Trump Threatens 10% Tariff on Pro-BRICS Nations
Former U.S. President Donald Trump said that any country that supports BRICS and goes against American policies will have to pay an extra 10% tax on their products when selling to the U.S. He said there will be no exceptions to this rule.
BRICS leaders, who are from fast-growing economies, were meeting in Rio de Janeiro. They said they are very worried about Trump’s new taxes on imports. They think these taxes are unfair, possibly illegal, and bad for global trade.
Trump said on Sunday that on Monday, he will send out letters to up to 15 countries, warning them that if they don’t make trade deals with the U.S., the high taxes he announced earlier will come back.
Trump had already announced new tariffs (import taxes) on April 2, which he called “Liberation Day”. These taxes were 10% or more on goods from almost every country. Some countries, like those in the European Union, could get even higher taxes.
But when the stock markets dropped sharply, Trump paused the tariffs for 90 days to allow time for trade talks. That pause ends this Wednesday.
So far, only Britain and Vietnam have made trade deals with the U.S. Trump and China also agreed to reduce some of the taxes on each other’s products.
Trump said he expects most trade deals or letters to be ready by July 9.
He also said on his Truth Social account that the first group of tariff letters will go out at 12 PM (Eastern Time) on Monday, July 7.
Later, he posted again and said countries supporting BRICS are being “anti-American” and warned that they will face an extra 10% tax.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed that the new tariffs will begin on August 1, but he said this is not a delay. He said Trump is just setting the final rates now.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said August 1 is not a new deadline. It’s just the date when the tariffs will start unless countries make deals before then. He said this strategy is about putting “maximum pressure” on other countries to agree.
Bessent said the European Union is now making good progress in talks. He also said that there will be big announcements about deals soon, but didn’t say which countries are involved.
Meanwhile, the EU and the U.S. are still holding trade talks this weekend. France’s finance minister said he hopes for a deal soon.
However, Japan’s Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, said on Sunday that he won’t easily agree to a trade deal with the U.S.
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