U.S. urges countries to make ‘best offers’ for trade deals before July tariff deadline

The White House confirmed Tuesday it sent a letter to foreign nations ordering them to make their best offers on trade ahead of a midsummer deadline to settle tariff disputes.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the letter served as a “friendly reminder” that a 90-day pause in Mr. Trump’s reciprocal tariffs will end on July 8.

“This letter was simply to remind these countries that the deadline is approaching and the president expects good deals,” Ms. Leavitt said. “And we are on track for that, I will emphasize.”

Ms. Leavitt commented on a letter sent by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, which was first viewed and reported on by Reuters.

The letter asks countries to address tariff levels, trade barriers and quotas for purchasing U.S. agricultural products and other goods.

It was unclear who received the letter, but the U.S. is talking with dozens of nations, including Japan, Vietnam, India and the European Union bloc of nations.

The letter underscores the administration’s eagerness to settle trade disputes after it paused “Liberation Day” tariffs in April to allow space for country-by-country negotiations.

Tariff levels in the plan shocked foreign trading partners and global markets. Mr. Trump agreed to a pause for negotiations in part due to turbulence in the bond markets.

So far, only the U.K. has struck a deal in principle with the U.S., putting pressure on all sides to strike deals or risk trade disputes.

“Each country has unique advantages, unique challenges,” Ms. Leavitt said.

She said that is why Mr. Trump directed his team to engage in “tailor-made dealmaking.”

The U.S. and China are negotiating along a special track after both sides de-escalated their trade fight during a May meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.

China says the U.S. undercut the truce with a warning about Chinese-made Huawei semiconductors and the revocation of student visas. The U.S. says China is violating the deal by keeping firm export controls on rare earth minerals.

“The administration is actively monitoring China’s compliance with the Geneva trade agreement,” Ms. Leavitt said.

Tariffs are a tax or duty on goods brought into the U.S. from other countries. The president said they will protect U.S. industries and promote American manufacturing and job growth.

“Because of Tariffs, our Economy is BOOMING!” Mr Trump posted late Monday on Truth Social.

Recently, the U.S. Court of International Trade held that Mr. Trump overstepped his authority with sweeping tariffs on other nations. An appeals court paused the implementation of that ruling.

The new letter warns countries not to see the court rulings as a reprieve.

“Regardless of ongoing litigation concerning the president’s reciprocal tariff action in U.S. courts, the president intends to continue this tariff program pursuant to other robust legal authorities if necessary, so it is important that we continue our discussions on these matters,” it said.

The court battle does not impact sector-specific tariffs on materials like steel and aluminum, which are set to increase from 25% to 50% on Wednesday.

Ms. Leavitt said Mr. Trump planned to sign an executive order Tuesday that would double the metal tariffs, fulfilling a pledge he made to blue-collar workers in Pennsylvania last week.

Wall Street has been on an up-and-down ride because of Mr. Trump’s fluctuating tariffs.

Stocks had a good day on Tuesday, driven by Nvidia and other chip stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Tuesday climbed 214 points, or 0.51%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose 0.58% and 0.81%.

However, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development warned Tuesday that trade uncertainty would lead to slower economic growth. It projected that U.S. growth will decline to just 1.6% in 2025 and 1.5% in 2026, due to trade uncertainty and other factors.

By contrast, economic growth was 2.8% in 2024. As recently as March, the OECD had anticipated 2.2% growth for 2025.

The OECD, a 38-nation forum established to promote economic progress and global trade, pointed to recently imposed tariffs on imports into the U.S. and tit-for-tat levies elsewhere.

“In the United States, output growth is expected to slow significantly due to the substantially higher effective tariff rate on imports, combined with retaliatory measures from some trading partners, elevated policy uncertainty and softer real income growth,” the OECD report said.

The organization also cited a slowdown in net immigration and a reduction in the federal workforce as factors that will moderate growth.

Mr. Trump says the U.S. economy will flourish once he implements his interlocking agenda of tariffs, tax cuts and deregulation.

His GOP allies in Congress are working on a large bill that would cut government spending, extend tax cuts from 2017 and implement new tax provisions.