US to set tariff rates ‘in weeks’, says Trump, with letters to be sent out
US president says government lacks capacity to negotiate deals with all trade partners, does not say which of them will receive letters
US President Donald Trump said he would set tariff rates for trading partners “over the next two to three weeks” on Friday, saying his administration lacks the capacity to negotiate deals with all of its trading partners.
Trump said that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick “will be sending letters out essentially telling people” what “they’ll be paying to do business in the United States”.
“I think we’re going to be very fair. But it’s not possible to meet the number of people that want to see us,” the president said during a meeting with business executives in the United Arab Emirates.
The US president asserted there are “150 countries that want to make a deal”.
He did not say how many, or which, nations would receive letters. The countries that get them “could appeal it”, Trump added, without explaining how that process would work.
The White House and Commerce Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment overnight in the US.