Trump Tariffs Today Live Updates: US Sends Tariff Letters To 14 Nations, Slaps 25-40% Levies

Donald Trump posted letters to the leaders of six other countries, as he announced tariffs on 14 countries in total on Monday.

Bangladesh was slapped with 35% tariffs.

Tunisia was the latest to receive a tariff letter from US President Donald Trump, as he announced to impose 25% levy on the imports from the country.

BRICS members, including China, Russia and South Africa, responded coolly to Donald Trump’s latest threat of additional 10% tariffs, and stressed that the bloc was not seeking a confrontation with the US.

However, host Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva seemed less diplomatic, AFP reported.

“We are sovereign nations. We don’t want an emperor,” he said.

US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose “anti-American policies” of BRICS nations, which also include India, China, and Russia, with an additional 10% tariff, clouded the final day of the bloc’s Summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday, AFP reported.

Trump’s threat came after the BRICS members warned against his “indiscriminate and illegal tariff hikes”.

US President Donald Trump has sent letters to the leaders of seven countries so far on Monday (local time), as the deadline for the tariff pause nears on Wednesday.

Japan and South Korea were the first countries to receive the letters, while Malaysia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Lao, and Myanmar became the following countries.

US President Donald Trump on Monday sent tariff letters to five more nations, imposing tariffs, starting August 1. This takes the total number of countries to have received letters to 7, with Japan and South Korea being the first receivers of letters.

The White House on Monday said that President Donald Trump was closely monitoring the BRICS Summit, which is why he put out a statement on social media.

“He’s closely monitoring, which is why he put out a statement. He does not perceive these countries as growing stronger, he just perceives them as trying to undermine the US interests. That’s not okay with him, no matter how strong or weak a country may be,” the White House said, while responding to question whether Trump believes BRICS is getting stronger.

The White House said on Monday that President Donald Trump wants to cut the best deal for the Americans and check “which countries have hollowed us out”.

“There will be approximately 12 other countries that will receive notifications and letters directly from the President… The administration, the President, and his trade team want to cut the best deals for the American people and the American worker,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

“He is looking out at the world map and seeing which countries have hollowed us out. The President is taking deliberate approach to correcting this wrong, this ravaging of our middle class,” she added.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday said that US President Donald Trump was making “tailor-made trade deals” for countries.

“The President is making tailor-made trade deals. Approximately 12 more nations will receive the letters. The letters will be posted on Truth Social,” she said at the White House briefing.

Donald Trump’s trade adviser, Peter Navarro, responded to a question on whether he was disappointed in the number of trade deals achieved so far, and said that he was happy with the progress made.

“Every country that we run a major deficit with is fully engaged,” he told CNBC on Monday.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC in an interview on Monday that there are a number of deals coming up in the next 48 hours, as the deadline for the tariff pause ends on Wednesday.

“We are going to have several announcements in the next 48 hours. We’ve had a lot of people change their tune in terms of negotiations. So my mailbox was full last night with a lot of new offers, a lot of new proposals,” AFP quoted him as saying.

In his letters to Japan and South Korea, Donald Trump on Monday said that he was ready to modify tariffs “downwards” if both countries changed their trade policies.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Sunday had said that he would not easily compromise in trade talks with the US.

The US stocks dropped further after Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcements on Japan and South Korea.

The Dow dropped by as much as 530 points, or 1.2%. The S&P 500 went down by 0.87%, and the Nasdaq also fell by 0.9%, CNN reported.

Donald Trump sent the first tariff letters to Japan and South Korea on Monday and imposed 25% tariffs on both countries starting August 1.

He posted the letters on Truth Social, the social media platform owned by him.

Trump also shared a letter sent to South Korea.

Donald Trump had imposed a 10% baseline tariff on imports from almost all countries in early April, while some countries, including India, faced higher tariffs. The European Union faced 20% tariffs.

As markets crashed globally, Trump halted the hike in tariffs for 90 days to give room for talks. The deadline ends on July 9.

However, the US government has extended the actual tariff re‑imposition date to August 1.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday said that the BRICS grouping of emerging economies “has never been and will never be” aimed at countering other countries following US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose extra tariffs on BRICS members.

On Sunday, BRICS leaders had described Trump’s tariff war as “indiscriminate” and damaging.

The India-US trade relationship has taken centre-stage with reports indicating that it’s just a matter of days before the trade deal is sealed. While both countries have long engaged in bilateral trade, recent developments are pointing towards a more comprehensive trade agreement aimed at deepening economic cooperation, reducing tariffs, and encouraging investment in strategic sectors.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

Global stock markets moved in different directions on Monday, while the US dollar strengthened as trade tensions escalated ahead of President Donald Trump’s tariff deadline. Countries are scrambling to finalise trade agreements to avoid fresh US levies.

Oil prices edged higher despite a weekend decision by OPEC and its allies to raise production more than anticipated.

China on Monday responded to US President Donald Trump’s warning of an additional 10% tariff on countries supporting the BRICS nations. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing viewed BRICS as a positive force in the international community. “Its cooperation is open and inclusive, and not targeted at any particular country,” she said.

“As for tariffs, we have consistently opposed tariff wars and trade wars. We are against using tariffs as a tool for coercion and pressure. Arbitrarily imposing tariffs does not serve the interests of any party,” Ning added.