President Donald Trump announced that the United States will impose tariffs of up to 70% on many of its trading partners. The move has put global investors on edge as US markets remain closed for the July Fourth holiday.Trump said notices will be sent to countries by July 9. This is Trump’s deadline for ending a 90 day pause on reciprocal tariffs first announced in April."We're going to start sending letters out to various countries starting tomorrow," Trump told reporters. "We'll probably have 10 or 12 go out tomorrow, and over the next few days, I think by the ninth, they'll be fully covered.".The tariffs will range from 10% to 70%, according to Trump. Trump said the new rates would take effect from the start of August.The higher end of that range exceeds almost all the reciprocal rates Trump had previously proposed. Except for China, the highest of those earlier proposals was 50%.The administration has secured trade agreements with the United Kingdom and Vietnam. It has also maintained an unstable truce with China. .Other major economies, including the European Union and Japan, have been working to secure their own agreements.The Trump administration is prioritizing talks with a core group of trading partners. For these nations, Wednesday's deadline might be flexible. US lacks the capacity to negotiate detailed agreements with every global counterpart.Last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US "could have trade wrapped up by Labour Day." .The Trump administration is focused on deals with 18 key trading partners.When asked about other potential agreements during a media scrum on Thursday, Trump suggested a different approach. "We have a couple of other deals, but you know, my inclination is to send a letter out and say what tariffs they are going to be paying," said Trump.The renewed trade tensions have affected financial markets. Global investors are also considering the deficit boosting legislation that is headed for the president's desk..Futures tied to the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 declined less than 1%. American stocks had reached record highs heading into the July Fourth holiday weekend, following a strong jobs report.European and Asian markets showed mixed results. South Korea's Kospi index fell 2%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.1%.
