Trump's tariffs

Towards 9 July

Tariffs, Bessent: progress with EU, close to closing several agreements soon. Otherwise they will be triggered on 1 August

Interview with CNN: 'But in the absence of an agreement we will return to the levels of 2 April'

6 July 2025

Il segretario al Tesoro Scott Bessent parla con i giornalisti al Campidoglio degli Stati Uniti, 27 giugno 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo

3' min read

'We are close to closing several trade agreements, we expect big announcements in the coming days'. This was stated by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in an interview with CNN, after President Donald Trump had yesterday anticipated sending 12 letters (scheduled for tomorrow) to the main partner countries with 'take-it-or-leave-it' agreements in view of the 9 July deadline: in the absence of agreements, the alternative is to return to the maxi tariffs announced on 2 April's Liberation Day.

As far as the EU is concerned, according to Bessent, negotiations are progressing and after a slow start there has been progress.

In addition, the Treasury secretary pointed out, the Trump administration will also send letters to 100 smaller countries with which the US does not trade much, informing them that they will face higher tariffs, i.e. those initially set on 2 April and then suspended until 9 July. Therefore, he concluded, "I think we will see a lot of agreements very quickly," noting that in any case the US is "focused on 18 countries that account for 95 per cent of the deficit" in trade and that the strategy used in the negotiations is one of "maximum pressure.

Bessent also made it clear that, in the absence of agreements with the partner countries, the old tariffs (i.e. those announced on 2 April and frozen until 9 July) would come back into force on 1 August.

India-US, towards transitional agreement for 10% tariffs (Cnbc-Tv18)

Pending all-out negotiations after the 9 July deadline, India and the US could sign a transitional tariffs agreement within the next 24-48 hours. This was reported by the Indian CNBC-TV18 channel. Currently, talks would only be concluded on a partial understanding that would include average tariffs of 10 per cent.

Brics: 'serious concerns' over Trump's tariffs in final text

"Serious concerns" about the escalation of protectionism and unilateral trade measures. This is what is stated in the final declaration of the leaders of the emerging countries gathered in Rio de Janeiro for the first of two days of the Brics countries' summit, according to the Brazilian CNN. The reference is to President Trump's US tariffs policy: 'We express serious concerns about the increase in unilateral tariffs and non-tariff measures that distort trade and are inconsistent with WTO rules,' it reads. "Against this backdrop, the Brics demonstrate resilience and cooperate among themselves and with other nations to safeguard and strengthen a non-discriminatory, open, fair, inclusive, equitable, transparent and rules-based multilateral trading system, with the WTO at its core, avoiding trade wars that could plunge the global economy into recession or prolong weak growth," the document states.

The text, despite the heavy absences of China's Xi and Russia's Putin, who has sent Foreign Minister Lavrov and will only participate remotely, is not expected to undergo any changes during the two-day working session, after the stalemate of Iran, which had demanded harsher tones on the condemnation of military attacks, as well as on UN reform, was overcome in the last few hours.

US continues negotiations with Japan on tariffs

The trade talks between the US and Japan continue tight ahead of the 9 July deadline. Japan's chief negotiator has had at least two phone calls with US Trade Secretary Howard Lutnick, including an hour-long one on Saturday. Tokyo has been in Donald Trump's crosshairs for several days and the president has threatened tariffs at '30%, 35% or whatever' against the ally. If no agreement is reached, tariffs for Japan will rise from the current 10% to the 24% announced by Trump on 2 April. Tokyo is also subject, like other countries, to tariffs of 25% on cars and components, and 50% on aluminium and steel.