

As Trump continues to negotiate tariffs, American consumer confidence continues to plummet, reaching near a record low this May. The University of Michigan's consumer confidence index fell 2.7% to a preliminary reading of 50.8% in May, down from April's 52.2%. This reading is the second-lowest on record, slightly above the record low of 50.0 points reached in June 2022, when inflation was at a 41-year high.