Donald Trump has announced that the US will begin sending letters to some trading partners to establish new tariff rates, indicating a lack of capacity to negotiate individual trade agreements.
He highlighted the difficulty for the White House in managing negotiations with many countries simultaneously, stating he “can’t meet the number of people he wants to see.”
While speaking with business leaders during his visit to the United Arab Emirates, he mentioned, “There are 150 countries we want to trade with, but we can’t meet many of them.”
The president noted that Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick would “send letters essentially” regarding tariff rates imposed on exports to the US.
“I think in the next couple of weeks, Scott and Howard will send letters to inform people about the costs of doing business in the US,” he remarked.
Trump’s remarks reflect the challenges his administration faces after he imposed tariffs on imports from all US trading partners on April 2nd, a date he dubbed the “liberation date.”
Washington has eased some measures after bond market improvements, including pausing “mutual tariffs” for many trading partners such as the EU, working on trade agreements to lower tariffs with the UK, and agreeing to a 90-day suspension with China.
Earlier this week, Trump expressed satisfaction over a “full reset” of China-US relations following an agreement to reduce tariffs, lowering US duties on Chinese goods to 30% and making US goods duties drop to 10%.
The White House indicates that negotiations with the EU are still in progress, while it focuses on consultations with major trading partners like India, South Korea, and Japan.
However, Trump’s comments imply that Washington is struggling to engage with hundreds of countries simultaneously, preferring to set terms directly instead.
