Trump Says US Will Set New Tariff Rates for More Nations Within Weeks

‘We’ll be telling people what they will be paying to do business in the United States,’ the president said.

President Donald Trump gestures as he walks to Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on May 12, 2025. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump said that the White House will likely inform various countries on new tariff rates in the coming weeks, after his administration initiated a 90-day pause on rates last month to lower duties to 10 percent across the board.

While speaking on Friday at an event in the United Arab Emirates, Trump said that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will start speaking to nations that were subject to the 90-day pause.

“So at a certain point over the next two to three weeks, I think Scott and Howard will be sending letters out essentially telling people—and we’ll be very fair—but we’ll be telling people what they will be paying to do business in the United States,” Trump said.

“I guess you could say they could appeal it, but for the most part, I think we’re going to be very fair.”

He cautioned that it is “not possible to meet the number of people that want to see us.”

On April 2, during his sweeping tariffs announcement, Trump said he would impose 10 percent tariffs on nearly every country in the world and higher rates on countries that do more trade with the United States. A week later, the higher rates were paused, but he raised rates for China to 145 percent before he announced earlier this week that the White House came to an agreement with Beijing to lower those rates.

Under an order signed by Trump this week, the White House said that the United States is dropping the extra tariffs it imposed on China this year to 30 percent from the 145 percent rate that was announced last month, while China is cutting its tariffs on the United States to 10 percent from 125 percent.

The United States and the United Kingdom also came to an agreement on trade days before the China announcement. Under the deal agreed on May 8, the United States will continue to impose a new 10 percent tariff on imports of most British goods but will reduce higher tariffs on imports of British cars, steel, and aluminum.

The decision on the UK deal “opens up a tremendous market for us,” Trump told reporters last week, noting that he had not fully understood the restrictions facing American companies doing business in the UK.

“This is a really fantastic, historic day,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also said, noting that the announcement came nearly at the same hour 80 years ago when World War II ended in Europe.

“This is going to boost trade between and across our countries, it’s going to not only protect jobs, but create jobs, opening market access.”

Meanwhile, Trump set 25 percent tariffs on automobiles, aluminum, and steel, and he warned that duties may be imposed on pharmaceutical imports to the United States. Rates of 25 percent were also imposed on Canada and Mexico earlier this year due to illegal immigration and drug trafficking, his administration has said.

The announcement comes as Walmart executives said the company will have to start raising prices later this month due to tariffs.

“We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible. But given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren’t able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said Thursday in an earnings call.

Reuters contributed to this report.