The president escalates trade war rhetoric again, as the economy is flashing warning signs — and promised deals remain almost entirely undelivered
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
President Donald Trump threatened an "ADDITIONAL" 10% tariff on exports from any country "aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies" of the BRICS bloc, ratcheting up rhetoric over the weekend and just days ahead of his self-imposed July 9 trade deadline.
Trump did not point to any particular policy. But this latest threat, posted on Truth Social, comes after BRICS nations condemned military action in Iran and Israel’s occupation of Gaza during a weekend summit. BRICS nations originally included just Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa added in 2010. Since then, the group has expanded to include Iran, Egypt, and Indonesia, among others.
Trump had promised to deliver 90 trade agreements in 90 days, following his April 2 announcement of sweeping tariffs and then, just one week later, his pausing of those tariffs.
So far, the deal tally is far lower. Ahead of Wednesday’s deadline, the administration has only announced two partial deals with the U.K. and Vietnam, respectively — and now, once again, the date is moving, with officials proclaiming that August 1 is the day of reckoning.
In a separate Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said that his administration will begin sending out “UNITED STATES TARIFF Letters” to trading partners starting at noon Monday, warning that countries could face tariffs as high as 70% if no deal is reached. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent clarified in TV interviews the same day that the letters may not immediately trigger tariffs, but will set new deadlines for negotiations, with the threat of reverting to the April 2 rate hikes by August 1 if talks don’t progress.
Where negotiations stand with any one country is far from clear. Until recently, Japan was in tense talks with the administration but has lately appeared to take a cooler approach. Trump recently suspended talks with Canada. Meanwhile, the E.U. appears close to accepting a 10% universal tariff but still wants exemptions for key sectors like pharma, aerospace, and semiconductors. China, somewhat surprisingly, has in recent weeks seen U.S. export restrictions ease somewhat, even as Trump’s rhetoric remains intermittently hawkish.
All of this comes on the heels of a June jobs report that, despite beating expectations on paper, showed white-collar job losses, shrinking workweeks, and rising long-term unemployment. Markets sit near record highs, but the U.S. dollar is wobbling.
Meanwhile, Trump’s most headline-grabbing claims — such as Japan’s supposed refusal to buy U.S. rice — continue to crumble under basic fact checks. What remains is a widening credibility gap between what the administration says it’s doing and what’s actually happening, all while the day of reckoning keeps getting pushed out, and pushed out again.
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