Trump Hardens Stance on Trade Deal Deadline. Copper, Pharma Tariffs Are Coming.

President Donald Trump says most nations have until Aug. 1 to reach a trade deal. (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

President Donald Trump hardened his stance on trade deals, saying Tuesday that there would be no more extensions past a new Aug. 1 deadline, as the administration said it would continue to announce country-specific tariff rates.

Trump told reporters during a cabinet meeting Tuesday that he would continue issuing letters to the leaders of other countries announcing U.S. tariff rates on their products effective Aug. 1 unless they arrange a specific deal by then.

In addition, the White House said it will set 50% tariffs on copper imports today, an announcement that sent the commodity’s price to a record on Tuesday though it didn’t clarify when they would take effect. And tariffs on imported pharmaceutical products will kick in after a grace period giving companies time adjust their supply chains, Trump said.

It was part of a swirl of trade announcements in the past few days as the Trump administration hurtles toward a self-imposed deadline for so-called reciprocal tariff rates to kick in after a 90-day pause. That deadline is Wednesday.

Trump has taken to settling the tariff question himself, favoring a unilateral approach and announcing his decisions by letter and posts on social media.

“The deals are mostly my deal to them,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday. “We’re picking a number that’s low and fair.”

It follows the example Trump set on Monday, when he released 14 letters addressed to the leaders of countries scattered mostly across Asia and Europe. The letters set U.S. tariff rates on imports from those countries at between 25% and 40%.

Trump said during Tuesday’s cabinet meeting that he considers the letters to be deals. The U.S. will be sending a letter to the European Union this week. “We’re probably two days off from sending them a letter,” he said.

It’s emblematic of Trump’s approach to trade, which has been to threaten high levies to draw countries to the bilateral negotiating table, then to pause those levies while deals are being worked out, then to draw a new line in the sand.

Just a few trade deals have been announced since Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement on April 2, which he then paused a few days later, including deals with the United Kingdom and Vietnam. A current deal with China is temporary and expires in August, slightly after the deadline now applied to other countries.

Trump now says there won’t be any more extensions to negotiate new deals after Aug. 1, the new deadline that he declared in an executive order on Monday.

Trump’s tariff letters on Monday, which were nearly identical to each other, also explained that goods shipped through third countries to avoid tariffs would still face the same levies, and that the rates would go up if countries retaliated.

The current tariffs have brought in $100 billion so far this year, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said during Tuesday’s cabinet meeting. He added that tariff revenue could rise to $300 billion by the end of 2025.

New Section 232 Tariffs

Copper is the latest industry to be targeted under sector-oriented tariffs applied under Section 232 of a 1960s trade law. Already Trump has applied such sector tariffs on imports of autos, steel, and aluminum. There are other sector tariffs still pending, including for lumber, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors. The Section 232 tariffs have been a sticking point in some of the trade negotiations with other countries.

The sector tariffs won’t stack on top of the country-specific rates. Setting copper rates at 50%, rather than the 25% that aluminum and steel tariffs began at before ratcheting higher, suggests that the White House may make other future sector-based rates much higher, says Henrietta Treyz, head of economic policy research at Veda Partners. Indeed, the president said on Tuesday that the pending pharmaceutical tariffs may reach 200%.

“We will be announcing something very soon on pharmaceuticals,” Trump added.

China, Japan, and Other Countries Respond

U.S. trading partners are weighing responses after Trump’s latest action on tariffs sparked a stock market selloff Monday.

China, which agreed in June on a broad framework for trade but has yet to complete a more permanent agreement, has a slightly later deadline of Aug. 12. A state-sponsored media outlet said Tuesday that the country should oppose any deal that hurts Chinese interests, such as incentives to cut China out of supply chains, according to a report by Reuters.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Tuesday he would continue negotiations with the White House. Trump singled out Japan last week as one country that has been tough to work with and which is unlikely to get a deal by the deadline.

South Africa received a letter Monday saying its products would have a 30% tariff coming into the U.S. starting Aug. 1. The country’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement Tuesday that the levy was “not an accurate representation of available trade data.” He also said that under South Africa’s interpretation of the data, its average tariff on imported goods stands at 7.6% and 77% of U.S. goods entering South Africa have no duties.

He added that South Africa will continue with its diplomatic efforts toward a “more balance and mutually beneficial” trade relationship with the U.S.

The next big question is what kind of arrangement will be reached with the European Union, which didn’t receive a letter. A spokesperson for the EU said Monday that he was hoping for a deal before the deadline.

The return of tariff volatility sent stocks tumbling Monday afternoon. Stocks were largely flat on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite trading around breakeven.

Write to Anita Hamilton at anita.hamilton@barrons.com, Reshma Kapadia at reshma.kapadia@barrons.com, Brian Swint at brian.swint@barrons.com and George Glover at george.glover@dowjones.com