Art Of The Deal

President Donald Trump’s trade team sent letters to foreign nations facing reciprocal tariffs seeking their best trade offers by Wednesday as the administration looks to make deals.

The letter comes after a court ruling last week that raised questions about the legality of Trump’s tariffs.

White House Press Secretary Karonline Leavitt confirmed the details of the letter during a briefing on Tuesday. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer sent the letter to trading partners “to give them a friendly reminder that the deadline is coming up,” she said.

“They need to cut deals with the United States of America,” Leavitt said. “As you’ve all seen, he’s unafraid to use tariffs to protect our industries and protect our workers, but he wants to see these tailor-made deals be signed.”

Leavitt said deals would be made “very, very soon.”

July 8 is the end of the 90-day pause on the reciprocal tariffs that Trump imposed in April on nearly all U.S. trading partners.

On April 2, dubbed “Liberation Day” by the president, Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on scores of other nations, but suspended those higher rates for 90 days while his trade team went to work. Since then, Trump’s team has announced a limited trade deal with the United Kingdom and tariff truce with China while talks continue.

Those “Liberation Day” tariffs face legal challenges from states and small businesses.

A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of International Trade unanimously ruled last week that Congress did not give the president tariff authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. The court gave Trump 10 days to unwind all the tariffs he issued under IEEPA. The administration appealed that decision and asked for an emergency stay. The appeals court granted that request, putting the Court of International Trade ruling on hold while the appeal continues.